Re: Re: Need Options and Advice

[Guest guest]

Haven:

Don't have any illusions about special education advisory boards made up of parents and special ed teachers. Our district has one of them. However, I have an email from the assistant superintendent to a previous special education director that said they needed "like minded" individuals who have the school's vision as their vision and needed to take troublemaker parents out. The only way they would truly be representative of parents is to allow parents who have a differing opinion on them.

Hilda

Re: Re: Need Options and Advice

From what I gather, it is pretty much the same in all districts. Our children's money is not well managed and parents have little say. This is what needs to change. I went to the parent input meeting at Region 10, but at this point I am so disillusioned and feeling so disenfranchised that I don't hold out real hope for change any time soon, but that doesn't mean I am giving up. Unless we parents organize and work collectively for change....I envision a future in which special populations are represented in an equitable fashion on ALL school boards. With the autism rates continuing to rise, perhaps seats need to be preserved for this population in an equitable fashion.In addition, ALL school districts should have to have special education advisory boards made up of parents and special ed teachers (however, I have found teachers to be poor advocates for the children they serve because they fear getting fired) to which the superintendents and principals must answer to. These boards should have a say in how the funds get spent. (I can hear our district crying now, "There goes the new ag building and the thirty thousand dollars we want to spend on new ag equipment!" I can hear them crying about the money that was mainly going to benefit the NT kids.) Listen, if the law didn't force them to take our kids, they would be turning our kids away. This is the truth -- Prior to federal law, this is what they did. I know this personally because my aunt NEVER got the benefit of any education. Schools do what they have to do to stay within the limits of the law. BUT MANY special ed parents are not really knowledgeable about the law, and the districts take full advantage of this. Perhaps this is why our principal said to me at ARD, "Well, we're just not used to dealing with a special ed parent as educated as you are."They've tried to throw things at me and say it is law when it is not --like "You have to sign the signature page right now; it's the law!" Even BEFORE having a chance to read the printed document. Bigotry and prejudice are alive and well and resting on the shoulders of our children. What right does anyone have to assume a child cannot learn simply because they can not speak???Who had the right to deny my child an academic foundation simply because he has autism? Why should he be burdened now with having to play catch-up without getting that foundation IN A MANNER THAT IS MEANINGFUL FOR HIM? Why do they demand he learn the way they wish to teach rather than teaching him the way he can learn? Good God! Can anyone imagine where Helen Keller would have ended up if instead of Anne Sullivan, her parents had turned to a Texas public school for services???

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Hilda: I used to Preside (Chair?) such a Special Ed Advisory "Committee". The one I was over was for Vocation/Transition. I really represented Consumers (Parents and their children) there, and I dealt with the Administration directly on an almost daily basis.

It was a Win/Win/Win situation for as long as I could do it, but it really takes someone who is that committed to the process and to the people involved to do it effectively. I suggest that, before you get involved, meet the people or person who you will be working for and through, and the Administration representatives as well..

Best wishes,

Mitch

Haven:

Don't have any illusions about special education advisory boards made up of parents and special ed teachers. Our district has one of them. However, I have an email from the assistant superintendent to a previous special education director that said they needed "like minded" individuals who have the school's vision as their vision and needed to take troublemaker parents out. The only way they would truly be representative of parents is to allow parents who have a differing opinion on them.

Hilda

Re: Re: Need Options and Advice

From what I gather, it is pretty much the same in all districts. Our children's money is not well managed and parents have little say. This is what needs to change. I went to the parent input meeting at Region 10, but at this point I am so disillusioned and feeling so disenfranchised that I don't hold out real hope for change any time soon, but that doesn't mean I am giving up. Unless we parents organize and work collectively for change....

I envision a future in which special populations are represented in an equitable fashion on ALL school boards. With the autism rates continuing to rise, perhaps seats need to be preserved for this population in an equitable fashion.

In addition, ALL school districts should have to have special education advisory boards made up of parents and special ed teachers (however, I have found teachers to be poor advocates for the children they serve because they fear getting fired) to which the superintendents and principals must answer to. These boards should have a say in how the funds get spent. (I can hear our district crying now, "There goes the new ag building and the thirty thousand dollars we want to spend on new ag equipment!" I can hear them crying about the money that was mainly going to benefit the NT kids.)

Listen, if the law didn't force them to take our kids, they would be turning our kids away. This is the truth -- Prior to federal law, this is what they did. I know this personally because my aunt NEVER got the benefit of any education. Schools do what they have to do to stay within the limits of the law. BUT MANY special ed parents are not really knowledgeable about the law, and the districts take full advantage of this. Perhaps this is why our principal said to me at ARD, "Well, we're just not used to dealing with a special ed parent as educated as you are."

