Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Some Unions Are Not Thinking About the Children!
Something to think about...thousands of poor special needs children are finally getting the services and education they need and deserve...what do you do? Be happy they have that chance, not even notice, or threaten to sure to make sure it does not keep happening? The last option...who would this, right? Well, an education union in Florida is! And they say they only care about the children, well obviously not! I find this completely absurd, unthinkable!
According to this Florida blog, Political Forum:
A Florida education union is threatening to sue to shut down a school choice program in the state if the program expands. They have already successfully sued to shut down a previous voucher program in the state. Basically, if "too many" families opt for school choice, the nuclear litigation weapons will be launched by the union, which is bound and determined that Floridian children be taught their way, as opposed to being taught the best way. Remember all of this the next time you hear educational unions tell you that they only want what is best for your children. Poppycock. They only want what is best for the unions' political power and for the job security of union members.
The Cato at Liberty had this to say: Keep in mind that scholarship organizations must allocate all donations to scholarships as they receive them, they can’t carry over more than 25% of donations from one year to the next, and the maximum scholarship value is fixed at $3,750 (far below per pupil spending in the public schools). So the only way the total value of scholarship donations could triple would be for triple the number of low-income families to ask for them.
So the Florida Education Association is saying that if too many poor parents want to escape the public schools and get their kids into independent schools, it will shut them and this whole program down.
Now, this brings us to Missouri. We are trying to pass a similar program, one that would give scholarships to thousands of Missouri's special needs. Lets hope Missouri will do the right thing and pass it. Those education unions are trying to stop the program from passing here. They seem to act like they are all for the children, but they are really only for the children if they can teach them their way. This is evident in Florida and it becoming evident here by the way they are trying to keep this from passing. However, the unions way is obviously not cutting it...if it were, why would people be so adamant about education reform and why would the schools and the children be failing? Absurdity is what I call it!
According to this Florida blog, Political Forum:
A Florida education union is threatening to sue to shut down a school choice program in the state if the program expands. They have already successfully sued to shut down a previous voucher program in the state. Basically, if "too many" families opt for school choice, the nuclear litigation weapons will be launched by the union, which is bound and determined that Floridian children be taught their way, as opposed to being taught the best way. Remember all of this the next time you hear educational unions tell you that they only want what is best for your children. Poppycock. They only want what is best for the unions' political power and for the job security of union members.
The Cato at Liberty had this to say: Keep in mind that scholarship organizations must allocate all donations to scholarships as they receive them, they can’t carry over more than 25% of donations from one year to the next, and the maximum scholarship value is fixed at $3,750 (far below per pupil spending in the public schools). So the only way the total value of scholarship donations could triple would be for triple the number of low-income families to ask for them.
So the Florida Education Association is saying that if too many poor parents want to escape the public schools and get their kids into independent schools, it will shut them and this whole program down.
Now, this brings us to Missouri. We are trying to pass a similar program, one that would give scholarships to thousands of Missouri's special needs. Lets hope Missouri will do the right thing and pass it. Those education unions are trying to stop the program from passing here. They seem to act like they are all for the children, but they are really only for the children if they can teach them their way. This is evident in Florida and it becoming evident here by the way they are trying to keep this from passing. However, the unions way is obviously not cutting it...if it were, why would people be so adamant about education reform and why would the schools and the children be failing? Absurdity is what I call it!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
What KIDS need
I am the parent of a special needs child and I am so discouraged with
our elected officials. It is becoming more clear to me that the issue
of SPECIAL NEEDS that is on the table this session has become a
partisan issue. Not an issue to help children in need. Children with
special needs. What has happened to you people? You CHOOSE to call
tax-credits ..VOUCHERS...this is not vouchers. You ELECTED officials
KNOW this ...and if you don't...why are you there? Why are you
PRETENDING to represent. This isn't a democrat or republican
issue...it's a "kids help me, I'm in trouble" issue. And you are
ignoring them. I am a lifelong registered democrat. STOP being
afraid of a teachers union. This isn't against them....it's FOR the
kids...their families, like mine that struggle to keep them abreast.
NOT EVEN AHEAD...simply abreast. Do you have any idea what it's like
to hear my son say...."I just want to be normal." He is normal...he
just can't get it from his brain to the paper. PLEASE PLEASE set
aside your partisan,stance and think.
-Susan
our elected officials. It is becoming more clear to me that the issue
of SPECIAL NEEDS that is on the table this session has become a
partisan issue. Not an issue to help children in need. Children with
special needs. What has happened to you people? You CHOOSE to call
tax-credits ..VOUCHERS...this is not vouchers. You ELECTED officials
KNOW this ...and if you don't...why are you there? Why are you
PRETENDING to represent. This isn't a democrat or republican
issue...it's a "kids help me, I'm in trouble" issue. And you are
ignoring them. I am a lifelong registered democrat. STOP being
afraid of a teachers union. This isn't against them....it's FOR the
kids...their families, like mine that struggle to keep them abreast.
