I suppose they look at the overall program and not just one aspect of it. Also, they would need to compare how similar children are doing in the same program. I would think that the buddy idea might have worked well for some who did not get stuck with a loser buddy. Do you think you could have presented your problems to the school with any positive results?
I am not pro public school. I suppose I should reveal that. But if you choose to place your child there then you have to live with certain things. I still think the parents retain the right to have a say in key areas. I think you should have been able to request a change for your child in that buddy system nonsense. Schools should respect parents. But that does't mean courts should allow one parent with a hyperactive child to rewrite the program for everyone. There are pitfalls both directions.
I didn't want my kid in the buddy system. I thought he would do better with a teacher reading with him, than a 6th grader! It was a waste of time.
And there is no way in the world a parent would have access to the information on other kids in the program. That information is confidential. So, the parents are hamstringed going into this.
With this ruling, it will not stop with special ed kids...next, no parent will be able to protest any school program without "proving" that the program did not help their child's education. Diversity training is one item.
Rulings like this take the power away from the parents. These parents protested the program their son was in. The court says that they can not just plain not like it....the court says that the parents have no say in their own child's education plan, unless they get some kind of special ed professional lawyer to prove to the court that the program did not benefit their child! What if they just did not like it? Too bad, the school knows best....government knows best what is best for your child.