They've tried to throw things at me and say it is law when it is not --like "You have to sign the signature page right now; it's the law!" Even BEFORE having a chance to read the printed document.

Bigotry and prejudice are alive and well and resting on the shoulders of our children. What right does anyone have to assume a child cannot learn simply because they can not speak???

Who had the right to deny my child an academic foundation simply because he has autism? Why should he be burdened now with having to play catch-up without getting that foundation IN A MANNER THAT IS MEANINGFUL FOR HIM? Why do they demand he learn the way they wish to teach rather than teaching him the way he can learn?

Good God! Can anyone imagine where Helen Keller would have ended up if instead of Anne Sullivan, her parents had turned to a Texas public school for services???

[Guest guest]



Mitch:

That's sounds great.

Unfortunately, in the district I live in, there was a racketeering/false claim act lawsuit that was settled and sealed in 2007 about it was about political corruption among all the people named. The law firm that represents special education interests in the district was named, along with one of the partners, the special education director, several board members, several other administration personnel including the superintendent, and our current house representative that was previously on the board. I have documentation on how the current special education director got her job that truly says "scandal" written all over it. It's quite sad.

Hilda

Re: Re: Need Options and Advice

From what I gather, it is pretty much the same in all districts. Our children's money is not well managed and parents have little say. This is what needs to change. I went to the parent input meeting at Region 10, but at this point I am so disillusioned and feeling so disenfranchised that I don't hold out real hope for change any time soon, but that doesn't mean I am giving up. Unless we parents organize and work collectively for change....I envision a future in which special populations are represented in an equitable fashion on ALL school boards. With the autism rates continuing to rise, perhaps seats need to be preserved for this population in an equitable fashion.In addition, ALL school districts should have to have special education advisory boards made up of parents and special ed teachers (however, I have found teachers to be poor advocates for the children they serve because they fear getting fired) to which the superintendents and principals must answer to. These boards should have a say in how the funds get spent. (I can hear our district crying now, "There goes the new ag building and the thirty thousand dollars we want to spend on new ag equipment!" I can hear them crying about the money that was mainly going to benefit the NT kids.) Listen, if the law didn't force them to take our kids, they would be turning our kids away. This is the truth -- Prior to federal law, this is what they did. I know this personally because my aunt NEVER got the benefit of any education. Schools do what they have to do to stay within the limits of the law. BUT MANY special ed parents are not really knowledgeable about the law, and the districts take full advantage of this. Perhaps this is why our principal said to me at ARD, "Well, we're just not used to dealing with a special ed parent as educated as you are."They've tried to throw things at me and say it is law when it is not --like "You have to sign the signature page right now; it's the law!" Even BEFORE having a chance to read the printed document. Bigotry and prejudice are alive and well and resting on the shoulders of our children. What right does anyone have to assume a child cannot learn simply because they can not speak???Who had the right to deny my child an academic foundation simply because he has autism? Why should he be burdened now with having to play catch-up without getting that foundation IN A MANNER THAT IS MEANINGFUL FOR HIM? Why do they demand he learn the way they wish to teach rather than teaching him the way he can learn? Good God! Can anyone imagine where Helen Keller would have ended up if instead of Anne Sullivan, her parents had turned to a Texas public school for services???

[Guest guest]

I

know we’re in a different district, but it’s the same story across

the state in the rural areas.

I

was told several years ago that our Sp Ed Coop had “got some Medicaid

money freed up” and the local superintendent talked them into giving them

$100,000 towards the gym remodel. Reasoning was our kids use the gym

too. AARRGGHH!!

Tonya

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of Doug and Kim

Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:51 PM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Re: Need Options and Advice

We must be in the same district.

Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:16:58 -0500

To: <Texas-Autism-Advocacy >

Subject: Re: Re: Need Options

and Advice

Your son is blessed to have such wonderful parents!

I do blame the public schools. I think they should have to live up to

NCLB and IDEA, and they could if many of them weren't funneling special ed

money in other areas. They can do this if it is of educational benefit to

special ed kids, but many funnel the money and say they benefit, but they do

not benefit, and there is no good policing of it. In 2006, our coop got

more than $750,000 in special ed funds to service around 350 children.

There are private schools that would kill to have that much money to service

that many kids. They do a better job with much less money. Who

decided how that money got spent? Two superintendents who do not have a

special needs child and never met or sat down with any of the children the

money was supposed to benefit. They decided it without any input fro the

parents, and there was no representation on either school board for this

population. This is the way it is in most rural school districts.

Two " good ole boys and all that money at their fingertips. Sounds

fishy to me....