The Doe v. State of Ohio class action lawsuit has reached a tentative settlement that will change the way Ohio public schools handle disabilities in the classroom.

In 1993, Disability Rights Ohio filed a class action lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) on behalf of students with disabilities in Ohio’s public schools. The goal of the lawsuit was to ensure that all of Ohio’s public schools, especially those housed in Ohio’s large urban districts (dubbed “11 Districts”), would have the resources and support necessary to provide special education and disabilities services to students. In December 2019, almost 30 years after the initial filing, both parties reached a tentative settlement with wide-reaching implications for students with disabilities.

If the settlement agreement is approved by the United States District Court, ODE will have one year to create a comprehensive education plan that facilitates achievement for students with disabilities. This plan should also ensure that the 11 Districts are in compliance with federal statutes regarding accessible education. Key focus points include literacy, career readiness, and structured training for teachers on how to work with students with disabilities.

The plan will be evaluated in five years using standardized test scores and graduation rates as measures of success. If students are not being served effectively, ODE will reassess and revise the plan. For the 250,000 school-age children and 20,000 preschool children with disabilities who are being educated in Ohio’s public schools, this long-awaited court decision represents a step forward for diversity, accessibility, and inclusion.

Disabilities in the Classroom

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61 million adults in the United States have a disability. Although there are many distinct forms of disabilities, the vast majority fall into one of three categories — physical, mental, or sensory — all of which can show up in a classroom environment. For example, a student with auditory processing disorder might mix up similar-sounding words like “belt” and “built,” which can mean they take a bit longer to process and respond to questions in the classroom.

Disability advocates push back against the tendency to view disabilities as impediments to living and learning, instead choosing to focus on the productive possibilities of being differently abled. Students with disabilities are fundamentally competent with unique insights to offer in class. As such, educators have a responsibility to make sure students with disabilities are welcomed, academically challenged, and supported in school.

Inclusive Instruction Empowers Us All

Making education accessible and effective for students with disabilities can be challenging because many educators are unclear about how to approach teaching with disabilities in mind. For example, special education students sometimes need individualized attention from their teachers, but separating these students into completely separate classes isn’t productive. In fact, numerous studies have shown that students with disabilities learn more and increase their social and emotional intelligence when they’re in classes with peers of all abilities.

In the early 1990s, inclusivity in education meant building a separate framework that served students with disabilities alone. However, over the past two decades, the field of education has seen a paradigm shift toward making inclusivity a school-wide mission. Inclusive instruction is predicated on the belief that education should be designed to benefit all students, regardless of gender, race, class, language, or ability. It’s also buttressed by the universal design for learning (UDL), a flexible model for instruction that allows teachers to adapt their teaching methods to their students’ strengths, needs, learning styles, and abilities.

Inclusive instruction includes everything from providing written transcripts of videos shown in class to planning field trips in which all students can physically participate. Unfortunately, implementing inclusive instruction in schools comes with its fair share of challenges. At the most basic level, these initiatives take time and money that many understaffed and underfunded school districts don’t have. Most teachers aren’t properly taught to provide the kinds of inclusive instruction needed, which is why the Doe v. State of Ohio settlement agreement plan will be critical for guiding implementation in Ohio’s public schools.

Supporting Students from the Top, Down

The overall goal of ODE’s forthcoming special education plan is to revamp Ohio’s approach to teaching students with disabilities by initiating a state-wide shift. In addition to improving literacy and post-graduation preparedness for students, ODE will also begin formally training school staff in inclusive instruction techniques. Across all Ohio public schools, there will also be a push for UDL and multi-tiered systems of support.

While ODE’s forthcoming special education plan will provide funding for the improvement of special education in Ohio’s schools, the type of state-wide shift it hopes to initiate will require continuous attention and evaluation. The settlement agreement also emphasizes that individual schools are responsible for creating their own plans for improvement, which can be costly.

To support plans for improvement on a smaller scale, it is critical that Ohio’s schools receive appropriate funds to support their own special education efforts. Vinson’s CheckPoint EMIS platform provides an accurate reporting system that allows educators and officials to better track student data. By minimizing errors in reporting, CheckPoint works to ensure that your district gets all the funding you’re entitled to so that you can properly support your students with disabilities.