Dear Judges,

Over the course of two years, Reno Gazette-Journal reporter Siobhan McAndrew investigated
the state of special education in the Washoe County School District. Through public records,
court documents and interviews with more than 50 families, McAndrew pieced together a series
of stories detailing how some of the most vulnerable students in the district were left behind, and
sometimes abused.

McAndrews reporting painted a bleak picture of what children with disabilities have to look
forward to in the Reno area: A 29 percent graduation rate thats less than half the national
average for similar students and a system that encourages students with disabilities to strive for
adjusted diplomas instead of actual high school degrees that could help them succeed as adults.
This all despite experts interviewed by McAndrew who explained that 80-90 percent of children
with disabilities are capable of graduating from high school. Through her reporting, McAndrew
started a community-wide conversation that called to attention long standing problems in our
education system and forced the Washoe County School District to address the problems
publicly, which included district leaders promising to stage a symposium on special education
following the publication of the RGJ investigation and state lawmakers ushering special
education reforms through the Nevada Legislature this year.

McAndrew doggedly pursued her investigation into the treatment of students with disabilities
despite district leadership questioning her reporting integrity. The RGJ stood behind McAndrew
and her brave reporting so that she could bring to light a problem thats often forgotten. Thanks
to her work, local and state leaders have started to make positive change for some of the most
vulnerable children in our state. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Brian Duggan
Investigations Editor
Reno Gazette-Journal
 SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2016 ONLINE AT RGJ.COM

R G J I N V E S T I G AT I O N

R G J I N V E S T I G AT I O N

SIOBHAN MCANDREW SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM

April Heide stacks large wooden blocks, laughing as she knocks

them down at Huffaker Elementary School in Reno. Her mother
walks in the classroom, but April pretends to ignore her. Acknowledg-
ing mom means she might have to leave. She goes back to playing,
excited to point out the letters in her name on an alphabet chart.
While most kids are exuberant because its the last day of school be-
fore summer break, April, 6, is smiling because shes at school. She
doesnt want to leave, even when her mom promises a last-day-of-
school treat when they get to the car.
A full day of kindergarten was a
fight, one April didnt win until three
months into the school year. When her
parents registered April for the 2015-
16 school year, they were told there
was only a half-day program for their
daughter, who has cerebral palsy.
Aprils parents are not alone in their
struggle to educate their child in the
Washoe County School District.
Out of the districts 64,000 students,
April is one of more than 8,700 chil-
dren with a disability a population
thats made up about 13 percent of the
school district for more than 10 years.
The disabilities range from mild to
severe and can include speech impair-
ments, physical disabilities, autism
and emotional problems. Many of
8,700 of Washoe Countys
64,000 public school
students have a disability.
9,000 of Washoe Countys
64,000 public school
students have a disability.
it hasnt shown much improvement is
educating children with disabilities.
Over the past five years, the average
graduation rate for students with dis-
abilities has been 28 percent. For chil-
dren with disabilities who are Hispan-
ic or black, the graduation rates are
below 20 percent. Of American Indian
students with disabilities, only 1 per-
cent graduated in 2014, the latest data
available.
Low expectations for children
with disabilities: Students with dis- *
abilities are the only ones given the op- = 640 people
tion to receive an adjusted diploma de-
spite experts saying most are able to
graduate. An adjusted diploma is a
certificate that is not proof of meeting
graduation requirements according to

75%
these students, about 4,000, have spe- new federal standards. Recipients are
cific learning disabilities, such as
trouble calculating numbers.
not eligible for federal college finan-
cial aid or able to enlist in the military.
*
63% 29%
A two-year investigation by the Re- Nevada is one of few states that offer
no Gazette-Journal shows that the dis- this type of certificate. District offi- = 640 people
trict is failing to educate and in cials say that in about 90 percent of the
some cases has abused children cases, its marked there for a last re- Graduation rate Graduation rate in Graduation rate for all
with disabilities. Interviews with sort fallback so they can walk at grad- nationally, for students Washoe County Washoe County School
more than 50 families and an analysis uation. In recent years, more stu- with disabilities in 2015 in 2015 District seniors in 2015
of district and court records show that dents have received these certificates
problems date back at least a decade.
The key findings in the RGJ investi-
gation include:
than regular diplomas.
Students are segregated from
mainstream classes: The district has
29% 21%
63%More on RGJ.com/specialeducation
The graduation rate is far below segregated children with disabilities Go online to read more about district changes implemented to
national standards: While the district in programs, some away from their improve graduation rates, the voices of families, students and teachers
has celebrated record graduation Graduationand Graduation
ratemore data rate in
on Nevadas Graduation
education rate of special
ranking.
rates of 75 percent, the one area where See EDUCATION, Page 5A nationally, for students Washoe County education students drop
with disabilities in 2015 in 2015 out of high school in 2015

This is an area where we have really struggled, but we are committed to doing what is right for all kids.
ANGELA TAYLOR PRESIDENT, WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

Only in the Sunday RGJ

Developers dream of tiny house
community in the heart of Reno
Kelly Rae and Pamela Haberman build residential
and commercial buildings under the name HabeRae.
They said demand for small houses continues to rise
as people shed their stuff to live a simpler life and
spend less money.
Business, 13A

Nevada alum an NBA nomad A TEMPLE WITH NO NAME

Former Pack star Ramon Sessions has played for In 2000, David Best made the first Burning Man
nine teams in 10 years. Its been a lot of hard work, temple. Sixteen years later, he is about to make his
a lot of sweat and a lot of tears. But when I look back last. Best is building the 2016 temple, which will be
at it, its been a dream come true for me, he said. known simply as The Temple this year.
Sports, 1C Our Nevada, 1D

Inside today Weather Call RGJ

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THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Family fought to get all-day kindergarten for their daughter
April Heide poses with her mom, Cynamon, in front of Brown Elementary School in Reno on Nov. 20. Aprils zoned school is Hunsberger, a high-achieving elementary in southwest Reno.
Continued from Page 1A
neighborhood schools.
There are more than 200
segregated classrooms
throughout the district.
The district also has a
segregated school for the
most disabled and medi-
cally fragile. The district
spent $5.4 million in the
2014-15 school year trans-
porting children with dis-
abilities not attending
their zoned schools.
Children with disabil-
ities have been abused
at school: Students have
been called derogatory
names, illegally re-
strained, grabbed,
pushed, gagged and
locked in bathrooms or
closets. Thats according
to lawsuits, school rec-
ords and interviews with
parents. The school dis-
trict has paid out more
than $1 million in the past
10 years to settle lawsuits
involving the abuse and
education of children
with disabilities.
Washoe County School
Superintendent Traci Da-
vis said the school district
recognizes that educating
students with disabilities
has been a problem.
In a recent interview
with the Reno Gazette-
Journal, Davis said
changes are happening.
We know that we
havent always done the
best job, and part of that is
a district soul-searching,
Davis said.
But she said things are
better today than yester-
day.
We are doing things
we havent done before,
she said.
That includes training
for staff and teachers,
and hiring three staff
members to closely watch
that the district follows
state and federal regula-
tions for special educa-
tion.
She said the district is
making changes to im-
prove recruitment and re-
tention of special educa-
tion teachers. Davis also
said she is trying to shift a
culture that has viewed
special education as an
isolated problem handled
by one department.
School principals are
now responsible for edu-
cating each child in their
schools. Previously, the
perception was that only
the special education de-
partment was responsible
for students with disabil-
ities, Davis said.
But Davis said fixing
the problem wont happen
overnight.
Part of the issue is,
and people acknowledge,
yes, there are things we
inherited, she said. Peo- said they cannot com-
ple want to change a dec-
ade of whats gone wrong
in a year.
Fighting for
their kids: it who has a rare form of
was one more
thing I was
asking for
April cant wait for
changes to come eventu-
ally, said her parents. Aar-
on and Cynamon Heide
hes a neurologist and she
a dietitian said now is a
key time in their daugh-
ters education.
They tried for months
to get April into a full day
of school after Davis an-
nounced in August that
free all-day kindergarten
was a crucial part of our
mission to provide a
world-class education
for all students.
But for April, it took
the district three months
and the threat of a lawsuit
to get what Davis prom-
ised.
Even then, it wasnt at
Aprils neighborhood
school. Her parents as-
sumed their daughter
would attend Hunsberger
Elementary School, the
high-achieving school
near the home they
bought in south Reno in
2014.
Instead, April was put
in a segregated program
for children with disabili-
ties at Brown Elementary,
one of the districts most busy drop-off and pick-up
overcrowded schools. times at Depoali Middle
Hunsberger had the low-
est number of children
with a disability during
the 2015-16 school year.
While Aprils parents
battled the district, they
enrolled their daughter in
a private school, where
teachers said she flour-
ished. Diagnosed with ce-
rebral palsy when she
was a few months old,
April has low muscle tone
and some developmental
delays but is eager and
able to learn.
April was always
ready to learn, but they
werent letting her,
Heide said of the school
district. They act like
shes just some kid with
cerebral palsy, so why
does it matter if shes in
school?
Aprils family is one of
dozens who shared sto-
ries with the Reno Ga-
zette-Journal about their
struggles with the school
district. Many families
said their battle to edu-
cate and keep their chil-
dren safe has become a
full-time job.
School district offi-
cials, including Davis,
ment on specific situa-
tions involving students,
allegations made by par-
ents or lawsuits.
The family of 6-year-
old Scarlett Bertolino,
catastrophic epilepsy,
also battled the district
during the 2015-16 school
year.
When school started
last August, the district
said a school nurse wasnt
allowed to administer
Scarletts medication in
case of an emergency,
even though the Nevada
State Board of Nursing
said the district could ad-
minister the nasal spray.
Her mom sat outside
Verdi Elementary School
for a more than year,
ready to run to her daugh-
ters classroom if Scarlett
had a life-threatening sei-
zure.
I just feel like they
looked at me like it was
one more thing I was ask-
ing for, said Gabrielle
Bertolino, who fought to
have her daughter includ-
ed in regular classes after
the district pushed for
Scarlett to attend Marvin
Picollo School, the dis-
tricts segregated school
for children with severe
disabilities, 30 minutes
from their home.
In September, the dis-
trict ignored pleas from
parents including Pam
Berek about monitoring
handicapped parking
spots being illegally taken
by parents during the
School. The district sug-
gested Berek bring her
son Carson, who has cere-
bral palsy and uses a
wheelchair, to school lat-
er if she wanted a spot.
Because he has a dis-
ability, it doesnt matter if
he goes to school when ev-
eryone else does? Berek
asked.
Many parents struggle
with how the district man-
ages individual education
programs. These federal-
ly mandated documents
are created for every
child with a disability.
The documents are re-
quired under the Individ-
uals with Disabilities
Education Act, legislation
that ensures a child with a
disability is provided a
free and appropriate pub-
lic education.
The law mandates that
education be in the least
restrictive environment,
meaning students with
disabilities must be given
the opportunity, to the
greatest extent possible,
to be in classes with peers
who are not disabled.
Before the law was en-
acted in 1975, many chil-
dren with disabilities
were denied access to
education. According to
the U.S. Department of
Education, only one in
five such children were
educated in the early
1970s, and some states
had laws excluding chil-
dren who were deaf, blind
or had intellectual disabil-
ities.
But even with the plan
mandated by the law,
some families have bat-
tled the district to follow
it.
Advocate Deidre Ham-
mon said the Washoe
County School District
has repeatedly failed to
follow mandates set in the
Individuals with Disabili-
ties Education Act for
least restrictive environ-
ment.
Hammon has worked
for 30 years as a disability
advocate, helping thou-
sands of families in Neva-
da. She said many fam-
ilies are told that special
programs are better for
their children.
They dont need spe- trict, even if you are just
cial, mainly because its
not special at all, she
said. The district treats
parents as if they are ask-
ing for something that is
unreasonable if they want
their child at their neigh-
borhood school, with the
same friends they would
see at the grocery store or
in school year after year.
She said most parents
dont understand their
child can go to their
neighborhood school. In-
stead, many families just
accept the districts rec-
ommendation to put their
child in a special pro-
gram.
They sell parents
magic fairy dust, she
said. Parents hear that
their child will be with
this teacher who is just so
wonderful. They never
tell parents about the cur-
riculum in the segregated
classroom.
Adjusted
diplomas: Part
of that culture
is they have had
that as an
option
Susan Zeiters son
graduated from Galena
High School in June.
Zeiter said her son was
repeatedly told he would
do better if he just tried
harder instead of the dis-
trict standing by its prom-
ise to give him technology
services and tutoring.
Earning a diploma in
June made him part of the
Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 17, 2016 5A
JASON BEAN/RGJ
minority among special Marvin
education students: Just
slightly more than one in Picollo School
four students with a dis-
ability graduated with a
standard or honors diplo-
ma in the 2014-15 school
year.
That number has not
124
Student
changed over the past
five years despite gains in
enrollment for
general graduation rates. the 2015-16
Its more common for a school year
student with a disability
to receive an adjusted di-
ploma instead of graduat-
ing. An adjusted diploma
is not proof of meeting
graduation standards. It
also often means students
80
Total staff
are not challenged in aca- members at
demically rigorous the school
courses aimed to prepare
a person for college or a
career after high school.
While Zeiters son will
attend college this fall, he
will need
courses, she said.
remedial $44,004
Per pupil cost at Picollo
Advocating for your
child takes perseverance,
time and money, she
said, adding there is fear
$8,600
of retaliation by the dis- Average per pupil cost
school district wide
doing what is right by
your child.
Experts say the fact
Nevada has the option of
adjusted diplomas is one
50%
reason the graduation
rate isnt improving.
Part of that culture is Percentage of students
they have had that as an who qualify for free and
option so they dont as- reduced lunch
sertively approach get-
ting the standard diplo-
ma, said chief school per-
formance officer Paul La-
Marca.
40%
The state has re-
quired for years that stu-
dents participate in the Percentage of students
high school proficiency who are from a group
tests, LaMarca said. If home or are in foster
you were on an adjusted care
diploma path walking into
high school, you wouldnt
take that test.
Instead of taking need-
ed classes, Davis said,
some families are just
happy their son or daugh-
6-1
ter is walking across the The student-to-teacher
stage at graduation. ratio at the school
In 2015, 32 percent of
the districts 536 graduat-
ing seniors with disabili-
ties received adjusted di-
plomas.
Twenty-six percent
graduated with a stan-
dard diploma and 3 per-
cent graduated with an
advanced degree. The re-
maining 39 percent either
See EDUCATION, Page 6A
6A Sunday, July 17, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal
THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Washoe school district offers alternatives to standard diplomas
Continued from Page 5A
dropped out or failed to
meet requirements.
Nevada is one of 10
states to offer a certifi-
cate for children with dis-
abilities. Students with
disabilities who live in
states without these types
of certificates have high-
er graduation rates, said
Julia White, a professor at
the School of Education at
New Yorks Syracuse Uni-
versity.
White is known for her
national and international
research on special edu-
cation policies and has
served as co-chair of the
Disability Studies in Edu-
cation Special Interest
Group of the American
Educational Research As-
sociation.
Allowing certificates
of attendance or other al-
ternate diploma tracks
definitely damages stu-
dents chances of mean-
ingful postsecondary em-
ployment and education
without a real creden-
tial, White said.
Experts say most stu-
dents on the adjusted di-
ploma track have the abil-
ity to graduate.
Nationally, 85-90 per-
cent of students with dis-
abilities are capable of
earning a regular high
school diploma, accord-
ing to the National Center
on Education Outcomes at
the University of Minne-
sota.
Those national figures
echo what Washoe dis-
trict officials heard last
fall from Rorie Fitzpat-
rick of West Ed, a non-
profit agency focused on
educational research.
Not everyone be-
lieves that kids with dis-
abilities can succeed in
meeting high expecta-
tions, Fitzpatrick told
the district after exten-
sively assessing the dis-
tricts special education
practices. It is a hard
thing for me to say with-
out getting emotional.
The research is clear that
they absolutely can.
Previous district ad-
ministrations were out-
spoken about the dis-
tricts problems graduat-
ing students with disabil-
ities.
Frank Selvaggio, who
previously led the dis-
tricts special education
department, said in 2014
that as many as 90 percent
of students with disabili-
ties can meet the same
graduation standards
with specially designed
instruction.
We just havent been segregated classrooms
able to figure it out, said
Selvaggio, who has since
been reassigned to over-
see North Star Online
School, counseling, health
services, pre-kindergar-
ten standards and a stu-
dent advisory board.
Modern-day
segregation: I
want my son to
have the same
opportunities
every other
child does
Third-grader Nick
Gallego-Bushgens has au-
tism. His parents said
they were told repeatedly
by teachers from a segre-
gated program at Stead
Elementary School that
Nick would never read.
His father, Mark Galle-
gos, started tutoring his
son after seeing the home-
work sent home by the
teacher. He said it didnt
make sense.
One day he would get
something home on addi-
tion and then fractions
and then sometimes the
same sheets over and
over again, he said. It trict estimates that the
was all over the place and
seemed like it was just
worksheets handed out
for the sake of handing
out a worksheet.
Segregating students
with disabilities into sep-
arate programs is com-
mon in the Washoe Coun-
ty School District. Its a
Autistic student Nick Gallego-Bushgens works with Newton Learning Center teacher Lee Boydston on a reading comprehension lesson. Gallego-Bushgens has
made great progress after struggling in the Washoe County School District.
problem that experts also
say is hurting student
achievement.
An RGJ analysis of the
districts schools shows
the percentage of stu-
dents with disabilities
was higher at schools with
lower state rankings than
at schools with high state
rankings. State rankings
take into account how stu-
dents with disabilities
perform in class.
For example, Huns-
berger Elementary, one
of the districts highest-
ranked schools, had the
lowest number of stu-
dents listed as having a
disability during the 2015-
16 school year.
Desert Heights Ele-
mentary, the school with
the highest percentage of
students with a disability,
was the districts worst-
ranked school, according
to the states five-star nerable members of soci-
ranking system. It was
the only district school to
receive one star out of
five in 2015.
The RGJ analysis of
school records shows that
there are more than 200
greatly improves their
throughout the district.
Six schools have six or
more classrooms devoted
entirely to special educa-
tion students. Those
schools are Desert
Heights, Esther Bennett
and Sarah Winnemucca
elementary schools and
Wooster, Reed and Hug
high schools.
While the district said
it does not track the cost
of segregated programs
at individual school sites,
the district did transport
more than 1,100 students
with disabilities to
schools not near their
homes during the 2014-15
school year, according to
an RGJ records request.
Busing those students
cost the district $5.4 mil-
lion last year, a cost that
increased by about
$100,000 from the previ-
ous school year.
Educating students at
Marvin Picollo School, a
K-12 program for severe-
ly disabled and medically
fragile children, is far
more expensive com-
pared to other schools, ac-
cording to the district.
While the per-pupil cost
for an average Washoe
County student is about
$8,000 per year, the dis-
show the positive impact
cost at Picollo tops
$44,000 per student per
year.
Schools like Picollo are
becoming less common in
the national education
landscape, said Julia Bas-
com, deputy executive di-
rector of the Autistic Self
Advocacy Network. The
nonprofit advocacy or-
ganization is a national
disability rights organiza-
tion.
We know that includ-
ing students in general
Susan Zeiter has battled the school district over her son's
special education.
education classrooms is
better when we look at ev-
ery academic metric,
Bascom said. When you
take away your most vul-
ety and put them away
from everyone else, that
leads to problems.
National experts say
integrating children with
disabilities into general
education classrooms
chances of graduating.
And local advocates say
the district doesnt try
hard enough to make it
happen.
Kailin Kelderman, 21,
who has Down syndrome,
thrived in elementary and
middle school. Then at
McQueen High School,
she was put in a segregat-
ed classroom that taught
life skills.
The same worksheet,
counting butterflies, I got
over and over again, she
said.
She left with an adjust-
ed diploma in 2014.
She used to love sci-
ence, but McQueen would
never adapt the classes
for her, said her mom,
Mary Bryant. Tests when
Kailin left high school
showed she had re-
gressed academically.
Studies show students
even with the most pro-
found disabilities do bet-
ter in general education
settings with the right
support system, said Eliz-
abeth Kozleski, a re-
searcher at the Univer-
sity of Kansas Depart-
ment of Special Educa-
tion.
There have been a
number of studies that
of inclusive education in
terms of socialization and
academics, Kozleski
said. There have also
been other studies that
show the positive impact
having children with dis-
abilities in general educa-
tion has on kids that dont
have disabilities.
The Washoe County
School District said inclu-
sion for every child might
not work.
I actually believe you
TIM DUNN/RGJ
Graduation rates for students with
disabilities for all Washoe high schools
Damonte Ranch 35%
Galena 54%
Hug 18%
Incline 20%
Innovations 15%
ANDY BARRON/RGJ McQueen 49%
North Valleys 27%
have to look at every indi-
Reed 42%
vidual child, Superinten-
dent Davis said. And
when it comes to choosing Reno 52%
whether to educate a stu-
dent with a disability in a
general education class- Spanish Springs 33%
room, there are times it
might not be right for the
kid. Sparks 29%
Washoe County School
Board President Angela Wooster 14%
Taylor agreed.
We decide based on
what is best for the stu- District Average 29%
dent, Taylor said about
programs that segregate
children with disabilities
for a majority of the
school day, including Pi-
Graduation rates for Graduation rate
collo. special education goals for special
Nationally, more students by race education students
schools are moving to- This data is from the 2014 in Washoe County
ward full inclusion to try
to help kids graduate and
school year. It was provided
*2015
by the Washoe County School 29%
have the best educational District.
experience possible.
2016
Dan Habib, a filmmak- 38%
Pacific Islander 67%
er and member of Presi-
2017
dent Barack Obamas 44%
White 31%
Committee for People
2018
Asian 25% 49%
with Disabilities, is trying
to spread the message
2019
Multi-racial 24% 54%
that inclusion is better for
all students. Hispanic 18%
2020
60%
Habib, with the Uni-
versity of New Hamp- African American 17% *2015 is actual graduation rate for
shires Institute on Dis- special education students in Washoe
ability, was critically ac- American Indian 1% County School District.
claimed for his work on
the documentary Includ-
ing Samuel. It was about
his son, who has cerebral
palsy and was fully in- A child needs to be at his
cluded in general educa-
tion classrooms. neighborhood school to build
He said if the country
wants better outcomes relationships like every other child.
for children with disabili-
ties, they must be includ- DEIDRE HAMMON
ed in regular classrooms. DISABILITY ADVOCATE
I want my son to have
the same opportunities
every other child does,
he said. How does he do
that if hes not included?
The Nevada Depart-
ment of Education said
outcomes are better when
children are in the same
educational settings. Its a
trend officials have seen
in other parts of the state.
Marva Cleven, former
special education direc-
tor for the Nevada De-
partment of Education,
said some rural counties
See EDUCATION, Page 7A

THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Advocate says integrating students improves education for all
Continued from Page 6A
in Nevada have more suc-
cess educating special
education students be-
cause they are too small to
segregate children with
disabilities into separate
classrooms.
In Douglas County, a
rural school district that
graduated 548 seniors in
2015, 72 percent of stu-
dents with disabilities
graduated.
I know when I was a
special education teacher,
I took children into the
regular classroom, said
Cleven, who is now over-
seeing special services
for the Lyon County
School District.
White, the professor at
Syracuse University, said
it varies greatly across
the country how students
with disabilities are in-
cluded in general educa-
tion classrooms.
The segregation that
children experience in
schools mirrors the seg-
regation they experience
in their post-school lives,
White said. People with
disabilities, especially
significant disabilities,
are the largest population
that lives in poverty and
are most likely to be un-
employed.
Life skills or function-
al skills training is often
touted as the most impor-
tant aspect of high school
for students with disabil-
ities, but the most func-
tional skill a student can
have is reading, literacy,
she said.
She said where a per-
son lives affects how he or
she is included.
White said that for stu-
dents with intellectual
disabilities, including
Down syndrome, the na-
tional average for being
included in general edu-
cation classrooms varies
greatly across the coun-
try.
According to the De-
partment of Education, 75
percent of Nevada stu-
dents with intellectual
disabilities are excluded
from regular classes 60
percent of the day. Its the
highest number nation-
wide.
Local advocate Ham-
mon said the law requires
that the district must first
exhaust every option be-
fore segregating a child
with a disability. She said
that in many cases, the
district tries to place a
child with a disability in a
program away from his or
her neighborhood school.
They say it is better
for the child, but it isnt,
Hammon said. A child
needs to be at his neigh-
borhood school to build
relationships like every
other child. They need
school to mimic regular
life instead of being hid-
den away in classrooms.
She said segregating
students, especially chil-
dren who cant communi-
cate, is dangerous.
It can lead to abuse,
Hammon said. If you
have a group of children
that cant tell anyone what
is going on, theres an op-
portunity for children to
be hurt.
Abuse: You just
dont expect
anyone to hurt
your child at
school
When Donovan Gutier-
rez didnt want to come in
from recess on March 17,
an employee at Alyce Tay-
lor Elementary School
yanked on his arm, called
him a brat and tried to pull
him up by his pants.
Donovan, 9, has Down
syndrome and has been in
a segregated class for
children with disabilities
at the school in Sparks.
He loves to be out-
side, said his mom, Kath-
erine Gutierrez, who now
questions many things
about her sons education,
including the segregated
classroom that the dis-
trict insisted upon despite
her and her husband ask-
ing for Donovan to be in-
cluded in more general
education classes.
She didnt think her son
Donovan Gutierrez, 10, with his mom, Katherine Gutierrez, was abused by a teacher's aide at school, witness statements said.
was being abused. But
school district records ob-
tained by Gutierrez and
shared with the Reno Ga-
zette-Journal document-
ed the alleged abuse. The
family is now looking into
taking legal action
against the employee and
suing the school district.
Donovan is not the only
one, according to law-
suits, school records and
interviews with parents.
The school district has
paid out more than $1 mil-
lion in the last 10 years to
settle lawsuits, many in-
volving the abuse of chil-
dren.
This has included a
high school student ille-
gally restrained by four
adults and a 6-year-old re-
strained and gagged with
a rag on a school bus. The
district settled both of
these suits for thousands
of dollars.
While Nevada has laws
against restraint, seclu-
sion and physical, mental
and verbal abuse of chil-
dren with disabilities, the
number of violations in
the Washoe County
School District has in-
creased each year since
2013.
In 2015, there were 31
violations of state law for
physically restraining or
abusing children. Thats
up from 22 in 2014 and
five in 2013.
The state said the in-
crease may be due to
schools self-reporting vi-
olations more often be-
cause of better training
on how and when to file
reports, but legal experts
say abuse is likely more
widespread than is being
reported.
Pete Wright, an attor-
ney and national expert
on special education is-
sues, said districts are
facing more lawsuits in-
volving abuse. He is the
founder of Wrightslaw, an
organization that pro-
vides information about
special education law and
advocacy, and helped cre-
ated a Special Education
Law Clinic at William and
Mary School of Law in
Virginia.
He said courts are
finding in favor of chil-
dren, some cases topping
million-dollar settle-
ments.
Its hard to really
judge what is normal be-
cause Ive seen cases
ranging all over the
place, Wright said of a
recent case in California
that awarded $8 million
total to eight children
abused by a teacher.
Reno attorney Robert
Kilby said he believes
there are cases of abuse
involving children with
disabilities across the
state that are never
known. He has represent-
ed families of children
with disabilities for more
than 13 years, taking on
some of these clients, in
part, because he has a
brother with disabilities.
As parents have be-
come more knowledge-
able and aware, Kilby has
had more parents call
about abuse, he said in an
interview with the RGJ in
March.
He said that over the
last year, he has received
more than 20 calls involv-
ing suspected abuse, a
number higher than all
his prior years in prac-
tice.
Whats scary is I think
theres a lot of abuse we
never know about, he
said. He said many par-
ents rely on district em-
ployees to come forward
when abuse happens to a
child with disabilities who
may be in a class with stu-
dents who have trouble
communicating.
But its hard to tell
where Nevada stands na-
tionally, experts say.
Nevada Department of
Educations special edu-
cation director Will Jen-
sen said there is not a na-
tional tracking system,
and each state monitors
abuse differently.
In Nevada, districts
are required to annually
report instances of re-
straining, secluding and
abusing children.
The data about re-
straining and abusing
children with disabilities
is reported yearly to Ne-
vada lawmakers, but a
public report isnt acces-
sible on the Nevada De-
partment of Educations
website. The data also
doesnt include much in-
formation, including
types of abuse and specif-
ic school sites.
Jensen said when re-
ports are filed involving
abuse, the state works
with the district to make
improvements.
Kilby said it is unlikely
that school employees
named in recent lawsuits
were first-time abusers.
The teachers aide that
abused Katherine Gutier-
rezs son had moved
around to different
schools in Washoe County,
according to public rec-
ords.
It breaks my heart,
said Gutierrez. What
may have happened when
my son was alone with
her?
In November, a lawsuit
was filed in U.S. District
Court in Reno alleging
that two 8-year-old girls
were victims of physical,
verbal and emotional
abuse by a teacher at Pi-
collo School.
Brenda Donahues
daughter, Alex, was one of
them. In the lawsuit, the
teacher is accused of be-
ing frustrated with Alex
and yelling, You are go-
ing to make me late.
The teacher was ob-
served roughly grabbing
Alex and pulling her off
the bus. The lawsuit says
Alex, who is unable to
stand or walk on her own,
fell onto the street. The
teacher is then accused of
Federal standards for special education
are getting harder for states
In 2013, 38 states including Nevada met federal
requirements for special education standards. That's because
the Department of Education didn't require states to factor
in the academic performance of students with disabilities.
The states shaded dark gray needed assistance from the U.S.
Department of Education.
Needs intervention Needs assistance
In 2016, more states failed to meet federal standards for
teaching special education students set by the stricter
standards introduced by the U.S. Department of Education in
2014. Unlike most states, only Nevada and the District of
Columbia needed intervention for chronically falling short
of federal standards for special education.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
leaving Alex crying.
You just dont expect
anyone to hurt your child
at school, Donahue said.
How could something
like this happen?
The teacher accused of
abuse is no longer em-
ployed by the district but
is teaching in Washington
state.
A settlement agree-
ment has been reached,
according to court docu-
ments. Its on the Board of
Trustees agenda for con-
sideration on Tuesday.
Wright said a suit like
this may wake up the dis-
trict.
When they face some-
thing like this, they start
to see there are serious
problems, he said.
District: We
have to fix this
When Davis took over
last year, she inherited a
school district that had
seen years of inattention
and failures in educating
children with disabilities.
Her predecessor, Pe-
dro Martinez, said in 2014
that the problems facing
the districts special edu-
cation system had been
ignored by those before
him for a long time.
We had some conver-
sations but no one had
done anything about it,
Martinez said.
Martinez faced public
Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 17, 2016 7A
SIOBHAN MCANDREW/RGJ
said.
Meets standards
she missed, her parents
lems with the district; but
investigation started
scrutiny involving the
special education depart- magnitude of the problems
ment, including a report
that the district still was
using intervention rooms, meetings, forums,
called scream rooms. In graduations, baseball games
1999, the state outlawed
these rooms where a child
was locked alone.
The district also paid a
parent $17,000 after hav-
ing him arrested for try-
ing to testify at a public
school board meeting show that the district was
about the district repeat-
edly failing to follow fed-
eral guidelines involving
his daughters education.
Despite admitting
there were problems, the
graduation rate didnt im- Meet the reporter
prove.
Superintendent Davis
said the district is moving
forward and headed in the
right direction. She said
the main goal is to close
the achievement gaps for
children with disabilities,
including graduation
rates and tests that show
children with disabilities
are below grade level.
She said graduation
targets for students with
disabilities may not hit
the goals set for the class
of 2016 or 2017, but re-
forms put in place will for Reno Magazine.
catch up with future grad-
uating classes.
The districts goal of a
90 percent graduation
rate by 2020 cant be
achieved without improv-
ing the outcomes for all
students, Davis said. She
has set a goal of doubling
the graduation rate for
children with disabilities
in five years.
Twenty-eight percent
is not going to cut it, she
said of the average gradu-
ation rate over the past
few years for students
with disabilities.
Davis has hired new
staff, including naming
Byron Green to oversee
the special education de-
partment. Two new direc-
tors report to him. One is
in charge of improving
the instruction for chil-
dren with disabilities. The
other, with a staff of
three, will make sure the
district is in compliance
with all state and federal
laws involving students
with disabilities.
She also changed poli-
cies to hire and retain
more special education
teachers, an improve-
ment she said she hopes
will improve the districts
need to rely on 100 substi-
tutes in special education
every year.
We have to fix this,
said School Board Presi-
dent Taylor. This is an
area where we have real-
ly struggled, but we are
committed to doing what
is right for all kids.
We understand gradu-
ating kids doesnt happen
in the 12th grade. We
graduate kids when they
walk in to our doors in the
kindergarten, Davis
Aprils parents worry
about how the district will
educate their daughter
during the next 12 years.
They saw how much April
accomplished this year
when finally in school for
a full day with a wonder-
ful teacher. In part be-
cause of the three months
have decided to keep
April with the same teach-
er in another year of kin-
dergarten when school
starts again in August.
A seat in a first grade
class for April is still not
available at Hunsberger,
her neighborhood school.
Theres all these prob-
for my daughter, shes
still so young, Heide
said. For April, its not
too late for the district to
get this right.
How we did it
The Reno Gazette-Journal
started looking into the
Washoe County School
Districts special education
practices two years ago. The
following two high-profile
stories in 2013 of parents who
challenged how the district
was educating their students
with disabilities. As part of
the investigation, RGJ
reporter Siobhan McAndrew
reached out to families to get
an understanding of the
and what families have faced.
She attended public
and met with dozens of
parents at their homes and
businesses to hear the stories
of students with disabilities.
She used dozens of public
information requests of
school district records to
academically failing students
with disabilities. McAndrew
also reviewed lawsuits and
state and federal
investigations involving
students with disabilities.
Siobhan McAndrew is an
education reporter for the
Reno Gazette-Journal. She
started covering education in
2011 after
the birth of
her first
child. Shes
written for
the RGJ for
more than 15
years. Her
award-winning work includes
reporting for the RGJs
business and features desks, a
weekly column and articles
McAndrew has focused her
efforts on covering higher
education since 2015
following the birth of her
second child. She remains
passionate about reporting
on issues that affect children
and young people.
8A Sunday, July 17, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal
THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Whats an IEP?
An individual education
program, or IEP, is the
legally binding document
telling a school how it must
treat, educate and evaluate
a student with a disability.
Each of the 8,700 students
with disabilities in Washoe
public schools have an IEP
specifically for them.
The IEP lays out the
promises schools must keep
for the 13 percent of
students who have
disabilities.
Writing an IEP isnt simple.
Neither is describing it. Here
are the basics:
What is in it?
A federal law called the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act requires that
public schools create an
education plan for every
child with an eligible
disability.
An IEP should include
several things:
Assessment of students
performance and
well-being in school.
Educational goals for the
student.
Supports and services the
school will provide to the
student.
Modifications and
accommodations that will
help the student, such as
extra time for tests.
System for measuring the
students progress.
Who writes
the IEP?
Writing the IEP is a team
effort shared by several
parties:
Parents of the student.
At least one special
education teacher.
At least one of the childs
regular education teachers
(if the student participates
in general classes with
non-special education
students) .
A representative of the
school system.
The student, if
appropriate.
Individuals who have
special expertise about the
child.
An individual who can
interpret results of
evaluations done on a child
suspected of having a
disability.
Representatives who may
be responsible for funding
or providing transition
services.
Whats the
process?
To write a childs education
plan, the IEP team
schedules a meeting. The
school must tell parents the
purpose of the meeting and
who will be attending.
Parents can invite those
who know the child well.
The IEP is done in six steps
after a child is identified as
possibly needing special
education services:
Step 1: Child is evaluated to
assess all areas related to
the suspected disability.
Step 2: Eligibility for special
education services is
decided depending on the
parameters set in the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, defining
eligible disabilities.
Step 3: Within 30 days of
the eligibility decision, the
IEP team meets to discuss
the students needs and
write the plan. Parents must
give consent before the
school provides special
education services. If
parents disagree with the
IEP proposed by school
officials, they can seek
mediation from a third
party. If that fails, parents
can request a hearing
where parents and school
personnel appear before an
impartial hearing officer to
present their sides.
Step 4: The student attends
school and should receive
the services outlined in the
IEP. Parents who believe the
school is violating their
students IEP can file a
complaint with the Nevada
Department of Education.
Step 5: Reports measure
the students progress and
are sent to parents.
Step 6: As students
progress through school,
their IEPs are reviewed and
re-evaluated for possible
changes in services.
Students education
was defined by his
body, not his brain
Connor Fogal works on a self-portrait during his painting class at the University of Nevada, Reno on
April 21. Fogal, who has cerebral palsy, says he got an inadequate education at Picollo School.
Art student says Picollo education
didnt prepare him for college, life
SIOBHAN MCANDREW
SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM
Connor Fogal lives with what ifs.
Where would I be if I graduated high
school like everyone else? Fogal said.
Fogal, 23, has cerebral palsy and relies
on an electric wheelchair maneuvered by
a joystick he controls with his left hand.
The wheelchair that moves his some-
times-jerking body has overshadowed
what Fogal is able to do.
He was born with the disorder that af-
fects his movement, posture and muscle
tone. Cerebral palsy can vary greatly from
person to person, with some only affected
physically.
I have a normal brain stuck in this
body, Fogal said, who is an accomplished
artist, photographer, skier, skydiver, pho-
tographer and bicyclist.
But it was his wheelchair that deter-
mined his education, he said.
In sixth grade, Fogal attended Double
Diamond Elementary School, where he
was mainstreamed with his peers. When
district officials suggested Fogal transfer
to a school focused on children with dis-
abilities, he thought it might be a good
change.
I remember thinking, Well, I wont be
the only one in a wheelchair, Fogal said.
But he said that decision as an elemen-
tary school student has affected his fu-
ture.
I remember doing my times tables and
being good at flashcards, Fogal said.
But that changed when he started at
Marvin Picollo School in Reno.
The school of 120 students in South Re-
no is for the districts most medically
fragile children.
The district says there is a need for a
school like this in Reno, but Fogal dis-
agrees. He said it has taken him years to
realize that decision would affect his en-
tire life.
His only friends from high school were
teachers and staff at the school, he said.
A teacher at Picollo introduced Fogal,
now a talented artist, to painting, which he
said he forever appreciates, but it has tak-
en him years to realize he also needed to
Im sad knowing now I didnt get a chance at a regular
diploma.
CONNOR FOGAL STUDENT
JASON BEAN/RGJ
know what everyone else in high school
learns.
Ive forgotten my times tables, Fogal
said.
Fogal graduated on May 17 from a spe-
cial program for students with disabilities
at the University of Nevada, Reno. He re-
ceived a certificate for the two-year col-
lege program that is groundbreaking for
students with disabilities. It graduated its
first student, Natasha Price, who has Down
syndrome, last year.
This year, eight students are in the pro-
gram; two, including Fogal, graduated.
Fogal is excited and proud of his accom-
plishments, but he is mad at himself, too.
Im sad knowing now I didnt get a
chance at a regular diploma, Fogal said.
Not knowing what he needed from high
school makes it impossible for Fogal to
complete most college-level courses.
However, he has been successful in the
ones he took through the special program.
He has flourished in his photography
and painting courses. He was looking for a
job, but didnt have much luck.
He and a friend have just started their
own business. Creative Potential creates
nontoxic puzzles and toys for children and
is being marketed as a company created,
designed and manufactured by adults with
disabilities.
Fogal hopes to use the company to help
train others with disabilities in technology,
design, manufacturing and fine arts.
He also thinks about getting a bache-
lors degree someday, but said he isnt sure
how he would make up for the years of edu-
cation he missed while at Picollo.
I hate saying it was daycare, but they
didnt teach me anything, he said.
Fogal said he wonders where he might
be if he had finished high school.
If anyone could learn from me, dont go
to Picollo, he said. Go to school.
He recently reconnected with his best
friend from elementary school. She gradu-
ated, as Fogal might have, from Damonte
Ranch High School in 2011.
Shes in college in Indiana, he said. I
realized just too late that could have been
me.
Time is now to
help our most
vulnerable
students
KELLY ANN SCOTT
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
As a community,
moments come when
we have to ask our-
selves the tough ques-
tions.
The reporting that
Siobhan McAndrew has done over the
past two years shows that now is a time
for us to ask this: How are we treating
the most vulnerable students in our
district?
The answer: We are failing to edu-
cate many of the more than 8,700 stu-
dents in the district with a disability
and, in some cases, those students
have been abused.
To find those conclusions, McAn-
drew listened to dozens of families
who have a child with a disability, re-
viewed hundreds of pages of docu-
ments acquired from public informa-
tion requests and analyzed court and
police records.
Her findings and reporting are the
basis of our series, Failed: The state
of special education, which is being
published on RGJ.com and in the Reno
Gazette-Journal now through the end
of July. In it, we tell the stories of those
families and the districts plans for im-
provement, and provide context on
how experts believe we can fix this
problem. We also are including voices
from those who work with students
with disabilities, teach in the district
and have children in the programs.
After reading her series, I can only
ask myself: How did we get to a point
where the graduation rate for students
with a disability was only 29 percent
last year?
Our goal in this series is to help the
community understand the problems
and work together to find solutions. We
invest our time and reporting re-
sources in stories like this because
they matter in our community.
And they matter to us as people. Our
newsroom is full of people who have
children in the district. Some are relat-
ed to teachers. Some are graduates of
the Washoe County School District.
We do this deep reporting because
we want our community and its
schools to be the best they can be. We
want our students to succeed now and
in their lives ahead.
Sometimes that means asking the
tough questions like we did in this se-
ries.
I recognize the timing of this series
will rub some the wrong way as our
community is in the middle of tough
decisions about a ballot question. But,
this is a parallel conversation that
must happen now.
For those students with disabilities
in the school, we cant wait until after
an election. Their futures are happen-
ing today, tomorrow and in August
when the next school year begins.
Some are lucky enough to have parents
with the resources and time to advo-
cate for their children and supplement
their public education. But what about
the rest of those students? Their fu-
tures matter to all of us in this commu-
nity, too.
As you read the coming stories, I ex-
pect you will have questions we
havent addressed. You can always
send me an email at kscott@rgj.com.
Or, take advantage of three ways weve
set up for you to answer your ques-
tions:
Ask us anything: If you have ques-
tions while reading our coverage,
please ask them on the Google Forum
weve set up. RGJ Fact Checker Mark
Robison will monitor the questions and
be answering them through the week.
If there are stories youd like us to ex-
amine going forward, well do that, too.
You can access it here: http://
on.rgj.com/ed_questions.
Forum on advocating: If you are a
parent or involved the care of a student
with a disability, we are planning a fo-
rum for the first week of August to
help you understand the process and
advocate for your kids. Ill share de-
tails as soon as theyre finalized.
Talk to one another: Weve created
a private Facebook group for families
of children on IEPs to communicate,
share news stories and tell their sto-
ries. Go to Facebook and search for
Washoe IEP Families. McAndrew ad-
ministrates the group.
COMING UP
Monday: Elish Kelderman writes: What I
wish the school district knew about my
sister
Tuesday: Family finds acceptance, support
for son at Reno school
Wednesday: Picollo schools model
becoming outmoded, but district says it still
fulfills a need
Thursday: A dad gives advice on
navigating the IEP process
Friday: Parents often need help advocating
for children, mom writes
Saturday: A special education teacher has
a passion for her job
Sunday: District lays out plans to improve
graduation rates
 Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 17, 2016 9A

THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Heres who is
running special
education in
Washoe County
TREVON MILLIARD
TMILLIARD@RGJ.COM

The changes have been many for

special education in Washoe County
School District over the past year.
Those changes started when Super-
intendent Traci Davis replaced the
leaders of Washoes special education
system.
Those now in charge Byron Green
and David Frydman are charged with
bringing the district into compliance
with special education laws and im-
proving academics for Washoes nearly
9,000 students with disabilities. Green
and Frydman have had long careers in
Las Vegas schools and no professional
training in special education but a self-
described passion to make improve-
ments.
One of the new hires comes with spe-
cial education expertise. Jessica Me-
dulla was recently named compliance
specialist administrator and is an expe-
rienced professional in special educa-
tion.
ANDY BARRON/RGJ So far, she and the department have
Students raise their hands to answer a question at Stead Elementary School. successfully addressed past issues of
noncompliance with special education
laws, which mainly dealt with schools
not following students legally binding

No state does worse than education plans.

