LOST BOY
Greg and Maya have come to the conclusion that the District of Columbia Public Schools system doesn’t have the capacity to educate their son. Federal law states that public school systems must foot the bill for private schooling for students like Max if the public schools can’t give him a “free and appropriate public education.” How you define “appropriate,” though, is where it gets blurry.
HUFFINGTON 01.12.14
In November 2012, Max’s family filed for private school funding. In January, a DCPS hearing officer denied their claim on the grounds that Max’s lack of progress is not legal reason enough to grant him free tuition. Washington, D.C., like other school districts throughout the country, is currently trying to reduce the number of special education students on the rolls of costly private schools. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has called for reducing his city’s private placements by
Max’s parents took him to the hospital to determine whether he had epilepsy on July 24, 2013. About one third of those with autism also suffer from epilepsy at some point in their lives. While he did display some abnormal brain activity, Max is not epileptic.