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Wednesday, April 4, 2007
A Question With Multiples
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Apparently, the issue of how educators place twins, triplets and other so-called multiples in classrooms has gotten so contentious lawmakers now are stepping in to give parents more say.
State Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) is pushing a bill that would ensure that such siblings not be separated by class assignment, unless that’s what parents want. According to today’s story by my co-worker, Kevin Duffy, school administrators currently decide whether to separate multiples or keep them together — sometimes despite parents’ desires.
Of course, just because a child is born with his or her sibling doesn’t mean the children have the same educational needs. So, in an extreme hypothetical example, how would principals deal with a set of twins, one classified as gifted and the other as special education, when the parent wants the children to be together?
As with many educational bills, this legislation raises all sorts of questions — not just with regard to carrying out the policy, but also philosophically. After all, where should the power for making specific educational decisions about a child attending a public school ultimately lie: with parents or educators?
