Jamelie Johns, the elementary math coach for Hamilton County Schools, testified Monday that it was her job to assess Luka Hyde’s math ability, not his intellectual disability.
During the hearing in Federal Court, Ms. Johns defended Hamilton County’s decision to pull Luka, who has Down syndrome, out of his general education classes at Normal Park and put him into a special education program at Red Bank Elementary.
She told Scott Bennett, attorney for Hamilton County Schools, that based off her assessment this past October, 12-year-old Luka was significantly behind where a fifth grader needed to be in math.
Luka started at Normal Park in kindergarten. His parents, Greg and Deborah Hyde, thought he was performing well in the mainstream and intended to keep him there. But midway through Luka’s second grade year, Normal Park Principal Jill Levine, along with other Hamilton County school officials, told Mr. and Ms. Hyde their son had “hit a wall” academically. As a result, the school system wanted to move Luka to the special education program at Red Bank Elementary.
The lawsuit filed by Mr. and Ms. Hyde against the Hamilton County Department of Education on the grounds of segregation has been going on since 2013.
On Monday Ms. Johns said her assessment showed Luka did not understand basic concepts like adding, subtracting, and working with fractions.
“Based on where the students are performing, he is significantly behind where a fifth grader needs to be,” she said to Mr. Bennett.
When the Hydes’ attorney Justin Gilbert stood to question Ms. Johns, he confirmed that Ms. Johns had never had any interaction with Luka until her assessment with him last fall. Mr. Gilbert also confirmed the math coach had never seen Luka’s past report cards and that she did not know he had Down syndrome until she met him for the assessment.
Ms. Johns testified she did not have a background in special education or child development, and had never had any special training for children with Down syndrome. She said her task, given to her by Director of Instruction Aimee Randolph, was to measure Luka on his mathematical ability as it related to the state standard for his grade level. She did not assess him in comparison to children his age who did or did not have intellectual disabilities.
The assessment, which Luka took once, was reportedly a 35-minute computer test. The first three to four minutes of the test were oral instructions that went over a number of different things for Luka to keep in mind as he problem-solved. Mr. Gilbert brought to light that children with Down syndrome struggle more with short-term memory than children without intellectual disabilities—something Ms. Johns did not know at the time she tested Luka.
Ms. Johns said she never paused the test to ask Luka if he understood the instructions. She said he answered the questions that used pictures correctly. But he answered incorrectly on the questions that required adding or subtracting without a visual aid.
Last year’s TCAP results reportedly showed 67 percent of Hamilton County students, grades three through five, met their appropriate grade level for math. This means a third of the students performed below their grade level.
Ms. Johns said Luka did not need to be on his grade level for math. But the gap between his grade level and his actual mathematical abilities should fall within a range that a general education teacher could address. In Ms. Johns’ opinion, the modifications needed to suit Luka’s mathematical needs could not be provided in the general education setting.
Mr. Gilbert said children with Down syndrome typically perform in the one to three percentile for math. But through the Individualized Education Programs (IEP), the math standard for Luka could be modified so that he could still learn in the general education classroom.
Mr. Bennett confirmed the assessment became easier once a question was missed.
However, Ms. Johns’ assessment findings reportedly conflicted with the standardized test Luka took at The Montessori School, where his parents enrolled him after he was pulled out of Normal Park. According to his test at Montessori, Luka’s scores indicated he was on a fourth grade math level.
The case is before Judge Curtis Collier.