Byron Green: Chief Student Ser-
vices Officer

Nevada in special education

Green was named di-
rector of special educa-
tion in 2015, less than two
weeks after the state
sent warnings of recur-
TREVON MILLIARD TMILLIARD@RGJ.COM largest number of options climbed back to proficien- rent noncompliance to
seven, reported the cy in the past two years. the district for mishan-
Succeeding in Nevada public schools is al- center. Nevada, on the other dling the education of
These options, which hand, failed special edu- students with disabilities.
ready a struggle for many students. For those the state has been work- cation standards in 2015 Green was previously the area su-
ing to reduce, come in and fell further to needs perintendent over charter, online and
with a disability, its far worse especially in many forms, from adjust- intervention status this nontraditional district schools. Before
ed diplomas to certifi- year, according to a report coming to Washoe schools in 2013,
Washoe County School District. Last year, only cates, all of which are in- released by the U.S. De- Green was a teacher, assistant princi-
ferior to a diploma. partment of Education pal and director of instruction in South-
29 percent of Washoes high school seniors Researchers recently two weeks ago. ern Nevadas Clark County School Dis-
came to Washoe County Washoe schools, in par- trict. He had no training or experience
with disabilities earned diplomas. The success public schools and found ticular, have been put un- specific to special education before be-
the same system of low der the microscope for ing appointed.
rate has long been that low, locally and across expectations among dis- both physically mistreat- When Green took over Washoes spe-
trict leaders and school ing and failing to educate cial education system in 2015, he re-
the state. staffs. The Washoe Coun- students with disabilities. placed Frank Selvaggio, whom the dis-
ty School Board paid Lawsuits have been stack- trict transferred to another depart-
Nationwide, a much Down syndrome. Intellec- $90,000 for the October ing up against the district ment.
higher 63 percent of tual disabilities. report, which was written for allegations of abusing The district later hired David Fryd-
these students graduate But the vast majority by San Francisco-based special education stu- man to be executive director of special
high school. No state of these students here firm WestEd after inter- dents. Last year, the Neva- education programming and compli-
does worse than Nevada, and nationwide have viewing district staff and da Department of Educa- ance under Green. Like Green, Fryd-
according to the U.S. De- learning disabilities, reviewing special educa- tion found the Washoe dis- man also had no experience or training
partment of Education. physical limitations or tion procedures. trict had violated special specific to special education.
But the Silver State other impairments such From 2010 to 2013, the education laws in eight in- David Frydman: Executive direc-
holds another distinc- as dyslexia or deafness. U.S. Department of Edu- stances. tor of special education program-
tion. The gap in gradua- These students, ex- cation annually gave Nevadas Superinten- ming and compliance
tion rates between spe- perts agree, can graduate Washoe and Nevada dent of Public Instruction Ive always been around it, but its
cial education students just like everyone else. schools passing grades Dale Erquiaga made this not something Ive taught, Frydman
and everyone else is wid- Officials leading the U.S. for their special educa- clear to state lawmakers said of special education.
er here than in any other Department of Education tion systems. Most states in 2015 when questioned He comes with 20
state. And that gap has acknowledged that fact in met requirements. The about the states ability to years of experience in
grown even wider in lo- recent testimony to Con- grading criteria was hold schools accountable. Clark County elemen-
cal schools. gress. So have Washoe whether students were In the last year, we tary schools, as a teacher
While Washoes spe- school leaders. properly treated. have begun the most rig- and later a principal. His
cial education students About 85 to 90 percent That all changed in orous enforcement action child has Down syn-
have been stuck, other of students with disabili- 2014. Federal reviewers against a school district drome and his wife is an
students have improved. ties can meet the gradua- revised the rules. The new for violation of special elementary school coun-
The district posted a rec- tion standards targeted standards: Students with education rules that any- selor.
ord-breaking 75 percent for all other students, as disabilities must not only one in the department can A committee comprised of a special
graduation rate for all long as they receive spe- be well treated but also for 20 years remember, education teacher, administrator and
students last year. The cially designed instruc- well-educated, or schools said Erquiaga, whos since parent recommended Frydman from a
graduation rate for spe- tion, said Washoe Special could lose federal fund- been reassigned to the list of applicants.
cial education students Education Director Frank ing. new position of chief Frydman acknowledged the dis-
has been stagnant or Selvaggio in 2014 before The list of 38 states strategy officer for Gov. tricts recurring problem of being non-
down each of the past he was reassigned to an- previously passing feder- Brian Sandoval. compliant with laws dictating how spe-
three years, never other department. We al standards fell to 17 in As it currently stands, cial education students be taught and
climbing past 29 per- have just not been able to 2014, with Nevada and the the reality is stark for stu- treated.
cent. figure it out. Washoe County School dents with disabilities in Nationwide, its an issue, but
Have students with So, why is Nevada be- District now failing for Washoe public schools. On Washoe has experienced some high-
disabilities been left be- hind other school districts poor academic perfor- average, students with profile cases, Frydman said.
hind, or ignored? To an- from around the United mance. disabilities drop out of lo- To increase oversight and reduce in-
swer that, lets first step States? Protecting the rights cal high schools at nearly cidents of noncompliance, Frydman
back and put this into Low expectations, said of children with disabili- the same as those gradu- will have the help of Jessica Medulla,
perspective. the National Center for ties and their families is a ating from them. The av- hired to fill the new position of compli-
About one in 10 stu- Learning Disabilities. The key responsibility but it erage graduation rate is ance specialist.
dents nationwide is in nonprofit research group is not sufficient if chil- 28 percent; the average She has really dedicated her career
special education, mark- pointed specifically to Ne- dren are not attaining the dropout rate is 27 percent. to special education, Green said.
ing a steady rise in re- vada for offering seven knowledge and skills nec- District officials prom- Jessica Medulla: Compliance spe-
cent years. ways that special educa- essary, wrote Melody ise ambitious changes to cialist administrator
Thats no different in tion students can finish Musgrove, director of reverse this reality. Medulla earned her
the Washoe County school but not graduate special education pro- Maybe things will bachelors and masters
School District, where with a standard diploma. grams for the U.S. De- change, said school degrees in early child-
about 8,700 out of 64,000 Thats more alternatives partment of Education, in board member Howard hood special education,
students have disabili- than any other state. a 2014 letter to Nevadas Rosenberg in October, and is currently a doctor-
ties. The state with the superintendent of public referencing Washoes al candidate at the Uni-
Situations vary for lowest graduation rate instruction. planned reforms. God versity of Nevada, Reno
these students. Autism. (Nevada) also offers the Many states have knows we want them to. in special education. She
has worked in local schools since 1998,
starting as a teacher and then becom-
ing a special education specialist and
Disabilities in Washoe County School District in 2015 compliance coordinator.
Officials plan to reform the special
46: Hearing impaired,
764deafness
Autism spectrum disorder education system responsible for all
students with disabilities, who make up
727 Developmental delay
Autism spectrum disorder
13 percent of Washoes 64,000 students.
260 Emotional727
disturbance
Developmental delay Frydman and Green have made
1,117 Health impairment
clear that students with disabilities will
260
be included in general education class-
46: Hearing impaired, deaf 1,117 Health impairment rooms at increasing rates, benefiting
all students.
292 Intellectual disability
Our changes are about schools
195 Multiple impairments owning the students they have, Fryd-
man said. Really, the question is: How
21: Orthopedic impairments
do we support the schools to empower
3,903: Specic learning disability them and educate all students?
The goal is obvious, he said. In-
1,327 Speech, language impairment crease the graduation rate for special
33: Traumatic brain injury education students, which has long
gone unimproved, hovering around 29
18: Visual impaired, blind percent. The national average is 63 per-
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 cent.
Our numbers are extremely low,
SOURCE: Washoe County School District GANNETT
Frydman said.
 3 police officers fatally
ANOTHER ATTACK shot in Baton Rouge;
gunman killed. 1B

x
MONDAY, JULY 18, 2016 ONLINE AT RGJ.COM

THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Shouldnt have to fight for inclusion

Washoe school district could benefit from knowing my sister About our investigation
Over the last two years, Reno Gazette-Journal
EILISH KELDERMAN have Down syndrome. pact the student body. In elementary reporter Siobhan McAndrew has investigated
SPECIAL TO THE RENO Kailin and I attended Mamie Tow- and middle school, Kailins peers the state of special education in the Washoe
GAZETTE-JOURNAL les Elementary and Clayton Middle loved her because the faculty em- County School District. Through public
School. We had incredible experienc- braced her. Everyone treated her just records, court documents and interviews with
I wish the Washoe County School es in elementary and middle schools like everyone else, which is great be- dozens of families and school district officials,
District had seen Kailin Kelderman because teachers were happy to have cause she is just like everyone else, if McAndrew has pieced together a series of
like I do. my sister in classes. not better. stories detailing how some of the most
Kailin is my sister. She has worked Both schools created an inclusive They saw that Kailin loved science vulnerable students in the district are being
multiple jobs, owns her own business environment that not only benefited and encouraged her to participate in left behind, and sometimes abused. Find
and now attends the University of Ne- my sister, it also benefited everyone the science fairs. She ended up going earlier stories in our series at
vada, Reno. else. to the regionals for her project on cats RGJ.com/specialeducation.
My sister is the most inspiring per- Im a strong believer that the atti-
son Ive ever met, and she happens to tudes of teachers and staff really im- See DISTRICT, Page 4A

Horizons broaden Rookie

delegates
for drone institute giddy for
Trump
Newbies in GOP
share their voices
WILLIAM V THEOBALD
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

WASHINGTON - The GOP conven-

tion that begins Monday in Cleveland
promises to be the first of its kind be-
cause the presumptive nominee is
one-of-a-kind businessman Donald
Trump.
But for several mem-
bers of the Nevada Re-
publican delegation,
this will be their first
convention of any kind.
Im a newbie, says
Reno Realtor Josh Fon-
Fontenot tenot, 34, who will rep-
resent the 2nd Congres-
sional District.
He said he told his wife about a year
ago that he wanted to get more in-
volved in politics. Im tired of com-
plaining and not actually putting a
foot forward to do anything about it,
Fontenot said.
At first he was taken by GOP presi-
dential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of
Texas, but when Trump stepped into
the race he found a kindred spirit.
I absolutely hate the political sys-
AP tem we are in and feel like there are a
A drone hovers at a booth during CES International on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas. The recent announcement of federal aviation rules designed for select few people who make all of the
small drone aircraft is giving a lift to researchers and a Nevada program set up to foster development of commercial unmanned aerial vehicles. decisions, Fontenot said.
Being a first timer means he does
not have a lot of expectations. I hope
Nevada 1st state to independently certify unmanned aircraft its not exciting, to be honest with you.
I hope we just go there and (its) more
of a celebration for our candidate.
ASSOCIATED PRESS the Silver State is emerging as a key In Congress, Democratic Rep. Dina He said a convention that turns into
hub for the drone industry, said Chris Titus of Nevada noted this week that a a sideshow will make Republicans
LAS VEGAS - Officials in Nevada say Walach, operations director for un- House Transportation and Infrastruc- look like fools and risk giving the elec-
they see broad horizons for the un- manned aviation at the Nevada Institute ture Committee funding measure in- tion to presumptive Democratic
manned aerial systems industry follow- of Autonomous Systems. cludes provisions to certify Nevada as nominee Hillary Clinton.
ing the posting of federal aviation rules We have the education structure, we an unmanned aviation systems testing He says he is furious with all the
designed for small drone aircraft. have the knowledge set, we have the state through 2020. Nevada GOP leaders from the en-
As one of six states picked in 2013 for skills, we have the industry base and the The FAA says the six drone testing tire GOP congressional delegation to
Federal Aviation Administration-autho- resources to become the thought lead- states the others are Alaska, New Gov. Brian Sandoval who are skip-
rized testing and the first in 2014 to be er in the global industry, Walach told
able to issue airworthiness certificates the Las Vegas Review-Journal. See DRONES, Page 4A See TRUMP, Page 4A

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4A Monday, July 18, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal

OBITUARIES
District enced from McQueen
over the years.
After high school,
Cox, Dale * * Denotes In Loving Memory
Robison, Nina Complete obituaries, 2D Continued from Page 1A Kailin got a job at Bul-
lys while she figured
out her future. She con-
HOW TO PUBLISH AN OBITUARY OR REMEMBRANCE and her method for de- tinues working on the
Email obits@rgj.com. For more information, call 775-788-6421. termining if they were business she started
right- or left-handed. when she was 16, Kel-
They saw her artistic derman Klassy Glass.
SEND US YOUR NEWS talents. Kailin creates original
They saw the kind- jewelry pieces that she
For story suggestions, news tips and general news releases, send ness she showed toward sells as pendants and
your information to news@rgj.com or call 775-788-6397. others. earrings. Every year,
They saw her people she travels to the Na-
skills, and they em- tional Down Syndrome
CONTACT THE NEWS STAFF braced all of her abili- Congress to sell her
ties. ANDY BARRON/RGJ jewelry.
MARCELLA CORONA SIOBHAN MCANDREW
BREAKING NEWS REPORTER HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTER
High school was dif- Eilish Kelderman, left, puts makeup on her sister Kailin A year after gradua-
775-788-6340 775-788-6417 ferent. Kedlerman as they get ready for their graduation. tion, she got accepted
mcorona@rgj.com smcandrew@rgj.com From the second we into the University of
@Marcella_Anahi @Siobhanmcandrew walked into McQueen Nevada, Renos Path to
ANJEANETTE DAMON TREVON MILLIARD High School, the inclu- Ask us your questions Independence pro-
CITY WATCHDOG REPORTER K-12 EDUCATION REPORTER sive and positive envi- gram, an inclusive post-
775-327-6799 775-788-6343 ronment we were used We know theres always more to a story, so we want to hear secondary program for
adamon@rgj.com tmilliard@rgj.com from you about questions we didnt answer. Please submit
@anjeanettedamon
to was gone. students with intellec-
CHRIS MURRAY At first, the school your question at http://on.rgj.com/ed_questions. Engagement tual and developmental
JASON HIDALGO WOLF PACK REPORTER
wanted Kailin to be in Editor Mark Robison will answer as many as he can. You can disabilities.
TESLA & RENO REBIRTH REPORTER 775-788-6543 also email him at mrobison@rgj.com.
775-788-6341 cmurray@rgj.com all segregated classes Since Kailin, now 21,
jhidalgo@rgj.com @MurrayRGJ that didnt focus on aca- has started this pro-
@jasonhidalgo
SETH A. RICHARDSON
demics. gram, she has grown so
MIKE HIGDON BREAKING NEWS REPORTER High school staff de- much. She loves school
CITY LIFE REPORTER 775-788-6301 cided and that she at school, they were ig- she has to offer. again. Shes been doing
775-788-6332 srichardson@rgj.com would learn life skills, nored or bullied. My Something I say all remarkably well in her
mhigdon@rgj.com @SethARichardson and that meant they mom even tried to set up the time and truly be- classes, regained social
@mikehigdon made her wash the foot- a mentoring program lieve is that if Kailin skills and confidence,
BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
JENNY KANE OUTDOORS REPORTER ball teams jerseys and for the students with wasnt my sister, I and even moved out on
BURNING MAN/ARTS REPORTER 775-788-6435 pick up trash and recy- disabilities to get in- would probably be a ter- her own into a house
775-788-6307 bspillman@rgj.com
jkane@rgj.com @ByBenSpillman cling from classrooms. volved in extracurricu- rible person. Kailin has near campus.
@Jenny_Kane Only after my family lar activities and clubs, taught me patience. My outgoing and con-
JOHNATHAN WRIGHT cited the Individuals but the district never Shes taught me to em- fident sister from my
JIM KRAJEWSKI FOOD & DRINK REPORTER
PREP SPORTS REPORTER 775-327-6770 with Disabilities Educa- followed through. brace and promote di- childhood has reap-
775-788-6377 jwright@rgj.com tion Act, a federal law Occasionally, other versity. peared after being lost
jkrajewski@rgj.com @RGJTaste that ensures children students threw food at Not only has she in high school.
@krajewskijim with disabilities have my sister during lunch. made me a better per- I couldnt be more
access to school in the People started treat- son, she has opened up proud of all Kailin has
CIRCULATION least restrictive envi- ing my sister as if she so many doors for my overcome and accom-
ronment, did they only didnt exist or she was family and me. plished.
Delivery problem? Call 800-970-7366.
segregate her for math an alien from a differ- Imagine what she My sister is someone
classes. ent planet. Either way, could have done for I will always look up to
ERROR WATCH As the years went on, they wanted nothing to McQueen High School if and admire. Too bad
my parents and I con- do with her. It was what they had given her the McQueen never her
If you see an error, please call the newsroom at 775-788-6397.
tinued to fight for Kai- they were being taught same chance? gave her the chance to
lins inclusion in the reg- by school staff. It hurt seeing people do the same thing for
ular classroom, and we Kailins confidence underestimate my big them.
continued to be ignored. and outgoing personal- sis because I knew she

