PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new report says children with disabilities are being pushed out of Pennsylvania preschools at a rate more than 14 times higher than non-disabled children.
The report from the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania says Black and Brown children are excluded at higher rates as well.
Hillary Linardopoulos, the center’s policy director, said the report describes parents of children with autism getting calls from preschools saying, “‘Your child is not a good fit,’ or, ‘Your child needs X, Y or Z support to be able to come to school.’
“That is not permissible,” she said.
Linardopoulos said this happened to one 5-year-old boy with autism.
“This was his very first day of preschool,” she said, “and essentially Mom was told, ‘We cannot support your child. We do not have the resources. He cannot come to this preschool.’”
Discrimination is against state and federal law, but privately run preschools aren’t required to track informal expulsions, so Linardopoulos said the true measure is often unclear. The Education Law Center is advocating for stricter reporting regulations.
