Michigan Board Vote Ends Battle On Spec. Ed. Regulations

By Lisa Fine

The Michigan state board of education has unanimously approved a package of rules for special education, closing the door on a yearlong battle with angry parents, students, and advocates for children with disabilities. The dispute had escalated into a protest at the state Capitol in Lansing and a lawsuit filed to extend the period for public comment.

By heeding input from the public and removing the most controversial proposed changes to the set of 28-year-old laws that regulate special education services in the state, education officials have won over their former critics, said T.J. Bucholz, a spokesman for state Superintendent of Public Instruction Thomas D. Watkins Jr.

For instance, the package of rules, approved Feb. 14, keeps in place caps on the number of special education students assigned to any one teacher. Those caps depend on the nature of a child's disability. The changes proposed a year ago, which drew sharp criticism, would have taken away those...