NOT EVEN AHEAD...simply abreast. Do you have any idea what it's like
to hear my son say...."I just want to be normal." He is normal...he
just can't get it from his brain to the paper. PLEASE PLEASE set
aside your partisan,stance and think.
-Susan
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Two paths diverge in the wood
I went to a public school from Kindergarten through high school graduation, and received a great education. I took several honors classes and greatly benefited from them. My science teachers helped me gain an affinity for Chemistry and Physics, I took journalism classes and jewelry class; I sang and danced after school in nationally competitive choirs and learned to love government and politics.
I was very well prepared to write in college, and I felt well-prepared all around. My teachers were inspiring and challenging, so I know from experience how good public schools can be, and I wouldn’t have traded my public school for any private school. I think I was actually better prepared than some of my college mates who had gone to private schools.
So take me quite seriously when I recognize the limits of a public school. I know many students who did not excel in our public school, one in particular was my brother. He is a much more visual and auditory learner, and in recognizing the differences between us as learners I can understand that a public school that focuses on learning through reading is not always the best fit. The same can be said of special needs education. Many students will thrive with what public education has to offer, but those who are not will benefit more from an education that meets them where they are cognitively and developmentally.
My public high school offered choices. We had an adjoining program that offered lots of hands-on classes, and my brother took to culinary arts and did very well. I think his success there even motivated him to try harder at courses that were more difficult for him.
One Thanksgiving my brother made a gorgeous and delicious apple pie from scratch, which was a sort of symbol for me. I cannot bake to save my life! Even the kits where you only have to add water are a challenge—they always seem to end up burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. And I know my brother would not have that skill, which has led him to a great job in nutrition at an Alzheimer’s care facility, if he hadn’t had the opportunity to take those classes.
For all of the kids in Missouri who simply need something else, the proposed tuition tax credit scholarship for special needs students can make that happen, especially for families that cannot afford it on their own. My public school saw the benefit of offering choices and many kids really excelled because of it. It doesn’t mean that public school are bad—certainly in many cases they are amazingly proficient—it just means that schools, like the students they teach, aren’t perfect or flawless. Offering choices in education means simply that more schools can work at meeting a child’s need, and that child in turn can take his or her skills where they will be most nurtured.
I was very well prepared to write in college, and I felt well-prepared all around. My teachers were inspiring and challenging, so I know from experience how good public schools can be, and I wouldn’t have traded my public school for any private school. I think I was actually better prepared than some of my college mates who had gone to private schools.
So take me quite seriously when I recognize the limits of a public school. I know many students who did not excel in our public school, one in particular was my brother. He is a much more visual and auditory learner, and in recognizing the differences between us as learners I can understand that a public school that focuses on learning through reading is not always the best fit. The same can be said of special needs education. Many students will thrive with what public education has to offer, but those who are not will benefit more from an education that meets them where they are cognitively and developmentally.
My public high school offered choices. We had an adjoining program that offered lots of hands-on classes, and my brother took to culinary arts and did very well. I think his success there even motivated him to try harder at courses that were more difficult for him.
One Thanksgiving my brother made a gorgeous and delicious apple pie from scratch, which was a sort of symbol for me. I cannot bake to save my life! Even the kits where you only have to add water are a challenge—they always seem to end up burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. And I know my brother would not have that skill, which has led him to a great job in nutrition at an Alzheimer’s care facility, if he hadn’t had the opportunity to take those classes.
For all of the kids in Missouri who simply need something else, the proposed tuition tax credit scholarship for special needs students can make that happen, especially for families that cannot afford it on their own. My public school saw the benefit of offering choices and many kids really excelled because of it. It doesn’t mean that public school are bad—certainly in many cases they are amazingly proficient—it just means that schools, like the students they teach, aren’t perfect or flawless. Offering choices in education means simply that more schools can work at meeting a child’s need, and that child in turn can take his or her skills where they will be most nurtured.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Parents on educating children with Autism
One thing I find striking about the support for Bryce’s Law is that so much is coming from parents, educators and schools that would not benefit from the scholarship—but they understand the need and that other parents aren’t getting the help they’ve found.
Even the bill’s sponsor knows of the challenges in raising a child with special needs. Dwight Scharnhorst’s grandson had Autism and epilepsy, and succumbed too young to his epilepsy, but Rep. Scharnhorst talks brightly about how much he learned from Bryce.
Bryce’s Law was designed with the best interests of special needs children in mind—and parents agree it will open up opportunities for their children. I’ve covered so much of the criticism and explained why the fears that educrats play upon are quite unfounded, and I could keep repeating the fact until I’m blue in the face, but instead I’d like to cover some of the extraordinary parents who are heroes, advocates, and innovators.
Nashville’s Leslie Face:
Leslie Face has two sons. They are the light of her life, and she delights in their individual personalities. However, with a master’s degree in education, Face knew long before her sons were diagnosed with autism that they were different
“I knew they had special needs,” said Face. “But it was still tough to get the official diagnosis. I started researching constantly about it to learn everything I could, and I found that early and consistent intervention can make a tremendous difference in the lives of these kids.”