Drones Part 107, sets standards

for routine use of drones
weighing less than 55
Kailin would come
home and tell us how
she would try to partici-
ity disappeared quickly
after starting
McQueen. The staff and
at
was capable of so much
more than people gave
her credit for.
Eilish Kelderman is a
graduate of McQueen
High School and a sopho-
Continued from Page 1A pounds by real estate pate in her regular edu- students didnt see the Kailin went from be- more at UNR. She wants
agents, farmers, film- cation classes, but some inspiring person Ive ing confident and outgo- to study law and policy to
makers and countless oth- of her teachers disre- looked up to my whole ing to being very intro- become a human rights
York, North Dakota, Tex- er commercial operators. garded my smart sister. life. They didnt even verted and almost attorney to ensure that
as and Virginia are The long-anticipated Because Kailin and give her a chance to scared to express her- all people have equal
equals. But the Nevada In- rules mean commercial other students with dis- show them how intelli- self because of the op- rights, including those
stitute is the only FAA- operators can fly drones abilities were excluded gent she is or all the love pression she experi- with disabilities.
designated airworthiness without special permis-
representative, able to in- sion.
dependently certify un- William ODonnell, an
manned aircraft.
Walach said the pro-
gram, working with the
executive at Las Vegas-
based AviSight, an aero-
space and remote sensing
Trump has been making
decisions for the big
boys and not the real peo-
a famous Nevada politi-
cal name, but this will be
his first convention as
Republican
National
governors economic de- services company, told Continued from Page 1A ple. well. Convention
velopment office, focuses the Review-Journal the As for the outrageous And with the other highlights
on boosting drone indus- new rule knocks down a comments Trump often GOP officials skipping
When: July 18-21
try small businesses, re- huge barrier for drone op- ping the convention. makes, Fontenot chalks the Cleveland fest, Lax-
search, development, erators who currently He is particularly some of it up to a guy he alt is left as the top elect- Where: Quicken Loans
manufacturing and jobs. need a pilots license and a mad at Sandoval, who he sees as essentially a con- ed Nevada Republican at Arena, downtown Cleveland
The FAA regulation ap- so-called 333 exemption said got off to a good struction worker from the convention.
Highlights: Roll call of states
proved June 21, known as from the FAA. start but in the past year New York. If you have Laxalt said he was not
Tuesday; vice presidential
been to a construction even aware of that until
candidate Mike Pence speaks
site, you know the lan- reporters pointed it out
Wednesday; Trump to accept
NOTICE OF CASINO/TOKEN REDEMPTION guage is pretty harsh,
he said.
I like the fact that he
to him. He said his focus
is simple: helping Re-
publicans get elected in
nomination Thursday.
Nevada delegation: 30
SUNSET STATION HOTEL & CASINO HAS is just a person. He is not
someone who has been
Nevada.
Sherry Powell, a long-
DISCONTINUED THE USE OF ALL $1, $2, $5, $10 & $25 TOKENS. training to be a political time, outspoken political
ANY PERSON IN POSSESSION OF THESE TOKENS MAY REDEEM THEM FOR CASH AT candidate for the past 15 activist who was recent- a facsimile of Trump.
SUNSET STATION HOTEL & CASINO ANYTIME PRIOR TO DECEMBER 1, 2016. years. ly elected Washoe Coun- Nobody was more
Attorney General ty Republican Party shocked than me when I
SUNSET STATION HOTEL & CASINO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE
Adam Laxalt may carry treasurer, sees herself as was elected a delegate,
REDEMPTION OF THESE TOKENS AFTER THAT DATE. said Powell, who is an at-
large delegate.
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 CELEBRITIES TO ROCK EDGEWOOD
Stars align for American Century Championship Sports, 1D

PART O
PART OFF TH
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USAA TO
TODA
TODAY
DAY
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THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Family finds acceptance at school

Son with Down syndrome greeted with support, inclusion
DAVID FRYDMAN
SPECIAL TO THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
I am the proud father of two amazing
twin boys, Ari and Noah. Noah was born
with Down syndrome.
There are two things you do a lot of
when you are a parent of a child with a dis-
ability: apologize and worry. You have to
apologize in the movie theater when your
child is too loud, apologize in restaurants
when your child takes something that
doesnt belong to him, and apologize in
school when your child touches another
student.
Worrying is also something that you be-
come familiar with having a child with a
disability. I worry about students in school
treating Noah differently than his twin
brother. I worry about teachers having low
expectations for Noah or not wanting him
in their classroom. I worry about him mak-
ing long-lasting friendships. I worry about
people labeling him. I worry about Noah
putting his hands on other students be-
cause of his sensory needs.
The list goes on and on.
As parents we all have hopes and
dreams for our children, and that is no dif-
ferent when you have a child with a dis-
ability. We want our kids to be happy,
See SCHOOL, Page 4A
About our investigation
Over the last two years, Reno Gazette-Journal
reporter Siobhan McAndrew has investigated
the state of special education in the Washoe
County School District. Through public
records, court documents and interviews with
dozens of families and school district officials,
McAndrew has pieced together a series of
stories detailing how some of the most
vulnerable students in the district are being
left behind, and sometimes abused. Find
earlier stories in our series at
RGJ.com/specialeducation.

GOP takes cues from RTC aims

to make
Obama voting efforts streets
complete
Master plan seeks
safe access for all
JOSE OLIVARES
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

The Regional Transportation Com-

mission has big plans for remodeling
streets in Washoe County.
On Friday, RTC adopted the Com-
plete Streets Master Plan. This plan
aims at turning streets into complete
streets in order to enable safe access
to all members of the community. Ac-
cording to RTC, changes are deter-
mined by community outreach and are
specifically designed to fit the needs of
users.
Complete Streets may include new
bike lanes, sidewalks, bus turnouts, bus
lanes, traffic signals and the widening
or narrowing of traffic lanes.
Last October, RTC held a community
workshop to develop the Complete
Streets Master Plan. Members of the
community submitted recommenda-
tions for changes to many streets. Al-
most all of the proposed changes in-
cluded adding bike lanes.
AP We have the studies on hand and
Republican staffer Ross Ward, right, talks with Trump supporter Eldee Spratt at Spratts home in Henderson on Friday. Ward is one of 40 paid have an idea of what the community
staffers who are part of the Republican National Committees campaign to get out the vote in Nevada. wants out there, said Joe Harrington,
RTCs public information officer.
There are four upcoming Complete
Republican National Committee hires 40 to cover the state Streets projects:

4th Street/Prater Way

MICHELLE RINDELS the strategy that made Obama success-
ASSOCIATED PRESS ful. What: A new bus transit route called
The RNCs systematic ground game the RTC Lincoln Line. This route will be
LAS VEGAS - Republicans hoping to must compensate for Trumps non-tradi- the first all-electric bus transit route in
win in battleground Nevada are taking
cues from the group that did it twice:
Republican cracks show tional campaign. While presidential
campaigns typically carry much of the
the country. The modifications on 4th
Street/Prater Way will also involve un-
Team Obama. at convention 1B weight of driving voters to the polls, derground utility lines, planting trees,
Officials from the Republican Na- Trumps campaign is heavy on media additional access under the Americans
tional Committee have hired 40 paid coverage and massive rallies and is light with Disabilities Act, widening side-
staff in the swing state, including a di- the ticket. on TV commercials, staff and the usual walks and adding bike lanes.
rector, regional directors and turf coor- It comes down to investing more accoutrements. Where: From Evans Avenue to Pyra-
dinators who manage 29 different boots on the ground earlier than ever A traditional (campaign) would mid Way.
turfs. and creating a meaningful relationship have flooded me with yard signs our Expected completion: Modifica-
They hope to supplement their voter with the volunteers and the voters, said office should be overflowing with tions are expected to be completed by
data collection efforts and TV ads with a RNC political director Chris Carr, who bumper stickers, said Washoe County 2018. However, the RTC Lincoln Line is
personal touch to drive votes for Donald served as Mitt Romneys Nevada cam-
Trump and Republicans further down paign manager in 2012 and has studied See VOTING, Page 5A See STREETS, Page 4A

Weather Todays Quick Read Today in Artown

High 89
Low 58
Forecast,
Celebrate
page 5A
shadows and
Inside today
Local................................................1-4A
vibrations
Voices.................................................2A
Business .........................................6-5A Ouroboros Shad-
USA Today .....................................1-6B ow Pictures: Climate
Our Nevada ..................................1-4D of Hunter: A multime-
Obituaries .........................................2C dia shadow perfor-
Crossword/Abby..............................3C mance based on the
Movies/TV Grid ................................4C true events of the
Comics................................................5C Its easy to explore the wild whaleship Essex. 7-8
Sports..............................................1-6D side of Catalina Island p.m., 9-10 p.m., 147 E.
Scoreboard.......................................6D Pueblo St. Tickets are
Catalina Island is just a ferry ride $10 - $15.
from Long Beach and other points on Sweet Vibrations:
Call RGJ the coast of Southern California, but
it feels as if its a world away.
Tintabulations Hand-
FOR DELIVERY
bell Ensemble Concert: A live per-
AND CUSTOMER Our Nevada, 1C formance of Handbell music com-
SERVICE: prising musicians, college students,
Call 775-327-6788 Peppermill announces plan music teachers and retirees. 7-8
or 800-970-7366
to pull the plug on NV Energy p.m., 209 W. First St.
Artemisa Moviehouse Presents:
Peppermill Resort Spa Casino has Pina: A screening of the film Pina,
notified the Public Utilities Commis- a dance documentary directed by
sion of Nevada that it wants to leave Wim Wenders. 7-9 p.m., 713 S. Vir-
VOL. 37, NO. 201
NV Energy. ginia St.
$1.25 Retail
Home delivery pricing inside Business, 6A For a full list of the days events, visit
2016 Printed on recycled paper renoisartown.com.
4A Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal

OBITUARIES
School Since he was in pre-kin-
dergarten, Noah has been
educated in a typical, gen-
come more
successful.
She has
Ask us your
questions
Baguley, Brittany OMalley, Jacob
Graves, Nita Sam Ponteri, Frank Continued from Page 1A eral education classroom also made We know theres always
Jacobson, Grant L. Wallace, Diane L. with peers his own age. sure that more to a story, so we want
Johnson, Mary Ann Complete obituaries, 2C Going from knowing all of Noah is in- to hear from you about
loved, independent and an his teachers and class- David cluded in questions we didnt answer.
HOW TO PUBLISH AN OBITUARY OR REMEMBRANCE accepted and contributing mates to an unfamiliar Frydman classroom Please submit your question
member of the communi- community and school activities at on.rgj.com/ed_questions.
Email obits@rgj.com. For more information, call 775-788-6421.
ty. concerned us deeply. like every other student. Engagement Editor Mark
In January, my family However, before start- The focus of the special Robison will answer as many
moved from Las Vegas to ing school after winter education staff has been to as he can. You can also email
SEND US YOUR NEWS Reno. Moving is always break, the principal and help Noah become more him at mrobison@rgj.com.
For story suggestions, news tips and general news releases, send difficult for a family but teacher met us during independent and not rely
your information to news@rgj.com or call 775-788-6397. even more difficult when their vacation to give us a on an adult to do every-
you have a child with a dis- tour of the school and talk thing for him. His peers
ability who thrives with about both our boys have been incredibly em-
CONTACT THE NEWS STAFF routine, structure and fa- needs. We talked with No- pathetic, and he has school. We are grateful for
miliarity. Our biggest wor- ahs general education learned a lot from them. I the incredible staff and
MARCELLA CORONA SIOBHAN MCANDREW ry for both of our boys was teacher to share what has also believe they learn a support from the school
BREAKING NEWS REPORTER HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTER moving schools. I was an worked with Noah and lot about being in a class- for trying to meet his
775-788-6340 775-788-6417
mcorona@rgj.com smcandrew@rgj.com elementary school princi- what doesnt work. She ad- room with students with needs.
@Marcella_Anahi @Siobhanmcandrew pal in the Clark County mitted to never having a diversity and differences. David Frydman is the
School District, and Ari student with Down syn- Like most children, executive director of pro-
ANJEANETTE DAMON TREVON MILLIARD
CITY WATCHDOG REPORTER K-12 EDUCATION REPORTER and Noah attended the drome, but she was willing Noah is not perfect, but gramming and compli-
775-327-6799 775-788-6343 school I worked at. They to learn. She has been in- with the support from the ance in the Washoe Coun-
adamon@rgj.com tmilliard@rgj.com knew the school well, and credibly open-minded, students, staff and com- ty School Districts spe-
@anjeanettedamon
CHRIS MURRAY the staff knew them both trying different things munity, he has become a cial education depart-
JASON HIDALGO WOLF PACK REPORTER really well. that might help Noah be- welcome addition to the ment.
TESLA & RENO REBIRTH REPORTER 775-788-6543
775-788-6341 cmurray@rgj.com
jhidalgo@rgj.com @MurrayRGJ
@jasonhidalgo

Streets
SETH A. RICHARDSON sion of the RAPID bus rington. Itll really be Parkway/South Meadows
MIKE HIGDON BREAKING NEWS REPORTER
CITY LIFE REPORTER 775-788-6301
transit service from Mid- able to link the down- Parkway intersection.
775-788-6332 srichardson@rgj.com town to the University of town, Midtown and uni- The entire Southeast
mhigdon@rgj.com @SethARichardson Continued from Page 1A Nevada, Reno. It also in- versity areas. Connector will be named
@mikehigdon
BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
cludes pedestrian en- Where: From Mid- Veterans Parkway.
JENNY KANE OUTDOORS REPORTER hancements in Midtown. town to the University of Where: Veterans
BURNING MAN/ARTS REPORTER 775-788-6435 expected to be completed This is possible because Nevada, Reno. Parkway, from South
775-788-6307 bspillman@rgj.com in 2019. the new Virginia Street Expected comple- Meadows Parkway to
jkane@rgj.com @ByBenSpillman Cost: Approximately Bridge can hold the tion: Construction will Greg Street.
@Jenny_Kane
JOHNATHAN WRIGHT $50 million. weight of a bus, while the begin in early 2018 and is Expected comple-
JIM KRAJEWSKI FOOD & DRINK REPORTER old bridge could not (the expected to be completed tion: Late 2017.
775-327-6770
PREP SPORTS REPORTER
jwright@rgj.com
Virginia Street new bridge opened earli- in early 2019. Cost: $290 million.
775-788-6377
jkrajewski@rgj.com @RGJTaste Corridor er this year). RTC will Cost: Approximately These are the Com-
@krajewskijim also look to add two new $53 million. plete Street projects that
What: Sections of Vir- buses for this expanded are closest to being fin-
ginia Street will receive service. Itll really cut The Southeast ished. However, the list
significant additions. down on time and itll be Connector for proposed changes
This includes an exten- easy to use, said Har- throughout Washoe
DONNA LUCHETTI What: A new 5.5-mile County is significantly
road with seven bridges, longer. According to Har-
YOUR TRUSTED You Can two signalized intersec- rington, there isnt
Count on Me! tions and a multi-use path enough funding for the
REAL ESTATE CIRCULATION
for bicycle and pedestri- some of the other pro-
PROFESSIONAL CALL TODAY Delivery problem? Call 800-970-7366. an access. The first phase jects to be completed.
775-741-1468 of the project was com- The Complete Street
SINCE 1979
ERROR WATCH pleted in July 2014 and in- concept isnt new to
DLuchetti@dicksonrealty.com cluded the construction Washoe Country, though.
If you see an error, please call the newsroom at 775-788-6397. of two bridges. Construc- RTC has been planning
tion for the second phase and implementing
CHAMPION CHEVROLET WELCOMES began in June 2015 and is changes for complete
J O R DA N S LOA N in progress. This phase
includes building five
streets since 2008. Some
of these included the wid-
As a business graduate new bridges and a new ening of sidewalks, add-
from UNR, I help Champion roadway from Clean Wa- ing crosswalks, adding
customers find the Chevy ter Way to the Veterans raised medians and cre-
of their dreams ! ating spaces for pedestri-

A F
ans and bicyclists. These
streets include Wells Av-
E R I C enue, Arlington Avenue

800 Kietzke Lane | 775.786.3111

FIND NEW ROADS TM

D CROSBY

Leadership.
and Mill Street, among
others.
Complete Streets im-
RJ-0000528456

www.ChampionChevroletReno.com
prove safety by reducing
We provide complete general crashes through safety
CHAMPION CHEVROLET WELCOMES & cosmetic dental care 775 improvements, accord-

RYA N P R I C E ing to Smart Growth

544 0808
"Your smile is our top priority.
Our team is dedicated
America.
to providing you with the Open M-F 8:30-5:30 RTC released infor-
For great customer service Sat. by appt. mation on the safety
personalized, gentle care
and the best price talk to that you deserve."
We accept most insurance, benefits of complete
me ! credit/debit and Care Credit
payment plan.
streets in Washoe County.
According to its data,
there has been a 31 per-
RJ-0000526412

Sophia Dang,
Sophia DangD.M.D.
D.M.D.
cent to 46 percent reduc-
FIND NEW ROADS TM
General & cosmetic Dentistry se habla espaol tion in crashes on the
RJ-0000528454

Washoe County Complete

800 Kietzke Lane | 775.786.3111 4818 Sparks Blvd. Ste. 102, Sparks 775.626.6300
ecrosby@chaseinternational.com Streets.
www.ChampionChevroletReno.com www.applefamilydentistry.com chaseinternational.com

Legal Notices Legal Notices Legal Notices Legal Notices

Legal Notices
APN: 026-851-06 T.S. No.: 039140-NV NOTICE OF TRUSTEES SALE
Loan No.: ******0297 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWN-
ER: YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED
9/12/2005. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR
PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU
NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEED-
ING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On
8/2/2016 at 11:00 AM AT THE VIRGINIA STREET ENTRANCE OF
THE WASHOE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 75 COURT STREET, RE-
NO, NV 89501, CLEAR RECON CORP. as duly appointed trustee un-
der and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded 9/15/2005, as Instrument
No. 3277505, of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of
Washoe County, Nevada executed by: GEORGE WILLIAM
SENSIBAUGH AND ELIZABETH ANN SENSIBAUGH, HIS WIFE,
AS JOINT TENANTS WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGH-
EST BIDDER FOR CASH, CASHIERS CHECK DRAWN ON A
STATE OR NATIONAL BANK, A CHECK DRAWN BY A STATE OR
FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, OR A CHECK DRAWN BY A STATE
OR FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION, SAVINGS AS-
SOCIATION, OR SAVINGS BANK: All right, title and interest con-
veyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property
situated in said County and State described as: LOT 54 OF
SILVERADA NORTH SUBDIVISION UNIT NO. 1, ACCORDING TO
THE MAP THEREOF, FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY
RECORDER OF WASHOE COUNTY, STATE OF NEVADA, ON NO-
VEMBER 29, 1963. The street address and other common designation,
if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 2411
CANNAN STREET RENO, NV 89512 The undersigned Trustee dis-
claims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and
other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be
held, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, re-
garding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining
principal sum of the note(s) secured by the Deed of Trust, including
fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by
said Deed of Trust. The real property described above is sold as-is,
the beneficiary and the undersigned Trustee are unable to validate
the condition, defects or disclosure issues of said property, and the
purchaser of said property at said sale waives the disclosure require-
ments under NRS 113.130 by purchasing at said sale and signing a re-
ceipt in connection therewith. The total amount of the unpaid bal-
ance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasona-
ble estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial
publication of the Notice of Sale are: $79,913.97 The beneficiary under
said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the under-
signed a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a
written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned
caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in
the county where the real property is located. FOR SALE INFORMA-
TION: (844) 477-7869 Mon Fri 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Date: 6/23/16
CLEAR RECON CORP. 4375 Jutland Drive Suite 200 San Diego,
California 92117
\No 1392196
NOTICE TO BIDDERS WASHOE COUNTY BID #2989-16
Notice is hereby given that the Washoe County Purchasing Office is
soliciting sealed bids for 2016 General Election Sample Ballot Mailing
Services on behalf of the Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office.
Sealed bids must be received and time-stamped in the Purchasing Of-
fice not later than 3:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Wednesday, Au-
Legal Notices gust 10, 2016. Sealed bids shall be addressed to the Washoe County
Purchasing Office, 1001 E. Ninth Street, Building D, Room D200, Re-
no, NV 89512-2845 and indicate that they are for Bid No. 2989-16. Bid-
ders may also elect to submit their bids electronically through the on-
line services of www.demandstar.com. It is the intent of this bid to
select a qualified and experienced firm to insert, label, address, and
mail the 2016 General Election sample ballots to the active registered
voters in Washoe County Nevada, on behalf of the Washoe County
Registrar of Voters. Sealed bids shall be opened and read in the Pur-
chasing Office at 3:15 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Wednesday, Au-
gust 10, 2016. Invitations to Bids and/or additional information may be
obtained from the Washoe County Purchasing Office, 1001 E. Ninth
Street, Bldg. D, Rm. D200, Reno NV 89512. The Invitation to Bid is al-
so available through the online services of www.demandStar.com on
a fee or subscription basis. For further information contact the
Washoe County Purchasing Office at (775) 328-2281.
Nancy Parent, Washoe County Clerk
No 1436779
Legal Notices Legal Notices
INVITATION TO BID
Project Identification
Project Name: Site Improvements, Nevada Department of Wildlife
Project Address: 1100 Valley Road, Reno, Nevada
SPWD Project No.: 13-S05(6)
Owner
State Public Works Division
515 E. Musser Street, Suite 102
Carson City, Nevada 89701-4263
(775) 684-4141
BID OPENING
Date: August 2, 2016
Time: 10:00 AM (local time)
PRE-BID MEETING
Mandatory (for all Prime Contractors/Bidders).
Pre-Bid Meeting Location: 1100 Valley Road, Reno, Nevada
Pre-Bid Meeting Date: July 28, 2016
Pre-Bid Meeting Time: 10:00 AM (local time)
ACCESS TO BID DOCUMENTS
Plans and specifications can be viewed and/or downloaded utilizing
the Bid Advertisements link located on the Nevada State Public
Works Division website (http://spwb.state.nv.us/).
BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS
July 5, 12, 19, 2016 All bidders submitting bids to the State Public Works Division must
be qualified as bidders by the State Public Works Division prior to
the bid opening.
CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATE
The estimated construction cost for the base bid of this project is:
DON L. ROSS, State Bar No. 3802
WOODBURN AND WEDGE
6100 Neil Road, Suite 500, Reno, NV 89511
Telephone (775) 688-3009
Attorneys for Petitioners Dawn Westmoreland
Alan Westmoreland and Larry Westmoreland
IN THE SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF THE STATE OF
NEVADA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF WASHOE
Case No.: PR16-00177 Dept. No.: PR
IN THE MATTER OF THE ES TATE OF GLORIA TOMASINI,
Deceased
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Dawn Westmoreland, Alan
Westmoreland and Larry Westmoreland have been duly appointed
and qualified by the above Court on May 26, 2016, as Administrators
of the Estate of Gloria Tomasini, deceased. All creditors having
claims against this estate are required to file the same with the Clerk
of the Court within sixty (60) days after the first publication of this
notice, with a copy being mailed to the attorney for Administrators at
the address above. Affirmation Pursuant to N.R.S. 239B.030. The un-
dersigned affirms that the foregoing document does not contain the
Social Security number of any person.
DATED this 15th day of July, 2016.
July 19, 2016 WOODBURN AND WEDGE
Don L. Ross, Attorney for Dawn Westmoreland, Alan
Westmoreland and Larry Westmoreland
No 1439295 July 19, 26, August 2, 2016
Legal Notices Legal Notices
BEFORE THE NEVADA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY
NOTICE OF APPLICATIONS
Mammoth Transportation Services, LLC d/b/a Mammoth Limou-
sines and d/b/a Mammoth Transportation have filed two joint appli-
cations with Platinum Transportation LV, LLC (Applicants) des-
ignated as Dockets 16-07012 and 16-07013, respectively, with the
Nevada Transportation Authority (Authority) seeking approval
to temporarily transfer operating rights, pursuant to Nevada Ad-
ministrative Code (NAC) 706.359 for services conducted under
CPCNs 1105 and 2072, Sub 1, from Mammoth Transportation Serv-
ices, LLC to Platinum Transportation LV, LLC for a period of two
years or until the Authoritys approval of a sale and transfer,
whichever comes first. The applications may include tariff modifi-
cations. VBNZ LIMO, LLC has filed an application, designated as
Docket 16-07015 with the Authority for a CPCN to provide charter
bus service within the State of Nevada. The applications were filed
pursuant to Chapter 706 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)
and the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC). Under NRS
706.151, the Authority has legal jurisdiction and authority over
these matters. The applications are on file and available for view-
ing at the office of the Authority, 2290 South Jones Blvd., Suite 110,
Las Vegas, Nevada 89146. Persons with a direct and substantial in-
terest in the filings may file Petitions for Leave to Intervene at the
Authoritys office. Such Petitions must conform to the Authoritys
regulations and must be filed on or before August 12, 2016. Interest-
ed persons may submit Protests for filing at the Authoritys office.
Protests must conform to the Authoritys regulations. Other writ-
ten comments may also be submitted for filing.
By the Authority,
______/S/____________________________________
Liz Babcock, CPA, Applications Manager

