I agree, I think parents need to sue the school system and force them to provide "a free appropriate education". I think the problem comes when there are many definitions of "appropriate". Neither my XH or I wealthy. We are both middle class working people. Paying for private tuition is a big sacrifice for both of us. We disagreed on what was "appropriate" education for or DD. He felt the public system could do a good job. I didn't. The judge agreed with me. I get upset sometimes because we pay taxes to support the public school system, yet they are unable/unwilling to provide the services our daughter (or other people's daughters/sons) need.
I wish every parent with a highly gifted child would go to court and force public schools to provide an appropriate education for every child, no matter what end of the bell curve they happened to be. Special ed right now only recognizes kids with disabilities. Parents of such kids fought a lot to get where they are. I think we need to do the same. I have no problem with my daughter being labeled a "special needs child" because she is. The needs may be different, but they are as important and should not be ignored.
