Madison educators said people must be careful not to label all special education students as violent just because the suspect in Friday's shooting of a rural Wisconsin principal was in special education classes

Special education is broadly defined, they noted. It can be any kind of mental or physical disability that affects a student's learning, from mild to severe, including speech and language problems, autism and emotional disturbances.

"Just because a child is a behavioral problem doesn't mean that child is going to commit this kind of incident at all," said Art Rainwater, superintendent of the Madison School District.

"There are thousands of children throughout the U.S. who have behavioral problems who don't resort to violence."

"To be perfectly honest, it would be extremely difficult for anybody to predict this kind of incident occurring," Rainwater added. "And it certainly isn't unique to special ed kids."

At the same time, a lawyer who represents Madison teachers who have been threatened or physically harmed by students said the label of "special education" can be misapplied.

"Everybody in their heart of hearts wants to see challenged kids have every opportunity they possibly can," said Jordan Loeb of Cullen, Weston, Pines & Bach. "But from a teacher's perspective, getting hit with a stapler to the back of the head can shake your heart of hearts."

Eric Hainstock, the 15-year-old freshman accused of fatally shooting Weston High School principal John Klang on Friday, was in special education classes. His special education teacher said Hainstock had trouble controlling his temper and had thrown a stapler at him two weeks ago.

Hainstock also had an unstable family life, was physically abused by his father and told investigators that other students at the school teased and tormented him, according to court records, relatives and family friends.

Educational challenge

Weston School Board President David Wermund said educating students with behavioral problems or learning disabilities is a challenge for every school district.

"It's a very tough thing," he said. "Sometimes you feel like you're strapped because you just don't have the finances to do what you should or want to do. That happens and I really believe that's not our fault. The money is just not there."

Some Weston special education students are sent to an alternative school in Viroqua, Wermund said, but he did not believe Hainstock was being considered for that school.

Loeb developed his doubts about some special education classifications in the course of his work. He said he requests 10 to 20 restraining orders per year on behalf of teachers and has only been denied a handful of times since 1998.

In those few cases he hasn't won, he said, the students in question were always in special education, and in each case the judge determined they were "unable to appreciate the wrongfulness" of their actions. Loeb clearly had misgivings about those decisions.

"A lot of people use a special ed classification as a cover for (bad) behavior," Loeb said. "I don't want to sound unsympathetic, but that label encompasses a huge amount of different needs and behaviors."

Suspension or expulsion

Rainwater said schools can legally suspend special education students who misbehave for up to 10 days per year or expel them, as long as the offending action is not a "manifestation of" or caused by their disability.

And even if it is, Rainwater noted, schools can take other actions, such as moving the child to a more secure setting, assigning them a psychologist or getting them into anger management therapy.

"We can work with the team that guides their instruction," Rainwater said.

If a special education student is suspended or expelled, state and federal law requires the school to continue providing the student with an education somehow, officials noted.

"We have an obligation to ensure that the child is provided services and that the environment (for others) is safe," said Madison School Board member Carol Carstensen.

Under the law, Carstensen noted, parents have the authority to refuse special education services for their children, just as they can refuse special programs such as English as a second language or bilingual services.