A Special Needs Student Crashes Into a Teachers House

Apparently, the most notable teen in Beaverton, Oregon was not the one to be beat. He’s a special needs student and a bit of a prankster. The school district has been investigating his behavior for the better part of the month. After a brief stint in jail, Nelson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and took a nine-month stint at Washington County Jail. It’s unclear when he’ll be out of the hole.

The fact that the student opted for a plea deal means the student has a long and winding road ahead of him. The Oregon Department of Education says special needs students are incarcerated at a higher rate than their peers. It’s also the case that many of the state’s students with learning disabilities are deemed unfit for regular classroom instruction. The state has one of the largest enrollments of students with special needs in the country, and is a hotbed for bullying. In fact, the most recent report shows that about half of the students with disabilities are currently behind bars, a troubling statistic to say the least.

A 60-year-old special education teacher in the Beaverton-based district was one of the first victims of the aforementioned student. The victim is likely to have suffered from lifelong injuries, including a broken carotid artery, and may have needed a little more than a visit to the emergency room. The fact that the teen is still a student at the ripe old age of 15 is another matter entirely. A recent report from the State Department of Education estimates that more than half of the state’s public school students are enrolled in some form of special education program.

While the state of Oregon does not offer a public high school, it does provide vocational and technical training. The state’s Department of Education estimates that nearly a quarter of the state’s high school population is in the special education program. The department’s estimates suggest that the state’s special needs student population is at an all time high. According to the latest figures, the number of students with disabilities in the state is roughly a quarter of a million.