Tribunal orders mixed regular and special education placement for 14-year-old student with Down syndrome.
The parent of a 14-year-old child with Down syndrome appealed an IPRC decision identifying the child with a Developmental Disability and placing the child in a Special Education Class (Home School Comprehensive).
The parent sought an identification of Exceptional with no category named (or Multiple Exceptionality) and a full-time regular class placement with a dedicated educational assistant.
The Tribunal ordered the child identified as Exceptional Intellectual pending further psychological assessment, finding previous assessments outdated or unreliable.
The Tribunal ordered a mixed placement: a regular Grade 8 class for at least 50% of the time with special needs assistant support, combined with resource withdrawal assistance for mathematics and language in the Home School program, concluding that full-time regular class placement without specific skill instruction was not in the child's best interests.