Since then, she has spent several days a week loading her boys into the car, making her way to Nashville so that they could attend various therapy appointments and then fighting traffic to get back.
Face thought about others in her position and wondered what they do to maintain jobs while getting their children the help that they need.
“Going to Nashville for appointments can be an all-day process,” she said. “And with children who have special needs, the entire thing can be very stressful as they often react poorly to such excursions.”
It was with that understanding that Face decided to start “Faces of Hope,” an organization dedicated to providing services for special-needs children in Sumner and surrounding counties.
“Autism comes with an entire range of needs, as do other disabilities,” said Face. “While the schools do a great job, there is so much more to it if the child is going to have a well-rounded life.”
Kemp believes a center in Sumner County will alleviate many problems for families who have a difficult time coordinating schedules to get their children to Nashville for those services.
“Parents are never prepared to hear a child has special needs,” she said. “Your children are born, and you have all these hopes and desires for them, and then you get told there are going to be some significant obstacles for them. Where do you go with that?”
With that mindset, Face plans to create a center offering services to everyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
“Sometimes families with special needs children have to decide whether to buy groceries or buy therapy for the children that week,” she said. “Nobody should have to make that choice.”
Georgina in California:
Hello, my name is Georgina and I live in Ca. I know you are doing a story in our own area but if you could please somehow pass it over to other stations around the US.
I say that because there are so many families who children have this and struggle so much. And if we educate our media, maybe some awareness can come out of it.
I suggest, if you have not already been told, covering about how many times most families have to go to see doctors before they get the right diagnose. That there are still doctors out there like my Ped. doctor which had told me that my son was ADHD and then just gave me drugs for it.
And just like any other parent, I tried it but it did not work. He got worse, so bad that he attacked me. And he was never like that. So we stop the drugs and we had to go ourselves to see what we needed to do.
It wasn't until my teacher who was at one point a child psychologist advised me to see a neuro doctor then go to get an psychological evaluation that I learned what was wrong. We went through hoops before we found out what was wrong with him. And cover please please not just the children that can not function so well with autism but the high functioning one. You don't know what it is like for a parent (like me) who child is like that and how other people treat him when he is having a melt down.
If you ask parents like us, you would be amazed on how many people look at them and say there is nothing wrong with them. And the school system... yeah, they treat them like nothing is wrong with them either because they don't look like the rest of the other kids who have it and are in bad cases. When I tried to give my son's teacher papers on or about his condition, she did not take it. She said that she had a child who had a different type [of autism]. And what people don't understand that yes there are different types but they are different in other areas.
So now we can only hope that his school will either give him what he needs or we may have to get him changed. There are many parents who are battling with their schools about this... you would be amazed or unless you know of many parents already going through that. Thank you for hearing my input. I do hope I have helped a little!
Georgina
Miles’ Mom, Missouri:
It is exhausting dealing with death. It is exhausting dealing with disabilities. Being a mother is too much sometimes. Being a wife, a teacher, a sister and a friend requires giving when there is nothing to give. Of course, there is an upside…or rather lots of them:
- Celebrating and remembering a single person’s amazing life.
- Small, tiny, little itty bitty, accomplishments…like saying “TH” at age three…
- Dates-when you only get three a year with the person who still makes butterflies in your stomach.
- Students who e-mail you five years later.
- Siblings who save your life.
- And lots and lots of friends and co-workers and neighbors and complete strangers who make your life complete and full, and define who you are and what you do in beautiful ways.
As the purpose of this blog is to discuss issues related to dealing with life and children with disabilities. I’ll do that. First and foremost, I’ll say that it is so easy to get lost in the rush of things and I think that is our biggest mistake. The one we’ll regret the most when we look back at this time in our lives.
After 36 years, only three of them spent living w/ACWD I keep thinking I am normal. If you’ve read this blog, you know I routinely go through the realization that LIFE is different with a child with disabilities…I tried to get a dog…didn’t work. Selling the house took 14 months…I’ve lost more friends than I’ve kept…My husband loves me still only because we were meant to be (circumstances have no effect on this kind of love…lucky, lucky beloved me), all holidays pretty much suck…So here is my big life/death realization…STOP RUSHING!
My father died on Thursday February 3, 2008. Since that day, I have heard that phrase at least 25 times. Brother, sisters, in-laws and even strangers keep saying to me, “sit down,” “relax,” “take it easy and just grieve.” Let’s see…I have also been called Mary Poppins, OCD, and totally frigging hyperactive.
All I can think is that my husband took off the day to be with my kids, so I can help out. There is no time for me to help at my leisure. I actually can’t just relax and grieve and think to myself I’ll be there when they need me. My life simply does not work that way. I actually need to schedule according to my life when I can “be there” for people and that just sucks. I probably am a spaz, but it gets stuff done, Here and now I will formally accept the titles of Pollyanna, Mary Poppins and I will revel in their blessings.