Research. Price. Find.

$$300,000.00. Prevailing Wages are required on this project. Dated: July 12, 2016
Las Vegas, Nevada
NEWSPAPER PUBLISH DATES July 19, 26, 2016
No 1429202 July 19, 2016
No. 1436292 July 19, 26, 2016
All classified ads are subject to the applicable rate card, copies of which are available from our Advertising Dept. All ads are subject to approval before publication. Reno Gazette-Journal/RGJ Media reserves the right to edit, refuse, reject, classify or cancel any ad at any time.
Errors must be reported in the first day of publication. Reno Gazette-Journal/RGJ Media shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from an error in or omission of an advertisement. No refunds for early cancellation of order.

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 PARTY ALL NIGHT A guide to surviving the

KC AT THE BAT
IN THE COUNTRY music festival Our Nevada, 1C

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JULY
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ULY 20,
20 , 20
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16 ONLI
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COM

THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

FIGHT FOR LEGAL SOLUTIONS

Zach Hanham checks his phone while

walking in between classes at
McQueen High School in Reno.
JASON BEAN/RGJ

Before he got a B in history, he
was taught to brush his teeth
SIOBHAN MCANDREW
About our investigation Washoe school district prepared
Over the last two years, Reno
Gazette-Journal reporter Siobhan to settle abuse lawsuit at Picollo
McAndrew has investigated the state
| SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM SIOBHAN MCANDREW | SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM
of special education in the Washoe

W T
hen Zach Hanham was a high school freshman, he sat County School District. Through public he Washoe County School District Board of Trustees
in a classroom as a teacher explained tooth brushing. records, court authorized the district to pay a $300,000 deductible to

RGJ
Back and forth. Up and down. documents and
I really wanted to be part of high school, said the now interviews with
19-year-old who dreamed of the typical teen experience. I dozens of families
already knew how to brush my teeth. and school district INVESTIGATES
Hanham is one of thousands of students with a disability officials,
who dont graduate from high school in the Washoe County McAndrew has
School District. In 2015, just 29 percent of 536 students with a pieced together a series of stories
disability in the senior class graduated. It is a number that has detailing how some of the most
remained unchanged in years and is among the worst in the vulnerable students in the district are
nation. being left behind, and sometimes
abused. Find earlier stories in our series
See SCHOOL, Page 4A at RGJ.com/specialeducation.
move forward in settling a lawsuit that accused a
teacher of abuse at Marvin Picollo School.
The suit, filed Nov. 18 in U.S. District Court in Reno, al-
leges that two 8-year-old girls were the victims of physical,
verbal and emotional abuse by a teacher at the Reno school
for children with severe disabilities during the 2013-14
school year.
At this point, it is a business decision for our insurance
provider, Neil Rombardo, chief general counsel for the
school district, told board members at a meeting Tuesday.
See LAWSUIT, Page 4A

Memorial service mourns firefighters killed in crash

Governor praises the lives
of battle born Nevadans
JORDAN WINES
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Mourners gathered at the Winnemuc-
ca events center Tuesday to pay tribute
to BLM firefighters Jacob OMalley and
Will Hawkins, who were killed in a July
JORDAN WINES/RGJ 10 vehicle crash.
Gov. Brian Sandoval speaks at the memorial Gov. Brian Sandoval spoke at the ser-
service held for BLM firefighters Jacob vices, calling the two men battle born
OMalley and Will Hawkins on Tuesday. Nevadans who served their state and
country with honor.
He also spoke about their legacy, and
the impact they had on the firefighters
they served with.
We know their lifes work lives on in
the firefighters that are with us today.
We must all of us be thankful today and
every day that each one of you will carry
on Jacob and Wills legacy. said Sando-
val.
Sandoval also spoke directly to the
families of OMalley and Hawkins, say-
ing I hope that I leave you with the
knowledge that the Nevada family is
thankful for Jacob and Wills service, as
we stand with you in honoring these two
brave young men.
John Ruhs, BLM Nevada state direc-
tor, spoke about how OMalley and Haw-
kins exemplified what it meant to be
BLM firefighters. He wanted the two
men to be remembered for the courage,
dedication and friendship they held with
the other members of their fire crew.
A photo slideshow was played for
each of the two firefighters, giving those
in attendance a sense of who the two men
were.
See MEMORIAL, Page 9A

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4A Wednesday, July 20, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal
Organize
THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Lawsuit
Home
UR YO Continued from Page 1A
The districts insurance
policy will cover amounts
in the suit above $300,000.
Northern Nevadas Best & Largest Home Organizing Company Rombardo told the
board that litigation costs
would exceed $300,000 so
it was in the best interest
of the district to approve
the payment.
When the settlement
details are final, they will
be disclosed to the public,
Rombardo said. Accord-
ing to court documents,
both sides agreed on the
terms of a settlement on
June 21.
Karessa Battenfeld
and Brenda Donahue
were named in the suit as
the mothers of the chil-
dren. The families are
represented by Reno at-
torney Robert Kilby and
California attorneys Todd
Boley and Peter Alfert.
Battenfelds daughter
has cerebral palsy and
other health concerns.
s !
i n eotse from Donahues daughter was
b oc o diagnosed with a rare ge-
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Bu Zach Hanham, left, gets some help from WCSD teacher assistant Renee Solano during an auto
off
repair class at McQueen High School.
School
Continued from Page 1A
Even more 32 per-
cent received an ad-
justed diploma from the
Washoe County School
District. Hanham was one
of 169 students from the
class of 2015 given this di-
ploma, offered only to
Our expert designers will help evaluate your needs and come up with a custom designed children with disabilities.
It doesnt allow Hanham
to enlist in the military or
e rsur needs apply for federal finan-
z
niilt to suit y
o cial aid for college.
a
g ..b Diagnosed with leuke-
Or ated.
u
mia at age 2, Hanham
etto sophist
ic
s went through two years of
o
Crolm simp le radiation and chemo-
F therapy. The aggressive
treatment saved his life,
but damaged healthy cells
and brain function. He has
poor attention skills and
difficulty solving prob-
lems, but he can learn.
Labeled as retarded
by school administrators
in school records, Han-
ham attended regular
classes at Roy Gomm Ele-
mentary and Billinghurst
Middle schools. But
25% things changed
McQueen High School in
at
off northwest Reno.
During his four years
of high school, he spent
most of his time in a life
skills class for students of
different ages and disabil-
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RGJ FILE
Brenda Donahues daughter was one of the children named in
a suit that accused a teacher at Picollo School of abuse. She is
seen here during physical therapy in 2014.
netic disorder affecting apart and then pulling her
her mental, motor and lan- off the horse and throw-
guage development. ing her back in her wheel-
In the suit, the teacher chair when she cried out
is accused of yelling and in pain.
swearing at Battenfelds The suit also accused
daughter. During one inci- the teacher of leaving
dent, the teacher is ac- Donahues daughter cry-
cused of picking up Bat- ing in pain on the ground
tenfelds daughter and after she roughly
shoving her on top of a grabbed the little girl,
horse at the schools who uses a walker, and
equine therapy program. pulled her off the bus.
The teacher is accused of The teacher no longer
prying the girls legs works at the school.
JASON BEAN/RGJ
Ask us your questions
We know theres always more to a story, so we want to hear
from you about questions we didnt answer. Please submit
your question at http://on.rgj.com/ed_questions. Engagement
Editor Mark Robison will answer as many as he can. You can
also email him at mrobison@rgj.com.
ities. nationally certified
One day, the class was school neuropsychologist
given hair nets and told to Susan Martin to evaluate
butter bagels for the other Hanham. Martin said
students, Hanham said. Hanham was below ex-
Some days, he sat in class pected levels in almost ev-
working the same math ery area, but it didnt
problems he received the mean he couldnt learn.
year before. Some days, She recommended
he said, he sat doing noth- Hanham be helped by be-
ing. ing given a copy of a
His high school tran- teachers classroom notes
scripts tell his story. They rather than copying infor-
are filled with life skills, mation said during class.
job training, woodwork- It was also recom-
ing, auto and ceramics mended that educators
courses. use technology to help
It wasnt until the sec- Hanham understand
ond half of his senior year tasks and assignments.
that he took an academi- These could include
cally challenging course. things such as listening to
He got a B in American textbooks on tape and re-
history. cording lessons.
Hanhams mother, Teri Zach can learn,
Brown, battled the dis- Brown said. I remember
trict for years over her being in that room and
sons education, including hearing those words from
insisting that her son not
be forced to work in the
the expert and just seeing
those administrators and
kitchen while his peers
ate lunch.
On April 16, 2015, just
teachers just sitting there
quiet.
Brown filed a com-
two months before Han- plaint with the Nevada
ham would leave high Department of Education.
school, the district hired She hired an attorney.
In a settlement offer,
the district has offered to
pay for Hanhams transi-
Congratulations tion services, vocational
rehabilitation and reme-
dial education services.
on your renewal of It agreed to an evalua-
tion to see if assistive
HPE! technology could help
Hanham learn. It offered
to pay for tutoring by a
775.823.9666 nevadaoffice.com colliers.com/reno
certified teacher for Han-
ham until he is 22.
PRICE REDUCED! Brown keeps the offer
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live a happy, productive
CLOSE TO NAS & TESALA HWY 50 TURNOFF
and independent life from
NOW ONLY $549,900 the Washoe County School
District, Brown said in
her demand letter.
A settlement agree-
ment is expected to be fi-
nalized this summer.
Hanham said he wants
to graduate high school,
then college, and become
a teacher.
I want to be a teacher
who can teach someone
like me.
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T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N

CHANGES IN STORE
District enacts series of reforms to improve graduation rates

Special ed
teacher Jodee
Prudente works
with her
student Aden
Medley at
Depoali Middle
School. ANDY
BARRON/RGJ

SIOBHAN MCANDREW SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM

MORE INSIDE

T
he Washoe County School District will hold principals accountable for how chil- Read about school districts across the country that
are exceeding the national average for
dren with disabilities are educated as part of sweeping changes to its special edu- graduating children with disabilities. Also, a look
cation department. at whether Renos Picollo School is the best model
for educating children with severe disabilities.
The new accountability measures follow years of low graduation rates for stu-
dents with disabilities, threats of sanctions from the Nevada Department of Edu- ATTEND THE RGJ FORUM
cation for poor performing special education programs and parents of children with dis- The RGJ will host a forum on Wednesday, Aug. 3,
to help parents learn how to advocate for
abilities accusing the district of failing their children. children on individual education programs. Space
It is moving in a more positive route, said Superintendent Traci Davis, who took over is limited/ reserve free tickets at tickets.rgj.com.

the district last year. We are doing things for kids that we havent necessarily done. READ THE ENTIRE SERIES
Other changes include teacher and staff training, better tracking of children with dis- Go to RGJ.com/specialeducation to read all of the
articles in the two-year investigation.
See SCHOOLS, Page 6A

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6A Sunday, July 24, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 24, 2016 7A

T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N

Schools In Washoe County, the

Continued from Page 1A
abilities and properly iden-
tifying students, with or
without disabilities, who
may be struggling.
Davis said the district is
changing the culture of
how it educates children
with disabilities, including
making it clear that princi-
pals are responsible for
students' educational out-
comes.
This comes as federal
special education stan-
dards are now holding
states responsible for fol-
lowing the laws involving
children with disabilities
and proving that those stu-
dents are being educated.
The new standards took ef-
fect in 2014.
As a former principal,
I would say all the kids be-
long to me, regardless of
the color of their skin or
language they spoke or dis-
ability, Davis said during
a school board meeting
during the last school year.
The onus is not on the
district, she said. "The dis-
trict is to provide ... (prin-
cipals with) support."
Davis and school board
trustee Lisa Ruggerio said
the work will be hard.
"I want to emphasize we
can have all the proce-
dures in place ... but it is
really going to take a cul-
graduation rate for chil-
dren with disabilities is 29
percent, a rate that has re-
mained flat as the district
has seen overall rates
jump dramatically for oth-
er groups of children. And
while the district has often
touted itself as outper-
forming Clark County, a
district of 320,000 stu-
dents, this is one area
where it barely does bet-
ter. The graduation rate
for children with disabili-
ties in Clark County in 2015
was 28 percent.
The national graduation
rate for students with dis-
abilities is 63 percent.
Davis said the districts
special education depart-
ment, which has previous-
ly been viewed as solely re-
sponsible for the education
of children with disabili-
ties, now should be viewed
as a support department to
help schools reach gradua-
tion and performance
goals.
Superintendent
Traci Davis said
the district is
changing the
culture of how it
educates
children with
disabilities,
Superintendent Traci Davis instituted a change in policy this
year that gives principals responsibility for the education of
children with disabilities, with support from the district.
mer Hunsberger Principal
Jenny Ricci. A program-
ming and compliance de-
partment will now monitor
how well schools are fol-
lowing state and federal
laws.
Green said his depart-
ment will work closely
with the rest of the dis-
trict's departments, in-
cluding family engage-
ment resources, school
performance and the of-
fice that tracks data. It will
also closely monitor
schools, and special educa-
tion staff have been tasked
to visit schools at least
once every 15 days. Many
of these plans started dur-
ing the 2015-16 school year.
While Davis has an-
ANDY BARRON/RGJ
tricts were judged by fed-
eral regulators based on
whether students with dis-
abilities were treated well
at school, but not on aca-
demic performance.
Since 2014, states are
accountable for improving
graduation rates. In the
first two years, Nevada
was listed with many
states as needing assis-
tance. It was classified as
needing intervention in a
letter sent June 28 by the
U.S. Department of Educa-
tion to state education offi-
cials. Nevada, the Bureau
of Indian Education and
the District of Columbia
school systems were the
only institutions identified
as needing intervention.
Ask us your
questions
We know theres always more
to a story, so we want to hear
from you about questions we
didnt answer. Please submit
your question at
on.rgj.com/ed_questions.
Engagement Editor Mark
Robison will answer as many
as he can. You can also email
him at mrobison@rgj.com.
about student perfor-
mance so that we can give
all students the supports
and services they need to
succeed.
Its what the district
says it is doing.
District chief account-
ability officer Ben Hayes
said data show that gradu-
ation rates for children
with disabilities for the
class of 2016 are likely
higher compared to previ-
ous years. The district said
it would not release gradu-
ation statistics for the most
recent graduating class
until later this year when
results from summer
school and additional pro-
ficiency exams are avail-
able. The district had a
graduation rate goal of 38
percent for children with
disabilities for the class of
2016.
Hayes said better track-
ing of students with dis-
abilities is already show-
ing an impact.
schools, Green said.
For a long time, the dis-
trict moved children with
disabilities in specialized
programs from school to
school each year, depend-
ing on space needs.
Green said that will no
longer happen and that
children with disabilities
should be viewed the same
as every other child.
Green also said that in
the past, school counselors
did not advise students
with disabilities on post-
high school plans.
"We are going to focus
on changing that mental-
ity," he said.
The district said part of
the sweeping reform will
be educating families.
As many as 90 percent
of children with a disabil-
ity have been marked to re-
ceive an adjusted diploma.
The adjusted diploma is
only an option for children
with disabilities and is not
viewed as proof of gradua-
tion. Children with this
type of diploma cannot ap-
ply for college financial
aid or enlist in the military.
Chief student perfor-
mance officer Paul LaMar-
ca said that in the past,
children with disabilities
were not identified as
needing to participate in
high school proficiency ex-
ams. The end-of-course ex-
ams are needed to gradu-
ate.
They werent access-
One view: This is why I teach special education
JODEE PRUDENTE
When I tell someone I
teach special education,
the first thing they usually
say is, Wow, you must
have a lot of patience. I do
have patience, but I dont
think an abundance of pa-
tience is always what
works. Its so much more
than that.
Its knowing when to be
patient and when to push
for higher expectations.
Its holding students ac-
countable, maintaining ex-
pectations, making con-
stant changes to instruc-
tion and teaching to the
students individual learn-
ing needs.
I didnt plan to teach
special education. I decid-
ed to get a dual credential,
elementary and special
education, because I
thought it would help me
get a job. I had no idea I
would fall in love with the
population and, in turn, be
Its knowing
when to be
patient and
when to push
for higher
expectations.
Special ed teacher Jodee Prudente works with her student Aden Medley at Depoali Middle School on March 18.
ANDY BARRON/RGJ

