Is Special Education possibly holding students back?

I am currently oberseving a third grade classroom right now and there is a specific student who I rarely see. I am familiar with this student because she was in this third grade class last year as well. Her pseudonym will be Kaley. She is one of the happiest little girls I have met and that is saying something because every little girl is happy. But Kaley as a unique difference than everyone else, she does not have a stomach. Kaley was born without a stomach and has dealt with this issue on a daily basis. She eats like everyone else, through her mouth but occasionally uses feeding tubes. Kaley has struggled with this because she can get extremely ill and be out of school for long periods of time. Kaley moved to this school at the begining of last year and started in the third grade. Watching Kaley struggle was a tough scene, although she had moved up a grade it showed she did not belong. Kaley was on about a first grade reading level. During second grade she became ill and was in and out of school for a long time. She had a personal tutor but it did not really help, she had already fallen far behind. Her previous school felt that it would be okay to promote her though. When she came into the third grade last year she struggled and needed a lot of extra help. Kaley was put on an IEP and was to stay back in the third grade. That is how I see Kaley now, on occassion. For Kaley's IEP it was said that she would go to a program called Connections within the Special Education department. She goes there on a daily basis but it should only be for an alotted amount of time. Why I so frequently see Kaley is because the Connections teacher never sends her back. It is hard for Kaley because she barely gets to be in her real classroom. This program is supposed to connect the special education class with her third grade class. She is hardly ever in the classroom and misses out on a lot of things. Her work she is doing is definitely far below her level. The third grade teacher works with her frequently to help in any way possible and is finding that the lessons she is having is just review and Kaley is actually quite good at everything they are reteaching her. I think that with the Connections program it is limitying Kaley's education as well as social skills. It is obvious Kaley as a certain learning exceptionality that affects her education. She struggles with a lot of things and needs the extra help in many areas. This program is supposed to be helping her in advancing while still active in a "normal" classroom. The teacher in the Connections is not advancing her but rather limiting her. She "dumbs" Kaley down rather than trying to expand her knowledge. Kaley's mother wants her out of this program because clearly it is not helping in any way she is just falling behind more. Kaley's mother is very involved in the classroom and is always questioning the Connections program. It is hard for her mother because she feels that Kaley is losing out on a lot of things. For example, the Connections teacher doesn't always send Kaley down for specials or events within the classroom. She missed out on a visit from a Pilgrim during their lesson for that topic because the teacher refused to send her down.

I find it hard for Kaley because she knows she is missing out on so many things because she is forced to be in the classroom. She knows she needs the extra help and so does her mother but they feel it is not really helping that much. Her mother is contemplating pulling her from the program because she feels that it is not useful. Kaley is ahead of a lot of the children in that program so she is made to do what they are doing such as addition and subtraction when clearly she knows it. Her mother practices at home with her on other things she needs to be working on such as multiplication and division. Her mother is what is keeping her intact with the third grade classroom and that is not how it should be. The Connections teacher should be incorporating the third grade lessons into the program so that Annie is getting extra help as well as not falling behind.