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.