My Irish Wake will be perfect, the bagpipers will rock, the eulogies will be verbose, yet pithy. So, my Father died on Thursday. On Saturday we had an appointment with a major news station to discussion tax scholarships for children with disabilities. We wove the interview into our lives hoping that we could some sort of difference. Our feeling is that we have a duty to make a difference. There was lots of cleaning and lots of research. I know for sure I looked like shit on the camera. On Sunday I taught my Mom how to pay all her bills on-line. That required lots and lots of beer…
Oh, yeah, and the Super Bowl party we were supposed to host for my Dad. Right now at 9:50 I’m writing this and have no idea who won or lost, but think about how much my dad wanted New England to win since he’s from there. And I still have no idea how I am going to conduct the funeral because, as ALWAYS, I have no one to watch or care for my sign language speaking baby…
Sunday evening I realized that on Wednesday, the day after the funeral, we have an appointment at Children Mercy Hospital’s Disability Clinic to diagnose Miles. Three years we’ve been waiting for a diagnosis and this appointment has been on the calendar for 7 months. I haven’t filled out all the paper work and I have not finished the program for the funeral. I have to meet with a caterer, a bagpiper, a choir director, a cremator, a priest. I have make 150 color copies of an obituary; I have to set up “final salutes” with the US Navy and the Knights of Columbus. I have to send a mass e-mail to my students convincing them that they should keep doing the work assigned in the syllabus even though I am not holding class.
There are so many small things I haven’t even touched on here. Such as Valentine’s Day, my sister’s birthday, finding a new speech therapist for Miles, Baseball or soccer for Zen? And really all I can think of is life…death…What do I want my last thoughts to be…Yes….yes…I was okay…I loved well…because of that I was loved…I loved and was loved….
So, yes…I’ll let it all go for a bit. Someone else can make sure everything gets done, every step is researched, and planned…all the obligations are kept…Sign language is practiced, lunches, reference letters written, friends know I love them, husband gets a tech thing for V-Day. All of it floating up into the sky in a big hot air balloon of responsibilities.
I’m just going to live for a few minutes and see what it feels like. I’d be willing to bet it feels real, real good to just feel and watch all that love out there…
Even the bill’s sponsor knows of the challenges in raising a child with special needs. Dwight Scharnhorst’s grandson had Autism and epilepsy, and succumbed too young to his epilepsy, but Rep. Scharnhorst talks brightly about how much he learned from Bryce.
Bryce’s Law was designed with the best interests of special needs children in mind—and parents agree it will open up opportunities for their children. I’ve covered so much of the criticism and explained why the fears that educrats play upon are quite unfounded, and I could keep repeating the fact until I’m blue in the face, but instead I’d like to cover some of the extraordinary parents who are heroes, advocates, and innovators.
Nashville’s Leslie Face:
Leslie Face has two sons. They are the light of her life, and she delights in their individual personalities. However, with a master’s degree in education, Face knew long before her sons were diagnosed with autism that they were different
“I knew they had special needs,” said Face. “But it was still tough to get the official diagnosis. I started researching constantly about it to learn everything I could, and I found that early and consistent intervention can make a tremendous difference in the lives of these kids.”
Since then, she has spent several days a week loading her boys into the car, making her way to Nashville so that they could attend various therapy appointments and then fighting traffic to get back.
Face thought about others in her position and wondered what they do to maintain jobs while getting their children the help that they need.
“Going to Nashville for appointments can be an all-day process,” she said. “And with children who have special needs, the entire thing can be very stressful as they often react poorly to such excursions.”
It was with that understanding that Face decided to start “Faces of Hope,” an organization dedicated to providing services for special-needs children in Sumner and surrounding counties.
“Autism comes with an entire range of needs, as do other disabilities,” said Face. “While the schools do a great job, there is so much more to it if the child is going to have a well-rounded life.”
Kemp believes a center in Sumner County will alleviate many problems for families who have a difficult time coordinating schedules to get their children to Nashville for those services.
“Parents are never prepared to hear a child has special needs,” she said. “Your children are born, and you have all these hopes and desires for them, and then you get told there are going to be some significant obstacles for them. Where do you go with that?”
With that mindset, Face plans to create a center offering services to everyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
“Sometimes families with special needs children have to decide whether to buy groceries or buy therapy for the children that week,” she said. “Nobody should have to make that choice.”
Georgina in California:
Hello, my name is Georgina and I live in Ca. I know you are doing a story in our own area but if you could please somehow pass it over to other stations around the US.
I say that because there are so many families who children have this and struggle so much. And if we educate our media, maybe some awareness can come out of it.
I suggest, if you have not already been told, covering about how many times most families have to go to see doctors before they get the right diagnose. That there are still doctors out there like my Ped. doctor which had told me that my son was ADHD and then just gave me drugs for it.
And just like any other parent, I tried it but it did not work. He got worse, so bad that he attacked me. And he was never like that. So we stop the drugs and we had to go ourselves to see what we needed to do.
