I think it's a bit unfair to frame this as "inclusion," as if a failure here is some volitional exclusion. Parochial schools simply do not have the funding to offer the same services as public schools for students with disabilities. That is the end of the analysis. My local parochial school, in a high cost of living area, costs less than $6,000 per year per student, and a small percentage of additional funding comes from the church. The public schools consistently fund over $20,000 per student.
I gotta disagree with this. Yes, there are funding restraints, but to say that and shrug falls short.
From personal experience I can say there are funds available for assistance thru federal and state programs but little effort to educate parents on how to get them. These funds can result in funding for a child to obtain the things they need, for example a personal assistant. The diocesan school system ought to have proactively put that information out there as well as the process for obtaining funds but didn't.
Can a parish school meet every need? No. But dioceses can be more aggressive in either starting niche special needs schools, educating parents on additional resources to stay in Catholic schools, or seeking grants and they by and large don't. (Shout out to Pittsburgh and St Louis as two examples that do, though)
A couple weeks ago there was a news story about Chicago public schools abruptly cutting the funding for 800 Catholic school students with disabilities. Now the Archdiocese has to argue with the public sector over the funding, which I'm sure was sizable given that so many students are affected.
There is a recent article from the McGrath Institute at Notre Dame which does a good job of examining the discussion of the cost of people with disabilities. It’s well worth a read.
I think it's a bit unfair to frame this as "inclusion," as if a failure here is some volitional exclusion. Parochial schools simply do not have the funding to offer the same services as public schools for students with disabilities. That is the end of the analysis. My local parochial school, in a high cost of living area, costs less than $6,000 per year per student, and a small percentage of additional funding comes from the church. The public schools consistently fund over $20,000 per student.
I gotta disagree with this. Yes, there are funding restraints, but to say that and shrug falls short.
From personal experience I can say there are funds available for assistance thru federal and state programs but little effort to educate parents on how to get them. These funds can result in funding for a child to obtain the things they need, for example a personal assistant. The diocesan school system ought to have proactively put that information out there as well as the process for obtaining funds but didn't.
Can a parish school meet every need? No. But dioceses can be more aggressive in either starting niche special needs schools, educating parents on additional resources to stay in Catholic schools, or seeking grants and they by and large don't. (Shout out to Pittsburgh and St Louis as two examples that do, though)
A couple weeks ago there was a news story about Chicago public schools abruptly cutting the funding for 800 Catholic school students with disabilities. Now the Archdiocese has to argue with the public sector over the funding, which I'm sure was sizable given that so many students are affected.
There is a recent article from the McGrath Institute at Notre Dame which does a good job of examining the discussion of the cost of people with disabilities. It’s well worth a read.
https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-church-and-the-cost-of-disability/