STILL NO REPRIEVE IN EXIT EXAMS FOR SPECIAL ED STATE OFFICIAL LOOKS TO PUSH THROUGH TEST WAIVER RULES.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

Linda Simpson's 18-year-old daughter suffers from attention deficit disorder and a severe math disability, resulting in a poor concept of time and extreme anxiety if she has to count change.

Even though the teen qualifies as learning disabled and is enrolled in special-education classes, she must pass the California High School Exit Exam in March in order to graduate in June - something she's been unable to do on four previous attempts.

Simpson plans to hire a tutor for her daughter, even as she pins her hopes on an effort by state schools chief Jack O'Connell to get special-education students exempted from the exit exam requirement.

``These students have passed all their courses for their 12 years, met all her requirements, took all the required courses and have an average or above-average IQ, so some of the responsibility for her inability to pass the test has to lie with the schools and the educational system,'' said Simpson, a board member for Access Center for Education, a nonprofit advocacy group for parents of special-education students.

``I don't feel these students should take the brunt of the failure.''

While most educators agree that students should be able to pass the CAHSEE in order to get a diploma, many say the test - with math skills through algebra I and English concepts through grade 10 - may be unfair to those with learning disabilities.

The exemption is included in a legal settlement reached by the California Department of Education, which sought to delay the consequences of the CAHSEE for students with disabilities. The settlement would allow certain students in the Class of 2006 to receive a diploma, while giving schools more time to provide them with the skills necessary to pass the CAHSEE.

O'Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction, is working to make the settlement law and ``firmly'' believes it will be in place for this year's seniors, a spokesman said.

As educators, parents and students wait and hope for relief, schools are aggressively targeting students who suffer from disabilities like dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Los Angeles Unified expects to spend $500,000 to $750,000 this year on tutoring and other efforts to help 2,019 special education students pass the CAHSEE. The district's senior class has about 30,000 students.

In addition to test preparation classes offered to all students during class, after-school and on Saturdays, the district is offering special ed students an 18-hour course, prior to the two-week boot camp before the tests. They're also lowering the pupil-to-teacher ratio to 10-to-1 for in-class preparation.

The district needs to do a much better job in preparing special-ed students to pass CAHSEE, and remediation needs to begin earlier, said Donnalyn Jaque-Anton, associate superintendent of special education at the district.

``I don't believe the students should be penalized based on one single exam. There are those who should be able to pass, but there are those that this is going to be a big mountain to climb. There wouldn't be special ed if they could pass everything,'' she said.

``I just think we need a lot more time to vet this out before we use it as a penalty. We're working mightily, but boy, it's a hard one.''

Statewide, about 35 percent of the 41,335 special-ed kids in the Class of 2006 passed both parts by end of their junior year, officials said.

The threat of not receiving a diploma has even forced some to take drastic action. Teachers and administrators report incidents of special-education students moving to Arizona, Montana and Nevada, which don't have the same graduation requirement as California.

There are 118 students at LAUSD with disabilities who may be eligible for a high school diploma if the CAHSEE requirement is waived. However, these students must also meet the other requirements which include completion of course work.

At Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, 61 of the 222 who have yet to pass the exam are special-education students. Only six special- education students in the 865-member senior class have passed the test.

``If a student has learning disabilities and suffers anxiety taking a test, but meets all the other requirements for graduation, they have an unfair disadvantage,'' Polytechnic High assistant principal Gerardo Loera said.

Polytechnic senior Lisset Gomez, 17, has taken the test twice to no avail. Her auditory processing learning disability significantly slows down the way she processes new information.

``I've tried. But the whole thing is really unfair, and for us it's kind of worse, because you have to handle the extra classes to prepare for the test along with the class work,'' said Gomez, a C-student.

``I really, really tried. I have tried the best I could. If I don't pass, I'd look at it as four years of nothing.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com