It wasn't until my teacher who was at one point a child psychologist advised me to see a neuro doctor then go to get an psychological evaluation that I learned what was wrong. We went through hoops before we found out what was wrong with him. And cover please please not just the children that can not function so well with autism but the high functioning one. You don't know what it is like for a parent (like me) who child is like that and how other people treat him when he is having a melt down.
If you ask parents like us, you would be amazed on how many people look at them and say there is nothing wrong with them. And the school system... yeah, they treat them like nothing is wrong with them either because they don't look like the rest of the other kids who have it and are in bad cases. When I tried to give my son's teacher papers on or about his condition, she did not take it. She said that she had a child who had a different type [of autism]. And what people don't understand that yes there are different types but they are different in other areas.
So now we can only hope that his school will either give him what he needs or we may have to get him changed. There are many parents who are battling with their schools about this... you would be amazed or unless you know of many parents already going through that. Thank you for hearing my input. I do hope I have helped a little!
Georgina
Miles’ Mom, Missouri:
It is exhausting dealing with death. It is exhausting dealing with disabilities. Being a mother is too much sometimes. Being a wife, a teacher, a sister and a friend requires giving when there is nothing to give. Of course, there is an upside…or rather lots of them:
- Celebrating and remembering a single person’s amazing life.
- Small, tiny, little itty bitty, accomplishments…like saying “TH” at age three…
- Dates-when you only get three a year with the person who still makes butterflies in your stomach.
- Students who e-mail you five years later.
- Siblings who save your life.
- And lots and lots of friends and co-workers and neighbors and complete strangers who make your life complete and full, and define who you are and what you do in beautiful ways.
As the purpose of this blog is to discuss issues related to dealing with life and children with disabilities. I’ll do that. First and foremost, I’ll say that it is so easy to get lost in the rush of things and I think that is our biggest mistake. The one we’ll regret the most when we look back at this time in our lives.
After 36 years, only three of them spent living w/ACWD I keep thinking I am normal. If you’ve read this blog, you know I routinely go through the realization that LIFE is different with a child with disabilities…I tried to get a dog…didn’t work. Selling the house took 14 months…I’ve lost more friends than I’ve kept…My husband loves me still only because we were meant to be (circumstances have no effect on this kind of love…lucky, lucky beloved me), all holidays pretty much suck…So here is my big life/death realization…STOP RUSHING!
My father died on Thursday February 3, 2008. Since that day, I have heard that phrase at least 25 times. Brother, sisters, in-laws and even strangers keep saying to me, “sit down,” “relax,” “take it easy and just grieve.” Let’s see…I have also been called Mary Poppins, OCD, and totally frigging hyperactive.
All I can think is that my husband took off the day to be with my kids, so I can help out. There is no time for me to help at my leisure. I actually can’t just relax and grieve and think to myself I’ll be there when they need me. My life simply does not work that way. I actually need to schedule according to my life when I can “be there” for people and that just sucks. I probably am a spaz, but it gets stuff done, Here and now I will formally accept the titles of Pollyanna, Mary Poppins and I will revel in their blessings.
My Irish Wake will be perfect, the bagpipers will rock, the eulogies will be verbose, yet pithy. So, my Father died on Thursday. On Saturday we had an appointment with a major news station to discussion tax scholarships for children with disabilities. We wove the interview into our lives hoping that we could some sort of difference. Our feeling is that we have a duty to make a difference. There was lots of cleaning and lots of research. I know for sure I looked like shit on the camera. On Sunday I taught my Mom how to pay all her bills on-line. That required lots and lots of beer…
Oh, yeah, and the Super Bowl party we were supposed to host for my Dad. Right now at 9:50 I’m writing this and have no idea who won or lost, but think about how much my dad wanted New England to win since he’s from there. And I still have no idea how I am going to conduct the funeral because, as ALWAYS, I have no one to watch or care for my sign language speaking baby…
Sunday evening I realized that on Wednesday, the day after the funeral, we have an appointment at Children Mercy Hospital’s Disability Clinic to diagnose Miles. Three years we’ve been waiting for a diagnosis and this appointment has been on the calendar for 7 months. I haven’t filled out all the paper work and I have not finished the program for the funeral. I have to meet with a caterer, a bagpiper, a choir director, a cremator, a priest. I have make 150 color copies of an obituary; I have to set up “final salutes” with the US Navy and the Knights of Columbus. I have to send a mass e-mail to my students convincing them that they should keep doing the work assigned in the syllabus even though I am not holding class.
There are so many small things I haven’t even touched on here. Such as Valentine’s Day, my sister’s birthday, finding a new speech therapist for Miles, Baseball or soccer for Zen? And really all I can think of is life…death…What do I want my last thoughts to be…Yes….yes…I was okay…I loved well…because of that I was loved…I loved and was loved….
So, yes…I’ll let it all go for a bit. Someone else can make sure everything gets done, every step is researched, and planned…all the obligations are kept…Sign language is practiced, lunches, reference letters written, friends know I love them, husband gets a tech thing for V-Day. All of it floating up into the sky in a big hot air balloon of responsibilities.