tural change in the dis-
trict," Ruggerio said. She
said principals have
thought of the problem of
special education as some
other department's prob-
lem.
But Davis said the reac-
tion from administrators
has been positive.
"I do believe our princi-
pals accept that chal-
lenge," she said.
The new philosophy on
who is ultimately responsi-
ble for the education of
children with disabilities
comes as the state and its
two largest districts grap-
ple with the lowest gradua-
tion rates nationwide.
including making
it clear that
principals are
responsible for
students
educational
outcomes.
We are an office of sup-
port, said Byron Green,
who was tapped in 2015 to
head the districts special
education department fol-
lowing several years of
leadership changes.
Under Green's leader-
ship, there is now a perfor-
mance and instruction de-
partment headed by for-
nounced a districtwide
graduation goal of 90 per-
cent by 2020, for children
with disabilities, the goal is
to hit 60 percent.
People say it is aggres-
sive, she said of doubling
the graduation rate for
children with disabilities
in five years. She said she
has high expectations for
the nearly 9,000 children
with disabilities in the
countys public schools.
We have to have a high
mark so we can reach for
that, she said. Do we
have work to do? Absolute-
ly. It wasnt set to be easy.
Part of the change
comes as the state and dis-
tricts are now responsible
for how children with dis-
abilities do academically.
Previously, school dis-
Twenty-four states met re-
quirements, an increase of
five from 2015.
The Department of
Education said the deter-
mination was made based
on the state's data, includ-
ing assessments that
showed only 19 percent of
Nevada eighth-graders
with disabilities were at or
above grade level on na-
tional tests.
We know that when
students with disabilities
are held to high expecta-
tions and have access to
the general curriculum in
the regular classroom,
they excel, said former
U.S. Secretary of Educa-
tion Arne Duncan was
when he announced the
new accountability frame-
work. We must be honest
The district will soon
keep records of children
with disabilities using an
online portal that allows
staff and families to mon-
itor grades, behavior and
assignments.
"Its going to benefit
kids," Hayes said.
The online system will
make it easier to have con-
versations with parents.
Green said that the con-
versations about a childs culture of what happens at
future will start in elemen-
tary school. The district
has revamped kindergar-
ten programs for children
with disabilities for the
2016-17 school year and is
tracking the options for
children with disabilities
at their neighborhood
ing that curriculum, he
said.
Part of the problem was
that families assumed they
didnt need it and didnt ag-
gressively try to achieve
more, LaMarca said.
Davis said a big part of
the district's focus is
changing the culture of
special education is edu-
cating families.
You have to change the
havioral disorders.
home, Davis said. We
know for a lot of families, it
is just getting to walk
across the stage, she said
of the policy where a stu-
dent is able to walk at grad-
uation even if he or she was
receiving an adjusted di-
ploma.
really good at it.
After completing my
student teaching, I felt
called to teach special edu-
cation. I took my first job
in a life skills class, with
first- through sixth-grade
students with moderate to
severe disabilities. They
had intellectual disabili-
ties along with sensory im-
pairments, physical im-
pairments, autism and be-
plished something great. I
I taught English, math,
domestic skills, communi-
ty awareness and naviga-
tion, pre-vocational skills
and social skills, at the special needs at a time.
same time getting my stu- Fifteen years later,
dents included in the gen- teaching is still hard.
eral education classrooms There are so many things
as much as possible. that I never expected to be
There was a lot of work part of the job. I am still
to do and a lot to teach ev- teaching a life skills class
eryone. But at the end of to students with a wide
the year, through my own range of disabilities and
blood, sweat and tears (lit- ages at Depoali Middle
erally), I had accom- School. My students spend
more time in the general
was able to look back on education environment,
that year and see growth, and they continue to make
not only in my students but incredible progress over
in my colleagues and in the years they are with me.
myself. I knew I could do I am lucky to have a
this. I wanted to change the great team at Depoali of
world, one student with administrators, teachers
and paraprofessionals.
However, I pour my heart
and soul and well as my
own time and money into
every year, every day.
Each day, I still get up and
want to go to work. When
the politics and responsi-
bilities of the job get over-
whelming, the students
make it worth it.
Seeing the light go on in
students eyes when they
make a connection be-
tween what Im teaching
and what they are doing. connections to how well
Watching a child read with
fluency after struggling
for years, knowing that my
instruction made the dif-
ference. Observing a stu-
dent write his name for the
first time with independ-
ence at age 14. Seeing in-
creased understanding of
math and watching that
same student make the
connections to real life.
Helping students make
friendships and lifelong
social skills.
These are the things
that make it all worth it. It
is so much more than
teaching. I feel that I have
been an integral part or the
lives of my students and
their families. I have deep
interviews with dozens of
they do in life.
Hearing thank you from
a parent for helping their
child achieve something
great is the best reward a
teacher can receive. When
I see or hear a parent get
excited about their childs
growth, I know I am doing
something right. That is
why I teach.
About our
investigation
Over the last two years, Reno
Gazette-Journal reporter
Siobhan McAndrew has
investigated the state of
special education in the
Washoe County School
District. Through public
records, court documents and
families and school district
officials, McAndrew has
pieced together a series of
stories detailing how some of
the most vulnerable students
are being left behind, and
sometimes abused. Find
earlier stories in our series at
RGJ.com /specialeducation.

2016
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Saturday, August 6th

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atlantiscasino.com |
6A Sunday, July 24, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 24, 2016 7A

T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N

Schools In Washoe County, the

Continued from Page 1A
abilities and properly iden-
tifying students, with or
without disabilities, who
may be struggling.
Davis said the district is
changing the culture of
how it educates children
with disabilities, including
making it clear that princi-
pals are responsible for
students' educational out-
comes.
This comes as federal
special education stan-
dards are now holding
states responsible for fol-
lowing the laws involving
children with disabilities
and proving that those stu-
dents are being educated.
The new standards took ef-
fect in 2014.
As a former principal,
I would say all the kids be-
long to me, regardless of
the color of their skin or
language they spoke or dis-
ability, Davis said during
a school board meeting
during the last school year.
The onus is not on the
district, she said. "The dis-
trict is to provide ... (prin-
cipals with) support."
Davis and school board
trustee Lisa Ruggerio said
the work will be hard.
"I want to emphasize we
can have all the proce-
dures in place ... but it is
really going to take a cul-
graduation rate for chil-
dren with disabilities is 29
percent, a rate that has re-
mained flat as the district
has seen overall rates
jump dramatically for oth-
er groups of children. And
while the district has often
touted itself as outper-
forming Clark County, a
district of 320,000 stu-
dents, this is one area
where it barely does bet-
ter. The graduation rate
for children with disabili-
ties in Clark County in 2015
was 28 percent.
The national graduation
rate for students with dis-
abilities is 63 percent.
Davis said the districts
special education depart-
ment, which has previous-
ly been viewed as solely re-
sponsible for the education
of children with disabili-
ties, now should be viewed
as a support department to
help schools reach gradua-
tion and performance
goals.
Superintendent
Traci Davis said
the district is
changing the
culture of how it
educates
children with
disabilities,
Superintendent Traci Davis instituted a change in policy this
year that gives principals responsibility for the education of
children with disabilities, with support from the district.
mer Hunsberger Principal
Jenny Ricci. A program-
ming and compliance de-
partment will now monitor
how well schools are fol-
lowing state and federal
laws.
Green said his depart-
ment will work closely
with the rest of the dis-
trict's departments, in-
cluding family engage-
ment resources, school
performance and the of-
fice that tracks data. It will
also closely monitor
schools, and special educa-
tion staff have been tasked
to visit schools at least
once every 15 days. Many
of these plans started dur-
ing the 2015-16 school year.
While Davis has an-
ANDY BARRON/RGJ
tricts were judged by fed-
eral regulators based on
whether students with dis-
abilities were treated well
at school, but not on aca-
demic performance.
Since 2014, states are
accountable for improving
graduation rates. In the
first two years, Nevada
was listed with many
states as needing assis-
tance. It was classified as
needing intervention in a
letter sent June 28 by the
U.S. Department of Educa-
tion to state education offi-
cials. Nevada, the Bureau
of Indian Education and
the District of Columbia
school systems were the
only institutions identified
as needing intervention.
Ask us your
questions
We know theres always more
to a story, so we want to hear
from you about questions we
didnt answer. Please submit
your question at
on.rgj.com/ed_questions.
Engagement Editor Mark
Robison will answer as many
as he can. You can also email
him at mrobison@rgj.com.
about student perfor-
mance so that we can give
all students the supports
and services they need to
succeed.
Its what the district
says it is doing.
District chief account-
ability officer Ben Hayes
said data show that gradu-
ation rates for children
with disabilities for the
class of 2016 are likely
higher compared to previ-
ous years. The district said
it would not release gradu-
ation statistics for the most
recent graduating class
until later this year when
results from summer
school and additional pro-
ficiency exams are avail-
able. The district had a
graduation rate goal of 38
percent for children with
disabilities for the class of
2016.
Hayes said better track-
ing of students with dis-
abilities is already show-
ing an impact.
schools, Green said.
For a long time, the dis-
trict moved children with
disabilities in specialized
programs from school to
school each year, depend-
ing on space needs.
Green said that will no
longer happen and that
children with disabilities
should be viewed the same
as every other child.
Green also said that in
the past, school counselors
did not advise students
with disabilities on post-
high school plans.
"We are going to focus
on changing that mental-
ity," he said.
The district said part of
the sweeping reform will
be educating families.
As many as 90 percent
of children with a disabil-
ity have been marked to re-
ceive an adjusted diploma.
The adjusted diploma is
only an option for children
with disabilities and is not
viewed as proof of gradua-
tion. Children with this
type of diploma cannot ap-
ply for college financial
aid or enlist in the military.
Chief student perfor-
mance officer Paul LaMar-
ca said that in the past,
children with disabilities
were not identified as
needing to participate in
high school proficiency ex-
ams. The end-of-course ex-
ams are needed to gradu-
ate.
They werent access-
One view: This is why I teach special education
JODEE PRUDENTE
When I tell someone I
teach special education,
the first thing they usually
say is, Wow, you must
have a lot of patience. I do
have patience, but I dont
think an abundance of pa-
tience is always what
works. Its so much more
than that.
Its knowing when to be
patient and when to push
for higher expectations.
Its holding students ac-
countable, maintaining ex-
pectations, making con-
stant changes to instruc-
tion and teaching to the
students individual learn-
ing needs.
I didnt plan to teach
special education. I decid-
ed to get a dual credential,
elementary and special
education, because I
thought it would help me
get a job. I had no idea I
would fall in love with the
population and, in turn, be
Its knowing
when to be
patient and
when to push
for higher
expectations.
Special ed teacher Jodee Prudente works with her student Aden Medley at Depoali Middle School on March 18.
ANDY BARRON/RGJ

tural change in the dis-
trict," Ruggerio said. She
said principals have
thought of the problem of
special education as some
other department's prob-
lem.
But Davis said the reac-
tion from administrators
has been positive.
"I do believe our princi-
pals accept that chal-
lenge," she said.
The new philosophy on
who is ultimately responsi-
ble for the education of
children with disabilities
comes as the state and its
two largest districts grap-
ple with the lowest gradua-
tion rates nationwide.
including making
it clear that
principals are
responsible for
students
educational
outcomes.
We are an office of sup-
port, said Byron Green,
who was tapped in 2015 to
head the districts special
education department fol-
lowing several years of
leadership changes.
Under Green's leader-
ship, there is now a perfor-
mance and instruction de-
partment headed by for-
nounced a districtwide
graduation goal of 90 per-
cent by 2020, for children
with disabilities, the goal is
to hit 60 percent.
People say it is aggres-
sive, she said of doubling
the graduation rate for
children with disabilities
in five years. She said she
has high expectations for
the nearly 9,000 children
with disabilities in the
countys public schools.
We have to have a high
mark so we can reach for
that, she said. Do we
have work to do? Absolute-
ly. It wasnt set to be easy.
Part of the change
comes as the state and dis-
tricts are now responsible
for how children with dis-
abilities do academically.
Previously, school dis-
Twenty-four states met re-
quirements, an increase of
five from 2015.
The Department of
Education said the deter-
mination was made based
on the state's data, includ-
ing assessments that
showed only 19 percent of
Nevada eighth-graders
with disabilities were at or
above grade level on na-
tional tests.
We know that when
students with disabilities
are held to high expecta-
tions and have access to
the general curriculum in
the regular classroom,
they excel, said former
U.S. Secretary of Educa-
tion Arne Duncan was
when he announced the
new accountability frame-
work. We must be honest
The district will soon
keep records of children
with disabilities using an
online portal that allows
staff and families to mon-
itor grades, behavior and
assignments.
"Its going to benefit
kids," Hayes said.
The online system will
make it easier to have con-
versations with parents.
Green said that the con-
versations about a childs culture of what happens at
future will start in elemen-
tary school. The district
has revamped kindergar-
ten programs for children
with disabilities for the
2016-17 school year and is
tracking the options for
children with disabilities
at their neighborhood
ing that curriculum, he
said.
Part of the problem was
that families assumed they
didnt need it and didnt ag-
gressively try to achieve
more, LaMarca said.
Davis said a big part of
the district's focus is
changing the culture of
special education is edu-
cating families.
You have to change the
havioral disorders.
home, Davis said. We
know for a lot of families, it
is just getting to walk
across the stage, she said
of the policy where a stu-
dent is able to walk at grad-
uation even if he or she was
receiving an adjusted di-
ploma.
really good at it.
After completing my
student teaching, I felt
called to teach special edu-
cation. I took my first job
in a life skills class, with
first- through sixth-grade
students with moderate to
severe disabilities. They
had intellectual disabili-
ties along with sensory im-
pairments, physical im-
pairments, autism and be-
plished something great. I
I taught English, math,
domestic skills, communi-
ty awareness and naviga-
tion, pre-vocational skills
and social skills, at the special needs at a time.
same time getting my stu- Fifteen years later,
dents included in the gen- teaching is still hard.
eral education classrooms There are so many things
as much as possible. that I never expected to be
There was a lot of work part of the job. I am still
to do and a lot to teach ev- teaching a life skills class
eryone. But at the end of to students with a wide
the year, through my own range of disabilities and
blood, sweat and tears (lit- ages at Depoali Middle
erally), I had accom- School. My students spend
more time in the general
was able to look back on education environment,
that year and see growth, and they continue to make
not only in my students but incredible progress over
in my colleagues and in the years they are with me.
myself. I knew I could do I am lucky to have a
this. I wanted to change the great team at Depoali of
world, one student with administrators, teachers
and paraprofessionals.
However, I pour my heart
and soul and well as my
own time and money into
every year, every day.
Each day, I still get up and
want to go to work. When
the politics and responsi-
bilities of the job get over-
whelming, the students
make it worth it.
Seeing the light go on in
students eyes when they
make a connection be-
tween what Im teaching
and what they are doing. connections to how well
Watching a child read with
fluency after struggling
for years, knowing that my
instruction made the dif-
ference. Observing a stu-
dent write his name for the
first time with independ-
ence at age 14. Seeing in-
creased understanding of
math and watching that
same student make the
connections to real life.
Helping students make
friendships and lifelong
social skills.
These are the things
that make it all worth it. It
is so much more than
teaching. I feel that I have
been an integral part or the
lives of my students and
their families. I have deep
interviews with dozens of
they do in life.
Hearing thank you from
a parent for helping their
child achieve something
great is the best reward a
teacher can receive. When
I see or hear a parent get
excited about their childs
growth, I know I am doing
something right. That is
why I teach.
About our
investigation
Over the last two years, Reno
Gazette-Journal reporter
Siobhan McAndrew has
investigated the state of
special education in the
Washoe County School
District. Through public
records, court documents and
families and school district
officials, McAndrew has
pieced together a series of
stories detailing how some of
the most vulnerable students
are being left behind, and
sometimes abused. Find
earlier stories in our series at
RGJ.com /specialeducation.

2016
Two Guaranteed Jackpot Winners,
Saturday, August 6th

Jackpot starts at $20,000 and

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Noon 8 pm

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when you join Club ParadiseSM
$
50,000
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MINI COOPER GIVEAWAY ENTRIES TODAY!
$
125,000 HOT AUGUST NIGHTS CELEBRATION Dont miss your chance to win a MINI or TWO
in our $50,000 Twice as Nice Mini
at Atlantis Cooper Giveaway

TALLADEGA GRAND GIVEAWAY! Friday & Saturday,

July 29th & 30th.
AUGUST 1ST 6 TH
Win a trip to Talladega Superspeedway

5X COMP POINTS VISIT ATLANTISCASINO.COM/HAN

for more details.
7 PM 2 AM, AUG. 1 6

every players paradise. SM

Management reserves all rights. Must be 21.

atlantiscasino.com |
8A Sunday, July 24, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal
Superintendent Traci Davis cheers on Picollo student Royce Oshira-Miguel at the schools graduation ceremony on June 7.
Picollo School: A valuable option or past its time?
SIOBHAN MCANDREW
SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM
It would be hard to find
a more excited high
school graduate than Sa-
brina Ashley Carral.
She smiled and raised
her right hand high in the
air during the ceremony
at Marvin Picollo School.
Carral, 22, was one of
four graduates this year
to receive an adjusted di-
ploma at Picollo, Washoe
County School Districts
school for students with
severe disabilities.
Picollos students, ages
3 to 22, have medical con-
ditions that range from
being medically fragile
because of genetic or he-
reditary conditions, to fe-
tal alcohol syndrome,
shaken baby syndrome
and severe trauma such
as car accidents or near
drowning. Fifty percent
use wheelchairs.
Principal Matt Burak
says students like Carral
are the ones he fights for
and why there is a need
for Picollo. Carral was
born with meningitis and
has cerebral palsy, scolio-
sis and numerous other
health conditions. Every
day, she uses a feeding
tube and needs oxygen.
I am so very grateful
to serve in a school dis-
trict that demonstrates
such an enlightened and a
progressive approach to
meeting the needs of all
students within the great-
er student body, Burak
said.
But to some, Picollo is a
school past its time.
A growing body of re-
search is suggesting all
students with disabilities
should be taught in gener-
al education classrooms
with support, such as a
classroom aide or modi-
fied classwork.
Separation of stu-
dents with disabilities is a
form of segregation, said
David Connor, a professor
and chairman of the de-
partment of special edu-
cation at Hunter College
in New York. He has writ-
ten three books and nu-
merous articles on dis-
ability and education.
People with disabili-
ties have historically been
denied access to many as-
pects of society, including
jobs, recreational options,
T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N
Sabrina Ashley Carral gets praise from her father after graduation at Picollo School on June 7.
public places, transport
and so on, he said.
Schooling practices
manifest in policies and
structures can reinforce
these historical experi-
ences of citizens with dis-
abilities.
Other research has
drawn similar conclu-
sions.
The Maryland Coali-
tion for Inclusive Educa-
tion has found students
with disabilities who are
in age-appropriate gener-
al education classes in
their neighborhood
schools do better.
The National Longitu-
dinal Transition Study
showed that the more
time a child spends in a
general education class-
room, the less likely the
student was to be absent
or have disruptive behav-
ior.
The study, conducted
by the U.S. Department of
Education, tracked a sam-
pling of students in high
school and then again nine
years later.
The study also showed
the more time students
with disabilities spent in a
general education class-
room, the more likely they
would be be prepared for
life after high school.
Elizabeth Kozleski,
head of the University of
Kansas Department of
Special Education, said
many schools like Picollo
that segregate children
with disabilities have
closed.
There will be a time it
wont be necessary to
have a special school for
students because there
will be understanding on
how to educate even the
most challenging kids
with supports, she said.
Kozleski said that
when she taught school in
the early 1980s, she was
able to integrate severely
medically fragile chil-
dren into general educa-
I say honor us
and come look
at us before you
make a
judgment. Its a
choice for
parents.
MATT BURAK
PRINCIPAL, MARVIN PICOLLO SCHOOL
tion classrooms.
She said many school
districts continue to hold
on to longtime practices.
Inclusive education is
a really asking schools to
accommodate and trans-
form the business of edu-
cation, she said.
Connor agreed but said
there are challenges
namely ambiguous laws
that dictate how children
with disabilities should be
educated. Some of those
laws say students should
be educated in an appro-
priate setting ... in the
least restrictive environ-
For the parents of our
graduates, Picollo serves
as the only vital option to
the mainstream campus
experience available for
their students.
Advocates argue that
students with disabilities
should be given the access
to the same programs as
all other students.
Why cant children
with disabilities have all
the same choices? said
Deidre Hammon, a dis-
ability advocate who has
helped thousands of fam-
ilies navigate the special
education departments of
Nevada school districts.
Families hire her to help
during negotiations when
the district outlines the
support a student will be
given during the year.
Hammon advocates
for children to be allowed
to stay in their neighbor-
hood schools, have access
to technology that may
help in the classroom and
additional support, in-
cluding a classroom aide.
Hammon believes that
schools like Picollo
ment. shouldnt exist.
He said it opens the Students dont need
door for liberal and con- horseback riding or swim-
servative interpretations ming; they need the same
and everything in be- kind of things they will
tween. need in life, where every-
Inclusion is important one is together, Hammon
because, although it is an said of the extra activities
idea, it is something we Picollo offers. When they
should all work toward, leave school, its not going
he said. to be about horses and
But Burak is adamant swimming.
that schools like Picollo She said she can see the
give families a choice that difference in students
he doesnt want to see go who are segregated ver-
away. While some parents sus students integrated in
have said they have been schools.
pressured to enroll their Those that are part of
children at Picollo, others their home school with
decide the school and other children do better
its programs are a better once they leave school,
fit. she said.
This is an option we Hammon argues that
know our families want, many children must en-
said Washoe County dure long bus rides to at-
school board president tend Picollo, arent given
Angela Taylor. the same access to things
Sabrinas mom, Amber available at traditional
Carral, agrees. schools and miss out on
The programs here building friendships
have been wonderful for with neighborhood chil-
my daughter, Carral dren.
said. She has loved the in- She also said a school
teraction with everyone where disabled children
at Picollo. are isolated makes it a set-
During the graduation ting for possible abuse.
ceremony, Burak praised In November, two Re-
the school for what it of- no families filed suit in
fers students in Washoe U.S. District Court alleg-
County. ing abuse at Picollo. The
Let us leave here to- court documents allege
night as a community that two 8-year-olds were
knowing that in Marvin victims of physical, ver-
Picollo School, we demon- bal and emotional abuse
strate our commitment to by a special education
parent choice, to provid- teacher during the 2013-14
ing a rich and viable op-
tion to parents of students
that happen to have se-
vere disabilities, Burak
said.
PHOTOS BY SIOBHAN MCANDREW/RGJ
school year.
The district said it can-
not comment on current
litigation, but according
to legal documents, a set-
tlement agreement has
been reached. The school
board is expected to vote
on the details of the settle-
ment Tuesday.
The district said there
is a need for a school that
can offer comprehensive
care for some of the dis-
tricts most medically
fragile children. The
school of 124 students in
south Reno opened in
1975. It has a staff of 80.
Byron Green, the
school districts chief stu-
dent service officer, said
changes are happening at
Picollo as the district ad-
dresses its problems with
special education. Green
was hired last year to lead
the special education de-
partment.
Green said a social
worker will now work
with families at Picollo to
help coordinate services
children may need out-
side of schooldays. Teach-
ers and staff at Picollo will
be part of the same pro-
fessional development
given districtwide to help
improve results for chil-
dren with disabilities, he
said.
He also said children
from other schools may
spend part of the day at Pi-
collo.
If, because of a childs
disability, they cant phys-
ically access a regular
education classroom, we
need to bring typical
peers to them, Green
said. Burak said he will
continue to fight for a
school like Picollo.
I say honor us and
come look at us before you
make a judgment, Burak
said. Its a choice for par-
ents.
In recent years, the
school has been a part of
helping students who
were told they would nev-
er walk or talk, and train
others who told they
would never be potty
trained. Some lessons are
simpler, such as teaching
a student how to use a
vending machine skills
most take for granted.
We measure our own
successes, Burak said.
Some things cant be
measured by standard-
ized tests.

