NBC Chicago
Julia Novak, a sixth-grade special education student from Chicago, has been through three public schools in four years. The first school could not accommodate her physical disability. The second could accommodate her physically, but was a disastrous match for her academically. Julia, who also has cognitive, speech and language delays, was suspended nine times that year.
"The curriculum was not fitting what she needed and they just kept punishing her reaction, which was disruptive behavior," her mother Tammy Novak said. "After the ninth suspension, I just couldn't send her back there anymore."