As many of you know, Valorie is a mother of twins. I too have twins in my family.
A few days ago, Valorie was generous enough to send me a link to an article about either keeping twins together or separating them in school.
I know from my family’s experience that deciding which to do is a big decision. However, I was completely surprised to find that a law was needed to address the issue.
The number of twins and other multiple babies born each year continues to increase. Part of this increase is contributed to women being older when they conceive and the more common use of fertility drugs in women who struggle to have a baby.
As a general rule, most teachers and principals encourage parents to split up multiples into different classes.
The idea is to help the children create individual identities and personalities. It is feared that if the children are placed together, they will become too dependent on one another and possibly not interact with the other students.
Many school districts have no policy on twins in the classroom. They only have strong recommendations for parents. However, they usually take the parent’s ideas and feelings into consideration and often honor the parent’s wishes.
I was very surprised to find that some states and areas have school policies that require multiples to be separated in school.
Due to this policy, many parents of multiples decided that legislation was needed. The first bill was passed in 2005 in Minnesota. Three other states now have a bill in effect that gives parents a say in whether their multiples stay together or not. Those states are Texas, New Hampshire, and Georgia. Twenty-four other states are considering a bill pass also.
A New York mom to twin boys, Kathy Dolan, has played a big part in giving parents a say in the their twins education.
To Separate or Not to Separate Twins in the Classroom