Mass. Lawmakers Vote To Change Special Ed. Standard

By Michelle Galley

In a major policy shift, Massachusetts would abandon what is generally considered the nation's most generous special education standard, under legislation recently approved by state lawmakers.

Legislative language tacked on to a budget bill would stipulate that school districts in Massachusetts no longer have to provide the "maximum feasible benefit" to their students with disabilities, starting in January 2002. The nearly 27-year-old mandate was too costly and went beyond the requirements under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, critics argued.

As of last week, the state's Republican governor was expected to sign the budget bill, which the legislature approved last month. In dropping its current special education guideline, Massachusetts would adopt the federal IDEA standard, which requires that public schools provide a "free, appropriate public education" to disabled students. Schools in the rest of the country follow the standard in the IDEA, the nation's...