Exceptional
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of articles marking the 50th Anniversary of Hartselle City Schools.
In May 1979, Alabama’s then-Attorney General Charlie Graddick ruled that Hartselle’s separate school for students with disabilities did not consider the nature of those disabilities and the individual needs of those students and was, therefore, in violation of The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.
The federal act made clear that students with disabilities had access to a free public education that was appropriate for them and their needs. In the Alabama ruling, it was determined that Hartselle had not done enough in the years between 1975 and 1978 to ensure that those students being served by its stand-alone Hart School campus were receiving the most appropriate education for their individual needs.
In a May, 1979 Hartselle Enquirer article, then-Assistant Attorney General Rosa Hamlett explained, “Exceptional children must be given the opportunity to benefit from association and education with nonexceptional children to the extent that their abilities allow them to do so [because] exceptional children should become prepared to become contributing members of the society to the greatest extent of their ability.” Hartselle moved its students from Hart School to Crestline in the Fall of 1978 before the mandate came down from the State. Hartselle closed and soon razed Hart School. But there was much more work to be done. Hartselle had to better consider the needs of all its learners.
And because Hartselle served exceptional learners of varying ages, it was important to develop programs at all school levels.
While Hartselle was examining its own procedures for serving its exceptional learners, additional work was being done at federal and state levels to provide schools with better guidance in assessing students’ abilities and needs and in ensuring that the coursework being offered to them would help them attain their specifically-designed educational goals.
And so the Special Services program grew over Hartselle’s 50 years, and it continues to grow.
LeeAnne Pettey, a former HCS special education teacher and Special Services Coordinator, was inducted into Hartselle’s Educator Hall of Fame in 2024. In the biography of Pettey that was written on the occasion of her induction, one of her former students was quoted as saying, “Due to [Pettey] investing in me, I have been able to achieve wonderful things.” The mother of that student added, “Mrs. Pettey did not give up on my child.” Katie Black, HCS’s current Special Services Coordinator, is also a believer in the power of all learners to change the world in which they live. “Supporting children with exceptional needs requires a partnership rooted in understanding and collaboration. By working closely with familities, we can create individualized learning environments that foster academic, functional, and social growth. Together, we can ensure all children have the tools needed to thrive, celebrate their unique strengths, and reach their fullest potential.” Back in 1979, Assistant AG Hamlett was additionally quoted in the Enquirer as saying that students without disabilities deserved “the opportunity to learn that exceptional children contribute” to the world in which we all live. If you are the parent of a student with a disability or have had the opportunity to know a student with a disability, you know this is so. Each of us is bettered by the efforts we make to truly know and understand others. Hartselle City Schools continues to grow its Special Services program, just as it continues to grow the students the program serves.
