Parents and students press Buffalo City School District over special-education placements; board promises follow-up

At a July 16 Buffalo City School District Board of Education meeting, parents, students and community advocates urged the board to address what they described as inequitable special-education placement practices and reductions in services at higher-performing schools.

The concerns centered on Discovery School (School 67), which several speakers said had previously agreed to seats for students who qualify for special-education services but later told families there was "no room." Melina Fisher, a parent, told the board that after an independent evaluation her son was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder, other language impairment and dyslexia and that "now that he is diagnosed, there's no more room for him at 67." She said the classroom exists but families are being told there is no space and that the district’s assignment process denies many students access to…