The press release. . . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Coloma, MI Community Rallies Around Deaf Child A demonstration will be held on Friday, June 14th at Washington Elementary School in Coloma to support Lisa Rennhack, a deaf eight-year-old whose family is fighting to keep her in the Coloma Community School District. The event is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m., a half hour before Lisa’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting where the school district will present their proposed placement decision. Lisa’s parents, Michael and Kathy Rennhack have retained the services of Special Education attorney Kristin Totten, arguing that the district’s proposed move violates Lisa’s right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). “Federal and State laws protect children with disabilities and for Lisa the appropriate place for her to go to school is in her home district with appropriate services and support. Here you have an inclusive community which we should all applaud. The local community does not want Lisa to leave, and has done their best to include her” Totten says. Under her most recent IEP, Lisa spends all day in a regular education classroom with the services of an interpreter. She currently receives services from a Hearing Impaired teacher who is not proficient in ASL for 1.5 hours per week while her classmates take part in Spanish and Music class. The family believes that Lisa’s needs can be met in Coloma with the services of an interpreter and a hearing impaired teacher who is proficient in ASL. In addition to receiving FAPE in an LRE, the family firmly believes that a fourth educational move in less than five years will prove both academically and socially detrimental to Lisa’s success. Kathy Rennhack states, “Our daughter has experienced a great deal of support over the past two years. She is a part of this community and her friends are here. Her father and I feel that beyond the academic and social harm that another move would inflict, there is the issue of precedent-setting. If we allow this move, we are saying that it is OK to continually uproot our daughter whenever it suits the districts involved, without regard to her needs, rights, or community ties.” “We are especially concerned about the message this move would send to our community with respect to special needs students” adds Michael Rennhack. “Do we really want to communicate that deaf children deserve to be sent away and that they aren’t welcome in Coloma? How do you explain that to a room full of seven and eight-year-olds? Learning to function in a hearing world is essential to Lisa’s ability to develop into an active and contributing member of our community. Integrating a child with a hearing impairment into the regular classroom provides an opportunity to teach children about the value of every individual and reduce stigmas placed on those with disabilities.” Over the past two years, Lisa’s presence in Coloma Community Schools has led to the implementation of ASL as a curriculum component in one Kindergarten classroom and the family receives continual feedback from the community that the ASL offering should be broadened to encompass all grades. Lisa is active in Girls Scouts at Washington Elementary and Coloma Rocket Football cheerleading. Background Information Lisa was born profoundly deaf. She is a bilateral cochlear implant recipient, but due to structural abnormalities, has not benefited from the devices. Lisa relocated from Knoxville, TN to Coloma along with her parents in August of 2008. Lisa was placed in the auditory-verbal program in Berrien Springs that fall. In October 2009, the program administration in Berrien Springs determined that Lisa would be better served by the American Sign Language (ASL) program in Lawrence, located in Van Buren County. Lisa attended the Lawrence program until May 2011. The Rennhack family was notified in March 2011 by Lawrence program administrators that all Berrien County students in the program would be moved to Coloma beginning with the 2011-2012 school year. Lisa has attended the Coloma program since September 2011. In January of this year, the family received notification that the program in Coloma will be moving back to Lawrence effective September 3rd. A press conference will be held outside the school immediately following the IEP meeting to communicate the district’s recommendation and the family’s next steps. Questions may be directed to Kristin Totten: (269) 270-1278 or Kristin.totten@gmail.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:34:53 +0000
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