The Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice says the planned “FUTURES” regional site in Cornelia is part of an illegal system that unnecessarily segregates students with disabilities from their peers.
As Now Habersham reported first back in May, Habersham County School Board members voted to hand over the old school building at 595 Elrod Street in Cornelia to the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS).
Known locally as Cornelia Elementary #2, the building now belongs to GNETS. Workers have been renovating the site this summer preparing it to become the regional hub for the Northeast Georgia FUTURES program this fall.
Habersham and about a half dozen surrounding counties send students with emotional and behavioral issues to the FUTURES program because, educators say, traditional classrooms are not equipped to handle their special needs.
The local school boards don’t have any control over the curriculum at the regional site. State agencies fund and administer the program while FUTURES students are no longer considered part of the local school system at all.
GNETS has been running these regional schools since the 1970s but the Justice Department now says the program illegally segregates roughly 5000 students statewide and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“We conclude that the State’s administration of the GNETS Program violates Title II (of the ADA). The state administers the GNETS Program in a manner that results in students with disabilities being unnecessarily segregated from their peers. In addition, the State discriminates against students with disabilities in the GNETS Program by failing to ensure the GNETS services are equal to those offered to other students not in the GNETS Program.”
In a letter to Governor Nathan Deal and Attorney General Sam Olens this week, the feds detailed the results of a three-year investigation into the GNETS program.
The negative effects of inappropriate segregation faced by students in the GNETS Program are readily apparent. One student in the GNETS Program stated, “school is like prison where I am in the weird class.” He attributes this in large part to isolation and distance from other students in the general education community, as he does not have the opportunity to interact with these students during the school day.
According to a number of other students we spoke with, the GNETS Program denies them some of the most basic elements of a typical childhood school experience. One student reported feeling frustrated and “like an outcast” in the GNETS Program, and was upset about not having a school locker like “normal” high school students.
Another parent remarked that her daughter, who attends the GNETS Program, desperately wishes to have her picture taken and included in a yearbook, as all her friends in general education schools do, as this would give her a sense of belonging and community that she craves.
We learned that students in the GNETS Program also face substantial stigma, with one parent stating, “once you are in GNETS you are considered a ‘bad kid.’ It’s a warehouse for kids the school system doesn’t want or know how to deal with.” Several parents and students with whom we spoke compared
The investigation also found that the program is not cost effective. The state legislature budgeted $70 million for GNETS students last year. An audit showed that providing the aid and support necessary for these students in a traditional classroom would cost $48 million per year.
In addition to the state funding, local school districts pay the program to cover the cost of transporting students to the regional locations. Through last year, when Habersham FUTURES students were transported to a site in Gainesville, annual transportation costs topped $64,000 for local tax payers.
The Justice Department letter included a threat to sue the state if Georgia doesn’t end the segregation and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. There’s been no response so far from the Governor or Georgia’s Attorney General.
