Reasons for the Extension Education Program for Exceptional Students Act

Many children with the disabilities listed in this bill are unable to participate safely and effectively within a public school environment for most or all of the following reasons:

Sensory integration difficulties- This means the child’s sensory perceptions are disordered. Ordinary sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes that are common place in public schools (fluorescent lights, ringing bells, cleaning products, glues, paints, intercom, doors closing, chairs moving across the floor, more than one person speaking at a time, the class pet etc.) are intolerable, even painful to these children because their senses are often hyper acute. They may withdraw or even appear to become belligerent in order to defend themselves from this environment. Many run away or even act out violently bringing harm to themselves or others.

Impaired Immune System- A public school environment puts these children at an unnecessarily high risk of constantly developing infections because their immune systems are usually impaired. Health insurance for teachers is higher than that of other professions (one of the highest in the state) this is because teachers are sick more often than other professionals. In the public school environment, they are exposed to a countless onslaught of various infections. Does this sound like a safe place for a child who is predisposed to developing infection? A child who is constantly sick can not focus on learning.

Physical Ailments- One would not expect a child who is developing typically to attend public school if that child were having bowel problems, difficulty breathing, or had no sleep the night before. We wouldn’t expect them to get up bright and early and put in a seven hour day. Yet, we expect children with disabilities who are plagued with chronic sleep disorders, bowel problems, and breathing difficulties to attend school all day, everyday, because there is no feasible option for them and we expect them to learn like this. We ask more of a disabled child than we do a typically developing child.

Impairments that require intensive one-on-one therapy from speech occupational and physical therapist- There are currently not enough occupational and physical therapist working within the Arkansas public school system to meet the vast individual needs of this ever growing population of children with disabilities.

Greatly impaired receptive and expressive language skills- in many cases these skills are greatly impaired such that basic needs like food, drink, toileting or illness can not be conveyed to a caregiver who is unfamiliar with the child or who is expected to care for more than one child at a time so that the child’s subtle cues may go unnoticed.

Strict dietary restrictions or needs that must be adhered to in order to avoid physical ailments or even hospitalization- Compulsions to eat non food items that can be hazardous to the child’s health (the environment must be free of items and the child must have one-on-one supervision).

Medications and or supplements that must be administered throughout the day in a timely manner and so require an inordinate amount of time from the teacher, nurse or aides.


The disabilities listed in this House Bill are as individualized as the children who have them and therefore, it would be impossible to list every difficulty that could keep a child with these disabilities from being safe and successful in the public school environment. We urge you to consult with parents of these children to gather enough information to make an informed decision.