I’m just going to live for a few minutes and see what it feels like. I’d be willing to bet it feels real, real good to just feel and watch all that love out there…
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Article in St. Louis American is misleading
Disability disguise
Missouri Pro-Vote says that the school choice movement is now hiding behind special-needs students in its efforts to privatize public education in the state. Pro-Vote is urging advocates of public education to call or email their state representative and tell them to protect our public schools by voting “NO!” on House Bill 1886. HOW HORRIBLE IS IT THEY SAY THE SCHOOL CHOICE MOVEMENT IS HIDING IN SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN? WHERE IS THE NEA HIDING THEN? THIS NEGATIVITY IS ONLY GOING TO HURT SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN. IT DOES NOT HURT THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, IN FACT, IT WOULD HELP THEM! IF A SCHOOL CANNOT PROPERLY EDUCATE A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD, IT MAY BE DRAINING RESOURCES TO TRY. IF THIS LEGISLATION PASSED, IT WOULD ALLOW THAT CHILD TO CHANGE SCHOOLS, PAID FOR BY PRIVATE MONIES, AND LET THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CONTINUE TO EDUCATE THE OTHER CHILDREN. IT IS NOT TRYING TO PRIVATIZE PUBLIC EDUCATION, IT IS TRYING TO GIVE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN A CHANCE. NOT EVERY SCHOOL CAN EDUCATE EVERY SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD PROPERLY...WHY NOT GIVE THOSE CHILDREN A CHANCE SOMEWHERE ELSE? IF THE CHILDREN/PARENTS ARE HAPPY WHERE THEY ARE, THEN THEY STAY THERE. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CHILD THAT IS NOT HAPPY AND DOING WELL? WHY SHOULD THEY FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS? IT IS JUST NOT RIGHT!
This bill would create an 80 percent tax credit for donations to private scholarship funds providing payments for students with disabilities to attend private or religious schools. It would do nothing to fulfill the State’s duty to establish and maintain quality schools, but it would divert millions of dollars away from public schools. House Bill 1886 does nothing to help public school students or to fund specific programs to help students with disabilities. IT DOES NOT DIVERT MILLIONS AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAVE NO LEGS TO STAND ON HERE SO THEY ARE JUST MAKING THINGS UP. IN FLORIDA, IT HAS SAVED THE STATE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THE KEY HERE IS "PRIVATE MONEY" WILL BE USED TO PAY FOR THE SCHOLARSHIPS. DO THEY NOT WANT THESE CHILDREN TO SUCCEED? SURELY, THEY CANNOT BE THAT INSENSITIVE, BUT THAT IS THE WAY THEY COME OFF TO ME. THE TAX CREDITS ARE ARE A GOOD INCENTIVE FOR DONATIONS...AGAIN, NOT GOVERNMENT MONEY.
Pro-Vote urges advocates of public education to call the Missouri Capitol switchboard at 573-751-2000 and ask for your state representative (if needed, first ask the operator to help you identify your legislator). Then ask your legislator where he or she stands on HB 1886. Give them your name and address so they know you are their constituent. After you make the call, let Pro-Vote know how it went. PLEASE DO CALL THE CAPITAL SWITCHBOARD, AND LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE IN SUPPORT OF THIS LEGISLATION! AND INTERESTING PROVOTE WANTS YOU TO CALL AND INFORM THEM ON HOW YOUR LEGISLATOR IS VOTING...ARE PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO BE LITTLE SPIES? I FIND IT A LITTLE FISHY!
Pro-Vote also reports that it has registered over 6,500 new voters in the last two months at mass transit stops in the St. Louis metro area, as part of Pro-Vote’s “non-partisan program to make sure that low and moderate income voters are able to participate in this year’s crucial elections.” THIS LEGISLATION WILL REALLY HELP THE LOWER/MODERATE INCOME VOTERS WHO HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN. SPECIAL SCHOOLS CAN COST THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS! I HAVE MET PARENTS IN MY CHILD'S SCHOOL WHO HAVE SOLD THEIR HOUSE AND THEIR CARS IN ORDER TO AFFORD THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS THAT WILL GIVE THEIR CHILD THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY DESERVE.
FOR THOSE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN FAILING IN THEIR SCHOOLS, LETS OPEN UP OUR EYES AND OUR HEARTS AND GET THIS LEGISLATION PASSED!!!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tax Credits are all around us--why not for Special Needs education?
Tax Credits come in many colors, shapes and sizes. On March 11, 2008, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill giving a tax break for Missourians who buy US-made hybrid vehicles.
The bill allows the purchaser of said hybrid to deduct either $2000 or 10 percent of the vehicle’s price (whichever is less).
Another tax credit for Agriculture called the New Generation Cooperative Incentive tax credit (quite a mouthful) has gotten some media attention as Missouri elected officials have taken advantage of them. Specifically, Rep. John Quinn’s farm has received over $200,000 in credits; Sen. Wes Shoemyer has received over $12,000; Sen. Bill Stouffer has received nearly $24,000.
