Re-examining Testing of Special Needs Children?

In the state of California, a student must pass a high school exit exam in order to earn a diploma.  That basic theory reminds me of a reform idea Jeb Bush used in Florida, which would not let children progress to the 4th grade if they were not reading at a 3rd grade level.  Previously, the children who could not read were not 'discovered' until the 10th grade.  Once a child is in the 10th grade, they are more likely to drop out than to learn to read at that point in the game. 

So California students must pass this test in order to officially graduate.  It makes sense...what is the point in giving them a diploma if in fact they have  not been sufficiently educated?  On the other side of this coin, I am against over regulation by the government and the power they seem to have in every area of our lives. 

For several years, special education students in California were exempt from taking these tests, but currently they are required to do so.  On one hand, a child should be educated properly in order to graduate but special education children show different ways of learning.  This past year, nearly half of the special education students failed this exam.  The parents and the children are mortified, depressed, and angered at the testing methods.  An article in a StudyMBA blog  as well as the Los Angeles Times depicts the parents frustrations with the testing methods. 

If this were happening in Missouri to my child in the public schools, I would be more angry with the schools and its teaching than the tests.  I know many Missouri public schools that cannot effectively educate special needs children.  The state should allow the parents of those children to find schools that can educate them. 

Have the parents in California faced this issue and concern?  Undoubtedly, the parents are upset when their child fails, but perhaps it is the school's fault???