Re: School Scholarships - Houston Chronicle

December 18, 2006

Thanks for posting

My opinion is that no Autism family in Texas should ever have

to " fight or battle " with an ISD for service because of their child's

neurological and medical condition. I simply find that is impossible

odds for one individual family (odd of 1 to 200) to go at it alone

and against a school bureaucracy built upon credentials, numbers,

competing agendas and TAK scores. It is also a waste of energy,

emotions, money and time for the family who desperately need to win

the day, not years later through their ISD. It needs to be now for

each child.

If lawsuits, IEPs and committees (ARDs) will not do it. Then, maybe

something that will give power and money to parents will.

Scholarships seems to be a great idea. The Ohio autism families love

it. There are even reports of more Ohio schools being created and

more asking for State accreditation to serve Autism families. Now

that sounds like a great movement and a wonderful way to go for

parents to take their one child to a school that WANTS to provide

services quickly.

So now Ohio schools are competing (fighting) to help us. I think it

would be nice for Texas families to be in those shoes :>)

My two cents

Mark Colditz

>

> Dec. 18, 2006, 1:31AM

> Autism fuels call for school vouchers

> State lawmaker and families push for legislation to open the doors

of private programs

>

> By GARY SCHARRER

>

> AUSTIN — School voucher plans repeatedly have died in the Texas

Legislature, but the Senate Education Committee chairwoman is eying a

whittled-down school-choice option that might be harder for lawmakers

to resist. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, plans to push

legislation that would allow parents of autistic children to choose

the best schools for their children.

> " They have a very difficult time in a regular setting in a

classroom, " said Shapiro, who long has supported vouchers. " I would

like to see a choice program. ... It's what I think we should do for

children with autism. "

> The number of Texas children diagnosed with various degrees of

autism has nearly doubled over the past five years, increasing from

8,972 students to 17,282 in the 2005-06 school year, according to the

Texas Education Agency.

> Autism is a complex developmental disability that affects the

functioning of the brain and development in the areas of social

interaction and communication skills.

> A voucher program would allow eligible parents to spend a certain

amount of tax dollars allocated for a child's public school education

at any school — public or private. The public school could be in a

different district from the child's home district.

> Even some lawmakers who have opposed vouchers say they are

willing to consider Shapiro's proposal. And while some parents hail

the voucher idea, education groups will oppose it.

> Demand and opposition

> Kendra Imbus embraces Shapiro's proposal.

> Her 4-year-old, , has severe autism and attends an early

childhood autism program in the Katy Independent School District.

Many others are on a waiting list.

> also attends Shape of Behavior Inc., a private school

that specializes in teaching autistic children.

> If given a choice, Imbus said, parents could get help to cover

the cost for intensive and specialized education.

> " Maybe you could get them to a point where they could be

mainstreamed, and then, maybe, you wouldn't have to spend that money

later, " Imbus said. " That's what I think the general public doesn't

realize. If we could help them now, maybe they wouldn't have to be

institutionalized when they are older. "

> But she is not optimistic that lawmakers will support Shapiro's

plan.

> " It will be a hard sell. I don't think the public cares, " Imbus

said. " I don't think they understand the issue. I don't think they

realize how many of these children are out there. This is going to

become an economic disaster in our country. "

> There is no known cure for autism. Early intervention is

imperative.

> Holli De Clemente also has enrolled her 3-year-old son, Justice,

in Shape of Behavior. The school, with six locations, enrolls 40

children and has 45 staff members.

> De Clemente said her Magnolia Independent School District has

beautiful public schools but, from her perspective, was unable to

provide adequate support for Justice.

> She said her son made " a mind-boggling transformation " nearly

immediately after being placed in the private school: He began

speaking.

> Shape of Behavior charges $2,000 a month for part-time students

and $4,000 a month for full-time students.

> " What typical family in America can do that? My parents are

helping us with part of it, because it's impossible, " De Clemente

said.

> Education groups vigorously oppose voucher programs in Texas.

Such proposals typically involve vouchers for low-income parents to

move children from low performing, inner-city schools to private

schools or better public schools.

> Voucher supporters and opponents agree any move to allow vouchers

for one disability or disease could open the door to other subsets of

students.

> " Public tax dollars should go to fund public schools, not private

schools, " said Kouri, a spokesman for the Texas State

Teachers Association. " Our belief is that once you start moving

public tax dollars to private schools, whatever the initial reason,

future arguments become arguments around expanding that existing

program. "

> State Sen. Van de Putte, D-San , said she opposes

school vouchers but agonizes with parents of autistic children.

> Van de Putte, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said

parents don't want to open the floodgates for a full-blown voucher

system but that they are lobbying for a limited-purpose voucher

program in special cases in which the school district agrees that it

can't provide needed services.

> Van de Putte, emphasizing that she opposes " diverting money and

passion away from our public school system, " said she is open-minded.

> Ongoing vouchers battleLawmakers have fought over school

vouchers during most of the past decade.

> San physician-turned-businessman Leininger spent

nearly $5 million this year tying to elect voucher-friendly

candidates. But his effort largely failed, and now Leininger is

pushing a compromise idea that would allow school districts to keep a

portion of the tax money when students take a voucher to enroll in

another school.

> " Leaving a percentage of the funds devoted to the student with

the public school creates a win-win situation, " Leininger's

spokesman, Ken Hoagland, said.

> But Van de Putte said there simply is no appetite in the

Legislature for a full-blown voucher program allowing tax dollars for

low-income parents to send children to private schools.

> Leininger also supports a voucher program for autistic children,

his spokesman said.

> Special needsAccording to Domonique Randall, founder of the

Shape of Behavior schools, it takes about two years of intensive

interaction at a young age before an autistic child can transition to

a general education classroom.

> " Our goal is to teach them to learn within a group and to teach

them to participate in a group setting, " Randall said.

> The most effective approach involves " applied behavior analysis, "

which emphasizes positive reinforcement, Randall said. Many public

school teachers are not trained in applied behavior analysis, she

said.

> " These children going into public schools are either secluded and

put into classrooms with children all having disabilities, and so

they don't get the opportunity to learn from their typically

developing peers, or their behavior (keeps) them from that

opportunity, " Randall said. " But the behavior is the result of

teachers not being trained. "

> gscharrer@...

>

> M. Guppy

> Contact me to order the 2007 Autism Awareness Calendar for Texas!

> Texas Autism Advocacy: www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

>

> " There are some aspects of a person's life that we have no

right to compromise. We cannot negotiate the size of an

institution. No one should live in one. We cannot debate who should

get an inclusive education. Everyone should. We cannot determine

who does and who does not get the right to make their own choices and

forge their own futures. All must. "

>

December 18, 2006