Shannon Carter Case Study

Shannon Carter was in the private school system through the sixth grade. In 1983, when Shannon was 13 years old she entered the seventh grade at Timmonsville School. During her seventh grade year she performed poorly and she was tested twice for a potential learning disability. The tests reveal that she had some difficulties yet they were not severe enough to conclude that Shannon difficulties could be classified as a learning disability. Instead, according to wrightslaw.com “the school system evaluated her, as lazy, unmotivated, a slow learner who needed to be pressured harder to work.”
(https://www.oyez.org/cases/1993/91-1523).
Moving forward two years to 1985, Shannon was 16, functionally illiterate, had developed suicidal tendencies, …show more content…
They just pulled her from the system on their own accord, without asking the district for a list of schools. It was argued that this violated the Burlington Act. In the Burlington decision, the court acknowledged that a remedies for a school district 's that fail to provide the necessary education requirements of the IDEA would be required to reimburse parents the cost of placing their child into a private school that provided the proper education according to the act. Yet the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Shannon’s parents. …show more content…
If the district focused on the well-being of the student, they would have made the effort to move her to another school. In fact, the Florence County School District One, just down the street, had a self-contained program that could have provide the educational assistance necessary for Shannon. However, the District failed to “ethical and professional commitment” to Shannon and her parents by making every attempt to best provide her needs. Instead, they did nothing but complain when they had to reimburse the Carter family for the expenses in the Trident