Our readers want to know how they can help
Thank you to all the
parents, educators and
community members
who have reached out this
week to share their sto-
ries and perspectives on
the Washoe County
School Districts educa-
tion of children with dis-
abilities.
We received dozens
of emails, calls and
comments on social
media.
Being a mommy of a
cerebral palsy and epilep-
sy 9-year-old girl, this ar-
ticle brought me to tears.
Im so happy Im not and important story, it is
alone, wrote Sara Becer-
ra in a Facebook com-
ment.
Ashleigh Martinez
wrote: Great work,
Siobhan. Thank you for
your efforts, energy and
Inclusion key at schools with high grad rates
SIOBHAN MCANDREW
SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM
In the 21 schools in the
Val Verde School District,
a child who has a disabil-
ity has a guaranteed seat
right next to a child who
doesnt.
Its one of the reasons
the district of 20,000 stu-
dents in Southern Califor-
nia has high school gradu-
ation rates that top the na-
tional average, said Val
Verde School Superinten-
dent Michael McCor-
mick.
In Val Verde, 72 per-
cent of students with dis-
abilities graduate from
high school. That is more
than double the 29 per-
cent rate for students
with disabilities in Wash-
oe County in 2015.
A two-year investiga-
tion by the Reno Gazette-
Journal shows that the
Washoe County School
District is failing to edu-
cate and in some cases
has abused children
with disabilities. The in-
vestigation found that the
graduation rate is far be-
low the national average
of 63 percent, a mindset of
low expectations exists
and the district has more
than 200 segregated
classrooms for students
with disabilities.
The Reno Gazette-
Journal reached out na-
tional experts to find ta-
keaways from districts
that are succeeding in
educating students with
disabilities. These dis-
tricts all have graduation
rates that are higher than
the national average.
And while districts
that have succeeded say
there is no magic solution,
there are things that
work.
We have a philosophy
that we create an opportu-
nity and access for all stu-
dents, and all is always in
capital letters, said Mc-
Cormick, who has been
nationally recognized for
Val Verde School Dis-
tricts success.
While the districts de-
mographics include 75
percent of students living
in poverty and nearly one
in four still learning Eng-
District frustrated with special education funding
SIOBHAN MCANDREW
SMCANDREW@RGJ.COM
The Washoe County
School District said it is
frustrated with how much
money it will receive
from the state in the next
year for special educa-
tion.
One of the education
reforms out of the 2015
Nevada legislative ses-
sion included an addition-
al $29.5 million for special
education, increasing the
state support for educat-
ing students with disabil-
ities from $138.5 million to
$168 million.
But district officials
said that doesnt mean
more money for the
Washoe County School
District.
While lawmakers allot-
ted extra dollars for spe-
cial education, the money
T H E S TAT E O F S P E C I A L E D U C AT I O N
KELLY ANN SCOTT
KSCOTT@RGJ.COM
attention. Things are
bound to change now.
Youve given us hope.
And Roy Harvey
wrote: Thank you for
writing such an indepth
excellently written.
Hopefully this will
drive change to help our
kids.
Many asked what they
can do to help. Were
working on that. Weve
A tale of four school districts
The RGJ contacted four school districts recommended by experts because of the success each
has had in educating students with disabilities. Each of the districts has graduation rates for students
with disabilities that are higher than the national average. Here are their takeaways:
Brevard Public
Schools, Florida
Total student population:
72,538
Students with disabilities:
16%
Overall graduation rate:
86%
Children with disabilities
graduation rate:
65%
Noteworthy: Brevard
County School Board of
Commissioners Chairman
Andy Ziegler said the
direction of how children
with disabilities are treated
and included in school needs
to start from the top.
He said while district staff
and departments may want
to make changes, the real
change needs to come from
the school board. He said two
members of his board have
children with disabilities,
which has made a difference
in conversations about all
children. He said his previous
work with children with
disabilities has made him ask
tough questions of the school
district involving special
education budgets and
programs.
lish, Val Verdes overall
graduation rate tops 90
percent.
Part of the districts
success is expecting all
students to meet the same
State funding for special education
Districts that will receive additional state funding
for special education in fiscal 2017:
SCHOOL
Clark County
Elko
Lander
Lyon
State Charter Schools
comes with a new funding
formula that affects how
it will be distributed to
Nevada's 17 school dis-
tricts.
State Special Educa-
tion Director Will Jensen
said that instead of basing
it on allocations for teach-
ers, funding will now be
based on the number of
students. As a result,
Clark County will receive
had conversations with
advocacy groups that
want to work toward solu-
tions. In the coming
weeks, well meet with
groups and officials to de-
termine what role we all
can play in helping our
community solve the is-
sues reporter Siobhan
McAndrew has outlined
this week.
A first step comes on
Wednesday, Aug. 3, when
we will help parents learn
how to advocate for chil-
dren who have been put
on individual education
programs in the Washoe
County School District.
Space is limited so re-
serve free tickets soon at
tickets.rgj.com.
The expert panel will
help parents support their
children when on an IEP.
Bartholomew
Consolidated School
District, Indiana
Total student population:
12,500
Students with disabilities:
13.9%
Overall graduation rate: 84%
Children with disabilities
graduation rate:
81%
Noteworthy: Eight-five
percent of students with
disabilities spend at least
80 percent of the school
day in general education
classes. In testimony to
Indiana lawmakers,
Superintendent John
Quick, who retired at the
end of the 2015-16 school
year, said the districts
framework was built to
support inclusive practices
for all students. He
testified that the district
made technology
available to students and
helped teachers design
lessons that were
accessible to all students.
graduation standards,
McCormick said.
He said the districts
norm is that children with
disabilities are included
in the same classrooms
ADDITIONAL
$24 million
$65,956
$9,917
$259,417
$5.1 million
$24 million out of the $29.5
million.
The state said the pre-
vious allocation, when
measured under the new
funding formula, was not
equitable to some dis-
tricts, including Clark,
the state's largest school
district.
I think it is our respon-
sibility as the state of Ne-
vada to ensure that 55,000
students with disabilities
are equitably treated in
McAndrew will moderate
the panel, which includes:
Mary Bryant of the
Nevada Center for Excel-
lence in Disabilities at the
University of Nevada, Re-
no
Deidre Hammon of
the CSD (Center for Self
Determination) Chil-
drens Advocacy Project
Cheri Day of Nevada
PEP (Parents Educating
Parents)
The forum will run
from 6:30 p.m. until about
8 p.m. at the Reno Ga-
zette-Journal, 955 Kuen-
zli St. Doors will open at 6
p.m.
The Washoe County
School District declined
to participate because
staff is busy preparing
for the start of the new
school year, a spokes-
Val Verde Unified
School District,
California
Total student population:
19,700
Students with disabilities: 9%
Overall graduation rate:
90%
Children with disabilities
graduation rate:
72%
Noteworthy: While Val
Verde does offer students
with disabilities a version of
Nevadas adjusted diploma, a
certificate option for students
with disabilities that does not
show a student has met
standard graduation
requirements, it isnt a
fallback for children with
disabilities, said Val Verde
School Superintendent
Michael McCormick. He said
it must be specifically written
in a childs education plan.
In only very limited
circumstances, for a student
with severe cognitive
impairments, would this type
of diploma be an option, he
said.
they would be in if they
didnt have a disability.
Its one tactic that na-
tional experts say works
and is becoming the
practice of more districts
Districts that will receive the same
amount of funds in FY 2017:
Carson City ....................$3.7 million
Churchill ........................$2.1 million
Douglas .........................$3.3 million
TOTAL
Esmeralda.............................$45,455
$112 million Eureka ................................$181,819
Humboldt ......................$1.5 million
$3.9 million Mineral ...............................$386,364
Nye .................................$2.6 million
$555,373
Pershing..............................$727,275
Storey..................................$363,637
$3.1 million
Washoe...........................$26 million
$6.1 million
White Pine..........................$727,275
whatever funding scheme
we come up with, Jensen
said.
I think Round One,
Year One begins to ad-
dress some inequities,
Jensen said. He said spe-
cial education funding
will have to be addressed
each legislative session.
But Washoe County
school officials say the
rollout of information
about the new funding for-
mula during the last few
Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 24, 2016 9A
woman said.
Weve been working to
find answers to your
questions about our se-
ries. Weve received
many questions about
teacher training, re-
sources, budget items,
teacher perspectives and
curriculum. Well find an-
swers and in some
cases, pursue stories to
answer your questions.
Theres been a lot to
read and digest. But, as
you continue to read
through this important se-
ries, email me with your
thoughts or questions at
kscott@rgj.com. Or, take
advantage of these ways
weve set up for you to an-
swer your questions:
Ask us anything: If
you have questions while
reading our coverage,
Upper Arlington School
District, Ohio
Total student population:
1,747
Students with disabilities:
12.5%
Overall graduation rate:
97%
Children with disabilities
graduation rate:
82%
Noteworthy: All
kindergarten students are
screened to identify
barriers to reading. Test
results determine who
needs intervention,
assistance or regular
classroom instruction.
According to a paper
written in February by
Upper Arlington School
District special education
staff, this screening
started four years ago.
The testing was the result
of a parents group that
challenged the district on
its identification and
intervention plan for
children with reading
disabilities.
across the country.
Deborah Telfer, direc-
tor of education at the
University of Dayton in
Ohio, said the conversa-
tions about special educa-
months has been confus-
ing.
The district is scram-
bling to figure out if it will
reduce services for spe-
cial education students or
make other budget cuts
that may affect general
education students. The
district said it has seen
four different funding
formulas, including one
please ask them on the
Google Forum weve set
up. RGJ Fact Checker
Mark Robison will moni-
tor the questions and be
answering them through
the week. If there are sto-
ries youd like us to exam-
ine going forward, well
do that, too. You can ac-
cess it here: http://
on.rgj.com/ed_questions
Talk to one another:
Weve created a private
Facebook group for fam-
ilies of children on IEPs to
communicate, share news
stories and tell their sto-
ries. Go to Facebook and
search for Washoe IEP
Families. McAndrew ad-
ministers the group.
Kelly Ann Scott is exec-
utive editor of RGJ Media.
Contact her at
kscott@rgj.com.
tion need to change. Tel-
fer was the principal in-
vestigator for the Nation-
al Center on Educational
Outcomes, a federally
funded research group
that studies school out-
comes for children with
disabilities.
She also worked on the
national report, Moving
Your Numbers, a re-
search project that pro-
filed districts that have
improved graduation
rates for students with
disabilities.
We spend all this time
on where kids are going to
sit and what program,
she said of discussions
about special education.
If we change the men-
tality in special education
and know that children
are going to be side-by-
side in the classroom,
theres less angst and
time wasted on finding
the golden ticket, she
said of segregated pro-
grams that often group
children with disabilities
together.
Instead, the conversa-
tion should be, they are
going to be in that class, in
that seat. What do we have
to do to make it work?
Kari Woods, of the
School Wide Integrated
Framework for Transfor-
mation, agreed. Common-
ly called SWIFT, the na-
tionally and federally
funded kindergarten
through middle school pi-
lot program is working to-
ward full inclusion mod-
els in five states.
Education should be
thought of as you would
your home, Woods said.
You have one child
with severe disabilities
and one without, she
said. You dont keep one
child in the back room.
Its what Will Jensen,
the Nevada Department
of Educations new state
director over special edu-
cation, said he believes,
too.
We are going to go af-
ter it, he said, stressing
inclusion for the states 17
school districts.
There is a one-to-one
link between inclusion
and graduation rates,
Jensen said.
that gave the district an
additional $2.5 million.
But the latest version
discussed at a state board
meeting Thursday esti-
mated that Washoe Coun-
ty's allocation for special
education will stay flat for
fiscal 2017, at $26 million.
By law, Nevada must
follow federal guidelines
that require states and
school districts to at least
maintain the same level of
support year to year. But
Washoe said the same sup-
port cant be considered
only in dollars.
The same dollar
amount year over year
does not purchase the
same services the follow-
ing year, Washoe County
School District Govern-
ment Affairs Director
Lindsay Anderson told
the state board of educa-
tion.
 Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 24, 2016 1E

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Voices
CONTACT MARK ROBISON | 775-788-6420 | MROBISON@RGJ.COM RGJ.COM

THE OPINION OF THE RGJ EDITORIAL BOARD

NOT WORTHY OF
THE NAME DIPLOMA
N
Nevada should end evadas education system sets up students with disabilities
for failure.

useless, harmful A principal issue driving this is the availability of adjust-

ed diplomas. These glorified certificates of attendance are en-

adjusted diplomas
THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
Read the investigation online
Read more about district changes implemented to improve
graduation rates, the voices of families, students and
teachers and more data on Nevadas education ranking at
RGJ.com/specialeducation.
THINKSTOCK IMAGES | GANNETT ILLUSTRATION
shrined in state law, and yet they have zero value in the real world
beyond allowing families to see their children walk across a stage.
According to Siobhan McAndrews two-year investigation into
the Washoe County School Districts special education programs,
Nevada ranks worst in the nation for graduating students with dis-
abilities largely because of these alternative diplomas.
The state should end their use during the upcoming session of the
Nevada Legislature. Instead, the minimum expectation for stu-
dents with disabilities should be a standard high school diploma.
Make no mistake: An adjusted diploma is not a high school diplo-
ma. Getting one does not allow a person to enlist in the military or
apply for college aid.
Adjusted diplomas create an acceptable minimum to aim for
with any student deemed to have a disability, whether that means
autism, Down syndrome, dyslexia, blindness or any of a hundred
different mental or physical issues large and small that affect
learning.
Some parents are urged to put their child on a path toward an
adjusted diploma. Others havent considered what path their child
is on. Many have no idea about the long-term consequences from
See DIPLOMA, Page 4E

