Philly schools insist on CSAP for a disabled boy, instead of the care he needs

When Manuel Gonzalez started kindergarten, his mother, Jasmin, told administrators at Elkin Elementary School in Kensington that he'd been diagnosed with a learning disability while in Head Start.

But a school psychologist tested Manuel and told Gonzalez that he was only having trouble speaking. They enrolled him in a student assistance program called CSAP and said he would attend regular classes. This way Manuel would not have to endure the stigma of being labeled as learning disabled.

They promised to retest him in a year. Four years later, Manuel hadn't improved and hadn't been tested.

In documents describing its Comprehensive Student Assistance Process, or CSAP, the Philadelphia School District states that the program is the mechanism for regular education interventions to help students struggling with academic or behavioral difficulties. The aim is to avoid inappropriately referring students for an evaluation for special-education reasons, as called for under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

The act also says that when school officials suspect a student may have a learning disability, testing is required to determine if special-education services are warranted.

Yet parents, advocates, and lawyers say the School District routinely delays such testing by first placing children such as Manuel in CSAP.

A report Philadelphia filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the 2008-09 school year acknowledged that the district failed to act on its own recommendations to provide disability evaluations for 800 students in CSAP.

The district says the report is flawed because the state gives it no credit when a child receives some services but not all.

Deborah James Vance, who oversees school counselors for the School District, said the district complies with the laws. Vance added that the number also might not reflect tests conducted after the state reporting period.

"We close the data at the end of May or June, so they may have been evaluated over the summer or the next school year," she said.

Disability lawyers said the explanation concerned them.

"If they are referred by a team to get an evaluation, then they are required to do an evaluation," said Kelly Darr, a lawyer with the Disability Rights Network.

"It's impossible to have 'some' of that delivered. It makes no sense to me," she said.