I have entered into a dispute with CCSD over the public labeling of kindergarten special education classrooms which personally impacted my son.  I learned through some research this is not the only school to engage in the practice of labeling such classes to indicate their special education status. If you would like specific regulations and what I am doing in my own case please read my article.  

Why Privacy Matters for Special K

Special Education Kindergarten often referred to as “Special K” in the Clark County School District is a program to help orient children whom qualify due to disability to school through smaller class sizes and a teacher with special education training. Not all elementary schools have this program, most children attending are bused to these programs across various school zones.

Protections exist so that children of all other grades are never published or disclosed that they receive special education services. Therefore the same protections must extend to kindergarten.

You could ask the question what is the big deal about kindergarten – who is ever going to remember that your child was in the “special K” class? Plenty of people will remember especially the ones most apt to make your child’s school experience HELL. Now that schools publish yearbooks how would you like your child’s smiling happy face thrown back at him in high school? Now that parents are all engaging in social media how would you like it if your child photographed with the label “here is the special ed class.”

Children are placed in special education at this young age for a variety of reasons. Many are able to graduate kindergarten and not need additional interventions throughout elementary school, most are integrated with varying levels of support into the general education classroom.

For teachers having to spend so much of their time on discipline feeding bullies another piece of bait is not acceptable. Our students do not need another chip in the armor of their self esteem causing the need for greater interventions that would not exist if the disclosure simply was not made.

Children come to special education kindergarten for a variety of reasons. Listed below are reasons I have personally known of why children have been placed into special education programs in our schools. They deserve both dignity and privacy. Who among us would want to answer publicly to the gaggle of rude parents who ask why your “normal looking” child gets this help.

• Traumatic childhood sex abuse
• Cancer
• Autism
• ADHD
• HIV
• Homelessness
• Death of one or both parents
• Death of a sibling
• Brain injury