Running Head: ABLEISM

Segregation of students with disabilities in Georgia

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Ableism

Human rights activists have for a long time been advocating for ways in which all human

will be treated equally and with respect regardless of their age, background, or health status.

However, Georgia State has been found to be violating some of the human right codes by

segregating students with disabilities. This paper examines the rationale behind this segregation

and how students with disabilities may be affected now and in the future following this

segregation.

Georgia’s Segregation of Students with Disabilities

According to the video, investigation by the US Department of Justice has found that the

state of Georgia is illegally segregating or isolating students with behavioral, mental, or

emotional disabilities. This has not only resulted to about 5,000 students getting inferior

education, but that this segregation limits the students from accessing resources available for

students in integrated settings. Many of these students are being kept in the same ill-conditioned

buildings that were used during the Jim Crow era for Black students.

Georgia’s Rationale for this Practice

Georgia’s rationale for this segregation practice is that keeping students with disabilities

separate from the main stream system is a form of psycho-education. This refers to an education

model applied to people living with emotional disturbances. The rationale behind the psycho-

educational system is that it allows the student to get a clear understanding of their mental

condition, knowledge of their own strengths, coping skills, resources thus better equipping the

student with methods of dealing with the problem and contributing to their own well-being. With

a better understanding of the problems, psycho-education widens the student’s perception and
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interpretation of the problem thus influencing positive emotions and behavior. Therefore,

according to the state of Georgia, this segregation system helps in enhancing psycho-educational

practices.

Damaging Segregation

The first horrific example given in the video was the case of Jonathan King, a 13 year old

boy who had been kept in an exclusionary room that had no windows, and no restrooms. He had

been kept there 15 times for an average of 94 minutes at a time. He threatened suicide twice and

yet at one time they allowed him to be in that room with a rope that he used as his belt. He

eventually hanged himself. Additionally, this type of segregation may leave students with

disabilities feeling isolated from the real world and it may lead to stress and even depression in

students which may last a life time (Strauss, 2015). Segregation may also lead to a sense of

unworthiness where the students with disabilities may feel unworthy of love or they may feel

useless. This may eventually interfere with their self-esteem and even identity and they may

become withdrawn and distant. Furthermore, other students may feel like they are in prison

because they are unable to interact with their normal peers and normally when one is placed in

the psycho-educational program, they are considered to be ‘bad kids’. This title may leave the

students feeling like the outcast and may affect their life even in the future (Strauss, 2015).

How can Georgia Address this Issue?

First, Georgia states can find ways to desegregate the system and can adopt other

intervention methods to help students with disabilities. They can emulate models from other

states that do not use the segregation approach (McLeskey, Landers, Williamson, and Hoppey,
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2016). The state can also develop and find private facilities that can take some of the students

with disabilities and educate them. It is also important for the state to let these children interact

with their peers in order to learn from them and to also give them an opportunity to feel a sense

of belonging and appreciation. The state can opt to train more teachers on special education as

this will help them be better prepared to deal with children with disabilities even in class

(McLeskey, Landers, Williamson, and Hoppey, 2016).

Conclusion

The video clearly shows that the state of Georgia is segregating students with disabilities

by keeping them in dilapidated building that were used during the Jim Crow times. Although the

state justifies this segregation as a form of psycho-educational approach, investigation by the

department of justice show that this segregation has many effects on the kids such as suicide,

depression and anxiety, loneliness, and lack of a sense of belonging. It is therefore important for

the state to come up with other ways of providing education to these children without illegally

segregating them. Some of these ways include, finding private facilities to educate them, training

teachers on special Ed, and allowing them to interact with their peers.
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References

McLeskey, J., Landers, E., Williamson, P., & Hoppey, D. (2016). Are we moving toward
educating students with disabilities in less restrictive settings?. The Journal of Special
Education, 46(3), 131-140.

Georgia segregates kids with disabilities, behavior problems | PBS NewsHour. (2015). Retrieved
from https://www.pbs.org/video/georgia-segregates-kids-with-disabilities-behavior-
problems-1445556187/

Strauss, V. (2015). Georgia illegally segregating students with disabilities in inferior buildings
with inadequate instruction. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/07/29/u-s-georgia-
illegally-segregating-students-with-disabilities-in-inferior-buildings-with-inadequate-
instruction/