Education Week – by Nirvi Shah — A bill awaiting action from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo would require school districts to consider cultural factors when deciding on private placements for students with disabilities.

New York districts, some of which do not have the capacity to teach all of their students with disabilities in their own schools, often turn to private schools to educate these students instead. Typically, in New York and around the country, these placements are based solely on the students’ educational needs.

The bill approved by the state’s legislature would expand that consideration. Districts would have to consider the type of clothing a student’s family wears, the language they speak at home, and the like.

Families could argue that a particular placement wouldn’t suit their child’s needs if it didn’t account for these factors, the state assemblywoman who sponsored the bill told The New York Times.

Read the whole story at Education Week.