If approved by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board, Frances Blend School will merge with Van Ness Avenue Elementary School and the two schools will operate under a new name, the Larchmont Village Learning Complex.

During Viacommunity Day last Friday, Paramount Pictures employee Susan Foster reads to students at Van Ness Avenue Elementary School, which is slated to merge with Frances Blend School. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

Frances Blend principal Dorene Rubin said the staff and parents from both schools approved the merger, and officials hope the changes will be implemented by the beginning of next school year.

The two schools already share a hallway, and some students from Frances Blend have integrated into fine arts classes at Van Ness. Rubin said the merger should benefit students at both schools.

“It really will,” she said. “I believe that. Are there going to be bumps in the road? Of course. Are we going to address those? Yes, we will.”

Rubin said the merger will be mutually beneficial in that Frances Blend students will have more interaction with their peers, and Van Ness students will learn more about individuals with different abilities.

“Looking at what we’ve done with the integration into the fine arts program and next year looking forward to physical education, it just made sense to us to have one campus,” she said. “We all need to accept each other’s differences and celebrate our strengths together, and that’s what we’re doing. It’s just a beautiful model to see and be a part of.”

As a result of federal and state law, the LAUSD has been working to promote the integration of students with special needs into general education classrooms. The effort was spurred by the Chanda Smith case, a 1996 court case that required the district to provide education to special education students in a way that adheres to state and federal law.

The case resulted in the Modified Consent Decree, the LAUSD’s commitment to come into compliance with state and federal laws. It is a commitment to increase the graduation rates of students in special education, reduce suspensions of such students and increase their participation in statewide assessment programs, among other things.

The decree also calls for students in special education to learn in the least restrictive environments possible. To accommodate, the district plans to reduce the number of students with moderate to severe disabilities at special education centers, such as Frances Blend, by 33 percent over three years, beginning in 2012-2013.

That plan has led to several concerns for parents of students in special education in the LAUSD. In a previous interview, several parents worried about the quality of care the students would receive in general education classrooms. They also expressed concerns about bullying, fewer services and the inconvenience of having two children at different schools due to the elimination of programs.

“We know that their environment is perfect for them — perfect in a way that the school was made for them and their needs,” parent Marina Maldonado said. “The teachers and staff, they know how to handle the kids.”

However, none of the parents interviewed had students enrolled at Frances Blend. Three other sets of schools are slated to merge, but Frances Blend and Van Ness are the only schools expected to do so in the local area.

Rubin said every special education center has unique needs, so the integration will likely have a different look at each center. But she doesn’t anticipate any major overhaul at Frances Blend.

“What they see right now is pretty much the way it’s going to be,” Rubin said. “There are no changes that our campus is necessarily making.”

She said staff members will likely increase their orientation and mobility instruction — since the campus will be twice as large — for students who attend classes at Van Ness. Rubin said she doesn’t believe the curriculum at the two schools will further merge. Some Frances Blend students are on the core curriculum, so they may be integrated for other core subjects once they are acclimated to the merger and are ready to do so, she said.

“The learning for them would be more experiential,” the principal said.

Frances Blend will offer the same services and support staff, such as special education assistants, nurses and psychologists, Rubin said. If a student is in a general education classroom and needs a service, such as a gastrostomy tube feeding, the student would be taken out of class for the feeding and return when finished, she said.

“I believe the lives of all of our students are enriched by this experience,” Rubin added. “I can’t think of an instance even this year when [integration] wasn’t appropriate.”

She said the two schools have been holding events in advance of the merger to familiarize the students with each other. Rubin said the schools held a Disability Awareness Day recently.

The schools will still honor their respective histories, she said. The building that currently houses Frances Blend would be named the Frances Blend Building, and the Van Ness facility would be called the Van Ness Building, Rubin said.

She said the school will honor Frances Blend, a “special educator” who had a passion for students with visual impairments and blindness. Rubin said the school will work on a small museum to honor her.

Van Ness principal Katy Iriarte did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did the area’s school board member, Steve Zimmer. Sharyn Howell, the executive director of the LAUSD’s Division of Special Education, could not be reached for comment.