Rep. Brian Munzlinger has received nearly $25,000 in tax credits; Rep. Therese Sander’s husband Theodore has received $18,000 in tax credits; Rep. Jim Whorton has received $5,000 in tax credits; Rep. Terry Witte has received $2,600 in tax credits; and Sen. Frank Barnitz with $1,250 in tax credits.
A tax credit for preserving historic buildings gives a tax deduction of 25% of rehabililitation costs. The Film Production Tax Credit Program provides a state income tax credit to qualified film production companies up to 50% of the company's expenditures in Missouri for production, not to exceed $1 million in tax credits per project. There are many other tax credits mainly focused on stimulating economy and agriculture in Missouri. Neighborhood Assistance Program and Youth Opportunities Program tax credits have been awarded to religious not-for-profits who benefit the community through social projects. Federally, we have tax credits for college tuition, housing and redevelopment.
Tax credits are used to reward good behavior or offset costs for low-income of economically burdened people or businesses. With the myriad of tax credits out there, what is standing in the way of a tax credit for special needs students? The financial burden falls to the family to pay for everything from insurance to tutoring, and again their costs rise when they have to move to another school district or pay for a private school in an effort to get what many people take for granted: an appropriate education.
Let’s reward good behavior, like philanthropists and businesses donating to a fund that offsets tuition costs. Let’s support the families who are supporting Missouri’s precious special needs children and helping them become participating members of society.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Reform is needed, and worthwhile
Sherri Tucker is running for the BOE in Lee’s Summit as an activist for special needs children in the area, because while working to get the best education for her child, who has autism, she has seen areas where there is room for improvement.
This article in the Lee’s Summit Journal had the school district’s autism specialist refute the idea that there is anything wrong with what they offer the wide range of autistic students in the area.
One of the biggest disconnects I’ve seen between the public schools, boards and unions when talking about special needs education reform is that the public schools perceive criticism as an attack on the efficacy of their services. I think most parents are happy with the services their public school can offer a special needs child, and feel that the public schools do a really good job educating almost any type of disability that comes down the pike.
When parents have complaints, and when reform measures like Bryce’s law come up, they are not intended to disparage public schools, but rather to recognize that there is just no way that any given public school can offer the perfect services for every child living in the area. Many children with autism need one-on-one attention and most schools are just not cut out to offer that. Others need a potpourri of styles, and if we asked public schools to provide that we’d run outrageous tabs.
Across the state, however, there are private schools designed specifically to meet all types of special needs, and can be more effective because that is their focus. Special needs likely necessitate a specialized response, and trying to offer that in the rigid structure of the public school setting is a recipe for disaster. Fluidity makes sense for the dynamic nature of autism and many other disabilities, and a private setting can offer that. Bryce’s Law is responding to a definite need, and when it comes down to a choice between a child succeeding or regressing, we can’t afford to squabble about whether it should come from a public or private education.
This article in the Lee’s Summit Journal had the school district’s autism specialist refute the idea that there is anything wrong with what they offer the wide range of autistic students in the area.
One of the biggest disconnects I’ve seen between the public schools, boards and unions when talking about special needs education reform is that the public schools perceive criticism as an attack on the efficacy of their services. I think most parents are happy with the services their public school can offer a special needs child, and feel that the public schools do a really good job educating almost any type of disability that comes down the pike.
When parents have complaints, and when reform measures like Bryce’s law come up, they are not intended to disparage public schools, but rather to recognize that there is just no way that any given public school can offer the perfect services for every child living in the area. Many children with autism need one-on-one attention and most schools are just not cut out to offer that. Others need a potpourri of styles, and if we asked public schools to provide that we’d run outrageous tabs.
Across the state, however, there are private schools designed specifically to meet all types of special needs, and can be more effective because that is their focus. Special needs likely necessitate a specialized response, and trying to offer that in the rigid structure of the public school setting is a recipe for disaster. Fluidity makes sense for the dynamic nature of autism and many other disabilities, and a private setting can offer that. Bryce’s Law is responding to a definite need, and when it comes down to a choice between a child succeeding or regressing, we can’t afford to squabble about whether it should come from a public or private education.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
St. Louis Post-Dispatch article belittles parents' concerns
The Cooperating School District copied their website into an op-ed for the Post-Dispatch yesterday morning, in a bold move once again telling special needs parents what is best for their children. I really believe that parents know better than school districts, and so do they. The article was wrong on many accounts, but here’s one non sequitur that stuck in my craw. [Craw? Is that truly a word?]
After Florida enacted a plan similar to the one the Missouri Legislature is considering, the Palm Beach Post reported, more than 77 percent of the non-public schools that received funds through the program provided no special education services.
The example of St. Louis County offers an explanation. Close to 1,300 children who are enrolled in private and parochial schools in the county receive their special education services not through their own schools but through the public school system. Clearly, many non-public schools simply are unable to educate these children adequately.