THE SILVER PEN INSIDE

SCHOOL FUNDING VOTE WILL HELP BUSINESSES Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan: Tamir Rice. 2E
Charles Krauthammer: The two-part rebellion. 2E
Cory Farley: Something amiss at GOP convention. 3E
Nathan Emme of Reno is this weeks winner of the Silver Pen for a letter on a Orrin Johnson: Activists dont focus on future. 3E
ballot initiative to raise the Washoe County sales tax. Published July 20, it reads: Weekly Silver Pen Kwame Rose: Problem is black vs. blue, not white. 4E
As a Washoe County native and student at UNR, I am concerned with the fu- winners are selected by
ture of our school system. Our schools are overcrowded and in dire need of re- the newspaper's
pairs. Low-quality schools will deter businesses from moving to the area which editorial board based
will result in less economic growth and fewer job opportunities for soon to be on the quality of
graduates such as myself. The WC-1 ballot measure would raise the county sales writing, clarity of Our editorial board
tax by half a cent and all of that money would be dedicated to building new expression and
Editorials reflect the consensus of the Reno Gazette-Journal
schools and repairing existing ones. If it does not pass, our schools will become strength of opinion.
editorial board and are written by one of its members.
more and more overcrowded resulting in lower quality education. This will disin- Potential winners do
centivize new businesses from moving to the area and existing ones from stay- not have to agree with John Maher is president of the Reno Gazette-Journal.
ing. I love the Reno area and would love to start a career here, but I might be the newspaper's Kelly Ann Scott is the newspapers executive editor.
forced to move elsewhere if there are not sufficient employment opportunities editorial position. Gannett.
because we cant provide quality schools for our community. Mark Robison is the RGJs engagement editor.
4E Sunday, July 24, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal
More than 1,000 protestors rally during a Black Lives Matter demonstration held in Cincinnati on July 10.
Shootings debate is long
on slogans, short on facts
THE OPINION OF THE USA TODAY EDITORIAL BOARD
Facts matter when people are looking
for solutions to any problem, and there is
no shortage of facts demonstrating that
too many black men die unnecessarily at
the hands of police.
But slogans such as Hands Up, Dont
Shoot and simplistic narratives
suggesting that this is exclusively a
white-vs.-black racial problem muddy
the issue and fail to explain its complex-
ities.
Baltimore, for example, erupted in vi-
olent protests last year after the death of
Freddie Gray, a young black man who
was taken into custody and placed into a
police van, shackled but not belted,
where he suffered a fatal spinal injury.
But the tragedy doesnt fit the cookie-
cutter explanation of a white power
structure atop a majority black city. Bal-
timore has a black mayor. The depart-
ment has been headed by several black
commissioners. As of last year, nearly
half of police were black. Among the six
officers involved in Grays death, three
are African-American. Three of the six
have been acquitted in trials before an
African-American judge. One had a mis-
trial when the jury could not agree on a
verdict; two are awaiting trials.
Nor does race alone explain the re-
cent Philando Castile shooting in St.
Paul. The shocking aftermath was
streamed live on video by his girlfriend,
who said that after a traffic stop Castile
was fatally shot while reaching for his li-
cense and registration. The shooter? A
Latino officer.
Problem is black vs. blue, not white
ONE VIEW
KWAME ROSE
The problem of police relations with
the black community is often misunder-
stood as a black vs. white issue. But, no
matter what the race of the officer is, the
conflict that exists between black people
and law enforcement comes down to one
underlying fact: Our society has forced
law enforcement to operate in anti-
blackness, or fear of black bodies.
Regardless of a police officers race,
as soon as that uniform is put on, all black
people are perceived as a threat, and any
sudden move during an interaction with
law enforcement could result in death
for a black civilian.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David
Clarkes comments on CNN this week
that Black Lives Matter protesters spew
hateful ideology proves that the prob-
lem is in fact a black vs. blue issue.
Clarke, a black man, sees peaceful
demonstrators protesting police vio-
lence as a threat to a social order that has
never protected the life of black people.
The current social order is that when law
enforcement comes into contact with a
black person, officers fear for their
lives. They act based on that fear, and
events then justify their fears.
Putting black bodies in police uni-
forms wont solve the issue, at least not
until we are all ready to admit that anti-
blackness is the root cause of police vio-
lence in black communities.
Diploma
Continued from Page 1E
lowered expectations that can decrease
future potential. It is no wonder then that
so many accept an adjusted diploma as
good enough.
National special education expert Ju-
lia White told the RGJs Siobhan McAn-
drew, Allowing certificates of atten-
dance or other alternate diploma tracks
definitely damages students chances of
meaningful postsecondary employment
and education without a real creden-
tial.
As highlighted in McAndrews report-
ing, according to experts, 85 to 90 per-
cent of students with disabilities in gen-
And Hands up, Dont shoot the
slogan that launched a movement was
debunked by a Justice Department in-
vestigation released last year. The agen-
cy found that the account of Michael
Brown being shot in Ferguson, Mo.,
while his hands were raised was incon-
sistent with physical and forensic evi-
dence, that some witnesses accounts in-
explicably changed over time, and that
some also described Brown charging
at the police officer.
None of this is to deny a racial compo-
nent to police-involved shootings. But
other intractable problems are also at
play in a crisis that has deepened in re-
cent days with the fatal ambush of five
officers in Dallas and three in Baton
Rouge by African Americans apparently
bent on revenge. A police captain was fa-
tally shot in Kansas City, Kan., on Tues-
day, though apparently not in a planned
attack.
Myriad problems include the fact that
some cops, regardless of race, develop
an us-vs.-them mentality that separates
police officers from the policed. And if
cops are jittery after these shocking as-
sassinations and loose talk about a war
on police, well, who can blame them?
An unconscious bias does exist in po-
lice work, as FBI Director James Comey
noted in a speech last year. Because a
hugely disproportionate percentage of
street crime is committed by young men
of color, Comey said, veteran officers
often take a mental shortcut that leads
them to be more suspicious of black men.
Its not fair. Its dangerous. But its reali-
ty.
Baltimore City police officers lift activist Kwame Rose off the ground while arresting him
during a demonstration related to the Freddie Gray case Sept. 2.
All police officers regardless of
their race are trained to target black
drivers, patrol black neighborhoods, and
maintain social order.
The trials of the six Baltimore police
officers charged in the death of Freddie
Gray three of them are black prove
that officers of color are too often ded-
eral are capable of graduating. Washoe
school staff agree.
And yet only 28 percent of students
with disabilities in Washoe County earn a
real diploma. Most instead get an adjust-
ed diploma and do not graduate.
To put it bluntly, thousands of young
people in Reno and Sparks are leaving
the school system each year with almost
nothing to show for countless hours in
classrooms.
Consider Zach Hanham, who spent
part of his freshman year with a teacher
explaining tooth brushing. He told
McAndrew, I really wanted to be part of
high school. I already knew how to brush
my teeth.
His high school career included doing
math problems hed received the year
before, buttering bagels for other stu-
dents, and simply sitting with no other
JOHN MINCHILLO/AP
One reason the public knows so little
about what drives police-involved
shootings is that most departments
have failed to systematically collect da-
ta, despite years of accusations of ex-
cessive force against minorities and
millions of dollars paid out by some cit-
ies in settlements with victims fam-
ilies. That lack of information is em-
barrassing and ridiculous, Comey has
said.
Little has changed even two years
after Michael Browns shooting made
this a national issue. The most com-
plete statistics are kept by the news
media, and according to a Washington
Post analysis, fatal shootings by police
are up slightly in the first six months of
2016, compared with last year. Blacks
continued to be shot at 2.5 times the
rate of whites. One positive change: Far
more fatal shootings are now captured
by either police or bystanders cam-
eras a body of evidence that is prov-
ing valuable. But even video snippets
dont always tell the whole story of an
encounter.
African-American activists, with
their push to end the violence, are slow-
ly making a difference. But shouting
slogans, clinging to false narratives or
arguing over the merits of Black Lives
Matter vs. Blue Lives Matter will
only get in the way of understanding
and ending a crisis that diminishes all
lives.
USA Todays editorial opinions are
decided by its Editorial Board, sepa-
rate from the news staff.
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
icated more to the blue line than they
are to the protection of black lives.
Kwame Rose, a social activist, artist
and producer at The Real News Net-
work in Baltimore, gained attention af-
ter confrontations over news media
coverage of the #BaltimoreUprising.
activity. When finally given a chance to
do more in the second half of his senior
year, Hanham got a B in history.
Hanham did not receive the education
he deserved. He is not alone.
Nevada had skated by with decent
marks nationally in special education.
But in 2014, the federal government be-
gan holding states responsible not just
for accepting students with disabilities
but also for their academic perfor-
mance.
Nevada quickly revealed itself to
rank dead last, behind Louisiana and
Mississippi, for graduation rates for stu-
dents with disabilities.
Rorie Fitzpatrick of West Ed, a non-
profit agency focused on educational re-
search, told Washoe school officials af-
ter examining the districts practices,
Not everyone believes that kids with
Cure to
VA waits
creates
new ills
FROMA HARROP
We who oppose calls
to privatize the work of
the Veterans Affairs De-
partment are sorely
tested at times. Com-
plaints two years ago of
unreasonably long waits
for care at VA health facilities led to
reforms in several VA programs.
In 2013, applications for VA disabil-
ity benefits were piling up, with some
claims languishing for over a year. The
remedy streamlining the process
for judging disability claims was not
done carefully.
The new computerized system de-
manded less evidence to prove disabil-
ity. Examiners were given less time to
spend with the applicants, forcing
them to make rushed evaluations. It
was inevitable that some veterans
would exploit these weaknesses to ob-
tain unwarranted disability payments
or pad their checks.
As a result, the plan to unclog the
pipeline for disability claims has end-
ed up re-clogging it with fraudulent
ones. Veterans with great needs are
bumped out of appointments by fak-
ers. And money that could go to those
too disabled to work a regular job gets
diverted to the well-bodied.
Veterans themselves are complain-
ing about the scams. Here are two sto-
ries as reported in The Wall Street
Journal:
Brian Jacobson spent more than
year on roadside patrol in Iraqs Diyala
province. He justly receives disability
compensation for post-traumatic
stress disorder and traumatic brain in-
jury.
But when he was applying for the
benefit, a clinic staffer advised him
thus: Act like you have a screw loose
in your head. Wear clothes with holes
that havent been washed in a while.
And act like youve been homeless.
Jacobson knew he was fully qualified
for disability compensation, but the
coaching, he said, made him feel dis-
honest.
Another veteran of the Iraq War,
Jack Murphy, said he was told to say
that he had horrible nightmares and
was too shellshocked to do anything.
He was to add that hes impotent, even
as his wife was expecting. As for his
pregnant wife, the friends reportedly
said, They dont know anything.
Adding to the problem has been an
easing of standards for obtaining dis-
ability payments. For example, proof
of a traumatizing event in war was
once required for claiming PTSD. Now
it isnt, which helps explain why PTSD
claims nearly doubled from 2011 to
2015.
One wishes these applicants,
though a minority of veterans, would
refuse to lie their way to benefits that
could go to their suffering comrades.
But human nature being such, its obvi-
ous that if you open a path to receiving
a monthly check with lies, some people
will try to take it. This applies to all
government programs.
Veterans disability payments have
soared from about $15 billion in 2000 to
over $60 billion last year. Such discus-
sions must also note the very good rea-
sons for rocketing disability costs, un-
related to fraud.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
have drawn American troops into very
dangerous and stressful missions, cre-
ating a growing population of injured
and sick veterans. Improvements in
battlefield medicine are saving the
lives of many grievously injured
troops who would otherwise not have
survived. They return home with bro-
ken bodies.
Those wounded in service to their
country are entitled to the best of care.
If their injuries impede their ability to
work, then a monthly disability check
is their due. But though all veterans de-
serve thanks for their service, they are
not entitled to commit fraud.
The solution for long waits
whether for decisions on disability
claims or receiving medical attention
should be more staff to do the work.
Opening opportunities for cheating
serves neither taxpayers nor veterans
stuck in the resulting gridlock. It cre-
ates unfairness all around.
Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter
@FromaHarrop. She can be reached at
fharrop@gmail.com.
disabilities can succeed in meeting high
expectations. It is a hard thing for me to
say without getting emotional. The re-
search is clear that they absolutely can.
Most states have dumped adjusted di-
plomas because the large majority of
students with disabilities can do well in
school. Nevada is one of 10 holdouts.
The question now is which legislators
will carry this forward in the 2017 ses-
sion. Can we fix the law? Is there more to
add?
Success in any endeavor begins with
reasonable expectations. School dis-
tricts, parents and all of us need to push
the Nevada Legislature to set the bar
higher. Educators agree. Experts in the
field agree. Forty out of 50 states agree.
Lets make it 41. Achievement of a stan-
dard diploma for all students is the start-
ing point.
 Reno Gazette-Journal Sunday, July 31, 2016 1E

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Voices
CONTACT MARK ROBISON | 775-788-6420 | MROBISON@RGJ.COM RGJ.COM

THE OPINION OF THE RGJ EDITORIAL BOARD

INCLUSION
IS THE WAY
FORWARD The mindset of segregating children with
disabilities must end in Washoe County

T
he Washoe County School District needs to stop segregating children with

disabilities. Research shows that students with disabilities do better when

included in the school in their neighborhood, with their siblings and in the

same seat they would have with or without a disability. This is called inclusion. In

Washoe County, however, segregated classrooms and a segregated school are still en-

couraged by staff as valuable options. Superintendent Traci Davis and school board

president Angela Taylor have said they do not believe inclusion is right for every child.

With new information, this mindset of segregation needs to evolve quickly. It

runs counter to district and state promises of sweeping educational reforms that aim

for better graduation rates for children with disabilities. The district says it is

committed to doing what is best for each individual child. Inclusion is best. This is

borne out by numerous studies over the past 30 years, the words of national experts as

well as Nevadas special education director, and higher graduation rates in states and

districts with higher rates of inclusion.

See INCLUSION, Page 4E

THE STATE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

Read the investigation online

Read more about district changes implemented to improve graduation rates, the voices of families, students and
teachers and more data on Nevadas education ranking at RGJ.com/specialeducation.

THE SILVER PEN INSIDE

BEARS-AND-TRASH ISSUES ARE OUT OF CONTROL Charles Krauthammer: Not making case for Hillary 2E
Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan: Fractured Philly 2E
Cory Farley: It was a noble battle, but its over, Berniacs 3E
Toogee Sielsch of Carson City is this weeks winner of the Silver Pen for a letter Thomas Sowell: Black votes matter, but do lives? 3E
on bear policy. Published July 27, it reads, in part: Weekly Silver Pen Froma Harrop: No Bernie, no revolution, no question 4E
Governor Sandoval, two of your state agencies have been working hand-in- winners are selected by Brett M. Decker: Gun play didnt disrupt GOP convention 4E
hand to disregard every guideline issued in your July is Bear Logic Month the newspaper's
proclamation. Your proclamation speaks of Nevada Department of Wildlife tak- editorial board based
ing a proactive role to mitigate human/bear interactions and suggests humans on the quality of
take responsibility and secure any attractants from being accessible by bears. writing, clarity of Our editorial board
NDOW and the Nevada State Park at Sand Harbor have been epic failures by expression and
Editorials reflect the consensus of the Reno Gazette-Journal
those standards! A third trap in six weeks sits there in the parking lot as I type, strength of opinion.
editorial board and are written by one of its members.
while close at hand are overflowing trash bins that have been documented on a Potential winners do
daily basis. One young bear was trapped and killed in early June while nothing not have to agree with John Maher is president of the Reno Gazette-Journal.
has been done to secure the overflowing trash problem, which could be easily the newspaper's Kelly Ann Scott is the newspapers executive editor.
fixed. Ill finish with one question for you, Governor. How many bears must die editorial position. Gannett.
before someone steps in and takes control of a situation spiraling out of control? Mark Robison is the RGJs engagement editor.
4E Sunday, July 31, 2016 Reno Gazette-Journal

Inclusion
Continued from Page 1E

The question should not be Can the

Washoe district do inclusion? but rath-
er How will it accomplish inclusion?
The argument in favor of inclusion
is too powerful to ignore. Kari Woods of
the national SWIFT inclusion program
described it this way to the RGJs Siob-
han McAndrew: Imagine as a parent
that you have one child with disabilities
and one without You dont keep one
child in the back room.
Schools should not behave that way

GOPS
either.
And the evidence for inclusion is too
strong for the school district to con-
tinue high rates of segregation.

ATTACKS
Julia Bascom, deputy executive di-
rector of the advocacy group Autistic
Self Advocacy Network, told the RGJ,
We know that including students in

ON OBAMA
general education classrooms is better
when we look at every academic met-
ric.
Elizabeth Kozleski, a researcher at

FIT WELL
the University of Kansas Department
of Special Education, said, There have
been a number of studies that show the
positive impact of inclusive education

in terms of socialization and academ-
ics. There have also been other studies
that show the positive impact having
children with disabilities in general
education has on kids that dont have
disabilities.
In some Nevada rural counties too
small to offer segregated programs
students with disabilities perform bet-
ter. For example, in Douglas County, 72
percent of students with disabilities
graduated in 2015. In Carson City, 66
percent graduated. In Washoe County,
29 percent did.
This is not uncommon. For example,
the 21 schools of Californias Val Verde
School District feature full inclusion
for students with disabilities. It gradu-
ates 72 percent of such students and
90 percent of all students despite
three in four children living in poverty
and one in four still learning English.
A 2014 in-depth report commis-
sioned by the Massachusetts Depart-
ment of Elementary and Secondary
Education found: Students with dis-
abilities who had full inclusion place-
ments (spending 80 percent or more of
the school day in general education
classrooms), on average, earned higher
[assessment test] scores, graduated
high school at higher rates, and were
more likely to remain in their local
school districts than students who were
educated in substantially separate
placements (spending less than 40 per-
cent of the day in the general education
classroom).
Nevadas Department of Education
will push for more inclusion. There is
a one-to-one link between inclusion and
graduation rates, said the agencys
new special education director, Will
Jensen.
This policy of segregation has addi-
tional costs beyond poor graduation
rates.
Students who do not graduate gener-
ally require more social supports from
taxpayers and have more difficulty in-
tegrating with the post-school world.
Many students with disabilities are
transported to schools not in their
neighborhoods. There are more than
200 segregated classrooms around the
Washoe district. According to an RGJ
records request, the district spent $5.4
million last year to transport students
with disabilities to schools not near
their homes. This has the effect of fur-
ther isolating children by not allowing
them to attend school with the same
kids they will build friendships with
through elementary, middle and high
schools.
And the district says it spends near-
ly six times more per student at Marvin
Picollo School, a school of 120 students
with severe disabilities in south Reno.
In a perfect world, the costs of seg-
regation could be shifted to training
teachers and aides who need support to
make inclusion a reality in Washoe
County.
We know inclusion cannot happen
overnight, but the real belief by the
state, school district and community
that every child deserves that same
seat in that same classroom can start
now.
ON TRUMP
President Barack Obama waves as he walks on the stage to speak during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in
Philadelphia.
Here are nine ways that the Republicans nominee
is worse than the partys caricature of the president
ONE VIEW
JILL LAWRENCE
If Donald Trump seems familiar, its because he
closely resembles someone the caricature of Barack
Obama that Republicans have tried to paint for eight
years. The absurd attacks on Obama have not only come
to life in their nominee, Trump takes them to cartoones-
que heights unimaginable even by the GOP ridicule
squad. So here you go, Democrats, a heaping platter of
schadenfreude:
Hes just a celebrity!
Hes the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he
ready to lead? a female narrator asked in a 2008 John
McCain TV ad, as shots of Paris Hilton and a massive
Obama rally in Berlin flashed by.
In 2016, Ill see your supposedly empty celebrity and
raise you a billionaire casino and golf-club developer,
talk-show and gossip-page staple from way, way back.
Cant lose.
Its all about him!
How many times have conservatives gone after Oba-
ma for allegedly using the word I too much in a
speech? Now theyre stuck with a narcissist who respon-
ds to the Orlando shooting with a tweet thanking sup-
porters for the congrats on being right and boasts that
I alone can fix the disaster that is America. Some
people thought Obama had a Messiah complex when he
talked about trying to slow the rise of the oceans. Well,
move over Mr. President.
Hes too dim to function without a
teleprompter!
Obamas supposed inability to talk off the cuff, de-
spite all evidence to the contrary, was an attack line that
would not die. It also proved awkward for the many Re-
publicans who wisely relied on teleprompters for impor-
tant moments.
Many in the party no doubt wish Trump would use one
more often. Especially when hes called on to do some-
thing like introduce his vice presidential pick.
He has no experience!
Even Sarah Palin who had been mayor of a small
town and spent 18 months as Alaska governor when she
was picked as McCains vice president mocked Oba-
ma as a community organizer.
The truth: Obama didnt have the longest resume. But
he was a lawyer who had served as an Illinois state sena-
tor for eight years before winning election to the U.S.
Senate in 2004. Maybe reality TV and bankruptcies are
better preparation. But I doubt it.
He hates America!
cool.Fact-checkers have tried for years to kill the har-
dy but false GOP assertion that Obama is a serial apolo-
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP
gizer for America and doesnt think its anything special.
Trump, on the other hand, really does trash-talk about
America.
Just last week he told The New York Times that
When the world looks at how bad the United States is,
and then we go and talk about civil liberties, I dont think
were a very good messenger. He added: I dont know
that we have a right to lecture other countries. His
doom-and-gloom view of the U.S. economy is even more
skewed. TheJune jobless rate was 4.9%, 287,000 new
jobs were created, and just during his convention week
the Dow set a series of record highs.
He lies!
Or, as Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., shouted at the presi-
dent during a joint session of Congress, You lie! But
its Trump with the spectacular record for instance, 36
statements rated pants on fire by Politifact, 32 of them
in 2015 and 2016, compared with nine total for Obama in
the last nine years.
Obama did win lie of the year in 2013 for his fre-
quent assertion that under theAffordable Care Act, if
you like your health care plan, you can keep it. Trump
bested him, however. He won lie of the year in 2015 for
his entire oeuvre of lies or, as PolitiFact put it, cam-
paign misstatements unhampered by accuracy.
He doesnt respect the presidency!
What a travesty, those shirtsleeves in the Oval Office.
Trump has certainly upped that ante. Accuse a tough
female questioner of being on the rag, defend the size of
his manhood in a televised debate; the rules of respect
have been defined down in a massive way.
Hes too nice to dictators and tyrants!
Hah. Obamas alleged bows to various leaders are
nothing stacked up against what Madeline Albright this
week called Trumps strange admiration for dictators
the strength of Chinese officials who put down the
uprising at Tiananmen Square (with a massacre), the A
for leadership he gave Vladimir Putin (Trump forces
reportedly even made sure the 2016 GOP platform was
nicer to Putin.)
Hes not nice enough to Congress!
If only Obama would schmooze and play more golf,
wed have utopia-on-the-Potomac instead of world-class
dysfunction. What we really need, apparently, is a presi-
dent who trashed McCains time as a prisoner in Viet-
nam, told Sen. Jeff Flake he would lose his reelection,
and called other senators names like Little Marco and
Lyin Ted. Who criticized the appearance of Lyin
Teds wife and suggested his dad might have been in on
the JFK assassination.
Even the GOP is going to miss Mr. Congeniality I
mean, Mr. Obama when hes gone.
Jill Lawrence is the commentary editor of USA Today.

Oops! Gun play didnt disrupt the GOP convention

ONE VIEW
BRETT M. DECKER
The previous week proved that the
Second Amendment works. A push to
limit gun rights failed, and citizens car-
ried arms openly in Cleveland outside
the Republican convention including
at protests with no problems.
Before the convention, Cleveland Po-
lice Chief Calvin Williams lobbied to sus-
pend open-carry rights downtown, say-
ing, The fewer guns, the better. The
Buckeye State is one of 45 states where
open-carry is guaranteed by law.
The police union also pushed for a
ban. Ohio Gov. John Kasich could do
some kind of executive order or some-
thing I dont care if its constitutional
at this point, said Stephen Loomis,
president of the Cleveland Police Patrol-
mens Association. Kasich resisted:
Ohio governors do not have the power
to arbitrarily suspend federal and state
constitutional rights or state laws.
Editorial pages across the country, in-
cluding USA Today, warned that the sky
was falling because of legal gun carriers,
illogically tying law-abiding citizens to
future mass murder. Gun owners
Micah Naziri (center) and Jaimes Campbell carry rifles along West Superior Avenue outside the
Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 19.
should leave their weapons at home,
opined Clevelands Plain Dealer.
The warnings amounted to a big mis-
fire. Chief Williams later admitted that
open-carry wasnt a problem, noting that
nobodys been arrested or has chal-
lenged the things we asked them to do.
Part of the explanation for the surprise
passivity is that hysterics focused more
on law-abiding folks wanting to protect
themselves instead of on real threats.
There were legitimate safety con-
cerns surrounding the convention, but
DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
not related to law-abiding citizens pack-
ing heat. The acceleration of terrorist at-
tacks on soft targets globally, the shoot-
ing of police nationally, and the fact that
the FBI named Cleveland as the fifth
most dangerous city in America last
year all provided good reasons to worry
about being in crowds.
But if anything, these real threats of
violence provided more justification for
those downtown to be able to protect
themselves, not less. That events turned
out calmer than expected can at least
partly be attributed to the deterrent ef-
fect that is common when would-be
criminals know their potential victims
might be armed and able to protect
themselves.
Other than minor floor debates over
insignificant parliamentary procedure
and Sen. Ted Cruzs non-endorsement of
presidential nominee Donald Trump, the
GOPs 2016 convention, at least from the
law enforcement perspective, went off
without a hitch. The Cleveland polices
biggest worry ended up being about a
sticker distributed that caused skin irri-
tation, not guns.
There were a total of 24 arrests in
Cleveland, Republican National Com-
mittee spokesman Sean Spicer told me.
For all the hype about trying to suspend
Second Amendment rights, law enforce-
ment did an amazing job ensuring Cleve-
land was the safest convention in histo-
ry.
Its a gun advocate cliche that an
armed society is a polite society. Cleve-
land showed that an armed convention
can also be a safe one.
Brett M. Decker is co-author of the up-
coming book The Conservative Case for
Trump.