Rights Violations Against Handicapped Pupils Found

The Montebello Unified School District violated the rights of handicapped students by segregating them and giving them less instruction than other students, federal investigators have concluded. As a result of the findings, the school district has acknowledged past problems in its special education program and agreed to correct them.

An Office for Civil Rights report said that handicapped students typically had shorter school days and a shorter school year than other students. It also found that some of these students had schedules that rarely allowed them to interact with students in the regular program. Investigators also faulted the district for placing older handicapped children on an elementary school campus.