That explanation is simply wrong. Florida’s McKay tax credit has grown every year as more students continue to take advantage of it, and a 2003 survey found that 93% of parents were satisfied by their new school, compared to a 33% satisfaction with the previous school. This is interesting to note: parents were three times as satisfied with their school, even though many moved to a school with no special education services. Clearly, even the private schools with the least amount of services were more satisfactory than their assigned public school.
The article then goes on to tell parents:
I attended committee hearings on these bills and heard parents testify to the critical need for assistance with early identification and intervention in helping their children. The pain of these parents was very real, and there are genuine opportunities to create public policy that would serve their children in much more positive ways. Unfortunately, some state legislators have chosen to use this real need as a way to support non-public education without even addressing the educational needs of the children.
What a slap in the face from the executive director of St. Louis’ Cooperating School Districts! I think an appropriate paraphrase is “I feel you pain, but you don’t really understand. I know better than you what kind of legislation will help your son or daughter. You’re just poor saps.”
The parents I know with special needs children typically know about as much as a medical student might, or a school administrator. They’ve been researching causes and treatments and what to expect since their child was diagnosed, and their knowledge is intensely personal since it’s an all-day, every-day behavior study with a little person they love. Parents also understand the mechanics of an IEP because they went through the process and learned about their options. I believe they are in some cases more aware of their rights than anyone else, as their child’s vulnerability heightened their vigilance.
But really, at the end of the day what matters is that if a parent is not happy with the special needs services at a public school, they have the right and ability to seek out a better alternative. A parent’s opinion matters most, and that the Cooperating School Districts don't understand that only underscores the necessity of HB 1886 and SB 993.
After Florida enacted a plan similar to the one the Missouri Legislature is considering, the Palm Beach Post reported, more than 77 percent of the non-public schools that received funds through the program provided no special education services.
The example of St. Louis County offers an explanation. Close to 1,300 children who are enrolled in private and parochial schools in the county receive their special education services not through their own schools but through the public school system. Clearly, many non-public schools simply are unable to educate these children adequately.
That explanation is simply wrong. Florida’s McKay tax credit has grown every year as more students continue to take advantage of it, and a 2003 survey found that 93% of parents were satisfied by their new school, compared to a 33% satisfaction with the previous school. This is interesting to note: parents were three times as satisfied with their school, even though many moved to a school with no special education services. Clearly, even the private schools with the least amount of services were more satisfactory than their assigned public school.
The article then goes on to tell parents:
I attended committee hearings on these bills and heard parents testify to the critical need for assistance with early identification and intervention in helping their children. The pain of these parents was very real, and there are genuine opportunities to create public policy that would serve their children in much more positive ways. Unfortunately, some state legislators have chosen to use this real need as a way to support non-public education without even addressing the educational needs of the children.
What a slap in the face from the executive director of St. Louis’ Cooperating School Districts! I think an appropriate paraphrase is “I feel you pain, but you don’t really understand. I know better than you what kind of legislation will help your son or daughter. You’re just poor saps.”
The parents I know with special needs children typically know about as much as a medical student might, or a school administrator. They’ve been researching causes and treatments and what to expect since their child was diagnosed, and their knowledge is intensely personal since it’s an all-day, every-day behavior study with a little person they love. Parents also understand the mechanics of an IEP because they went through the process and learned about their options. I believe they are in some cases more aware of their rights than anyone else, as their child’s vulnerability heightened their vigilance.
But really, at the end of the day what matters is that if a parent is not happy with the special needs services at a public school, they have the right and ability to seek out a better alternative. A parent’s opinion matters most, and that the Cooperating School Districts don't understand that only underscores the necessity of HB 1886 and SB 993.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Repeat after me, guys! "Not by the hair on my chin-y chin chin!"
Sen. Jolie Justus has a memo on her blog “Freshmeat” about a Wild Hog Hunt organized by Rep. J.C. Kuessner. No, this is not a re-enactment of Lord of the Flies for sophomores on a field trip, and no, it’s not a BBQ. It’s a real, honest to goodness hunting of the wild hog, preferably on horseback.
What does one talk about on a wild hog hunt? Well, I imagine it’s much harder than hunting domestic hogs, so conversation might be kind of minimal, and forgoing all the related “pork” jokes I can think of, the best topic I can think of would be HB 1886. While providing scholarships to families of special needs children to find the best education for their needs seems like a no-brainer, we wouldn’t have a democracy without debate.
While it’s my fear that many of the controversy about HB 1886 is a smokescreen or a Hail Mary attempt to convolute the facts and benefits that a scholarship can have for Missouri families whose children simply need more than they get in a public school, I believe this assembly will do their due diligence and then some. I am convinced this bill deserves the utmost consideration of Missouri’s House of Representatives, because whether you hunt wild hogs or not it seems we all benefit from taking the time to come up with a solution for educating our children.
I also hope to see J.C. Kuessner’s yes on this bill, and I’m confident that this will turn into the beginning of real advocacy for special needs families across the state. I’m confident that it will open up doors and the result will be students achieving, learning and succeeding in life and giving their gifts back to Missouri.
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