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EXACTLY... rather than be dictated as to what we must pay, would it not be more fair to allow everyone to be free to choose how much or how little they give? No one is owed ANYTHING but that which is stated in the Bill of Rights. We should be taking care of our country before helping others... don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Look at the top charities in the US (cut-off is less than $140M annually):
Asking liberals to put their own money where their mouth is is racist!
Sounds like a scam to me, I've never heard or seen such a thing in the states we've lived.
Mandated services are provided by school districts, not some Intermediate Units. Perhaps they are unique to PA.
What I've seen and read about is what a previous poster pointed out. States and districts have certain services they are "mandated" to provide for students with disabilities. They get additional funds to support these mandated services but only about a fourth of what it costs to provide these services. The rest of the money comes out of the general school district funding.
IEPs absorb considerable time to develop, update, monitor, and carry through. This is time that is not available for all students.
As to encouraging parents of children with special needs to advocate for them, I don't think you need to worry about that. Most of these parents seem to be well aware of their legal right to demand additional services for their children and often threaten to sue if they think their child is being short changed.
Sports programs are often where children with special needs, particularly those with a diagnosis of ADHD, find they can compete on an equal footing with other children. If you want to do away with them, fine by me. But you will be doing a lot of children with IEP's a disservice.
What I care about is that all our children get the education they will need to be competitive in an increasingly accelerated world.
More and more parents are realizing that their children are wasting precious time in schools that are not focused on all children achieving their potential.
Sports programs benefit a very few students compared to the entire student body. I have no issue with sports programs, but I also recognize that they benefit a very few students over all.
IEP's. Mostly a smoke and mirrors document written to satisfy state requirements, typically a copy paste from previous year with a few words changed.
Parents of special needs children should understand 1 important fact. The school district is not your child's advocate. MHMR is not an advocate. The parent is the only true advocate.
... If we are to do better for the brightest of our kids, there has to be some give on the other end. What currently happens instead is Special Ed gets everything it needs first as a result of mandates, and the rest get what's left over.
I don't see any give coming. These kids desperately need additional support.
But the rest of the kids desperately need a decent education if they are to be competitive in a global economy. Wander through any college math or science dept. The students from other nations are tearing up the program. As one UM professor explained to me, students from American public schools often don't have the science and math background to compete successfully with students from other nations.
If vouchers become wide spread, public schools will likely be abandoned to those who need mandated services while parents search out calm classrooms where the teachers can focus their attention on supporting all the students in achieving their potential.
Nope. Any extra money spent on them above the cost per student for that school shortchanges others. Period. Every public school admin in the country will tell you the costs of Special Ed are killing their budgets.
Well, unfortunately, neither federal law nor their parents will agree with you on that. Just try it. The parents shriek to high heaven that their child has "rights" (which non-disabled kids DON'T have, by the way), and they'll sue the school district if their child is removed from the regular classroom, aka "the least restrictive environment."
Look it up. Happens all the time.
Its not extra money. Its needed money. There's a difference and I'm sorry you are unwilling or unable to understand that.
You misunderstand the least restrictive clause. If the nature of the disability proves the student incapable of being in a mainstream classroom, schools are well within their rights to relocate that child to a different, more appropriate environment.
To care for a disabled child, it's not uncommon to incur millions of dollars. My friend's baby, in his short 1 year's life, incurred over 1 million dollars that must be shouldered by the taxpayers. Should he lived, each year he would incur over 1 million dollars because the major issues with his brain and heart.
Call it what you want but please explain to me how that is NOT a drain to the society as he would always be in intensive care and wouldn't pay a dime tax?
Looking from economics point of view, because there's so much money to be made in the taxpayer funded caring for the disabled, there's not much incentive to prevent them from being born. It's sad that more and more disabled children are born into the society. Should we put the responsibility back to the parents so that they can do everything in their power to ensure their children are born healthy, it would become a much better world for all of us and the children.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lifeexplorer
No, we do not need federal mandate to ensure all children have access to a free public education.
How to educate the children is their parents' responsibility not the taxpayers'. If it has to be the taxpayers' responsibility, the parents should be prohibited from having more children or voting.
I just wanted to give you the courtesy of letting you know that I've made the decision not to engage in conversation with you on this topic. Your attitude towards disabled children greatly disturbs me and I am unable to discuss this issue with you without becoming inordinately angry and upset. This is out of character for me. However, since I have a child with special needs and have friends whose own children have varying degrees of disabilities, I'm unable to put aside your attitude towards them and engage in productive discourse with you.
IEP's. Mostly a smoke and mirrors document written to satisfy state requirements, typically a copy paste from previous year with a few words changed.
Parents of special needs children should understand 1 important fact. The school district is not your child's advocate. MHMR is not an advocate. The parent is the only true advocate.
Not to worry. Most parents of children with special needs understand their role as advocate.
For being smoke and mirrors, IEPs take up an enormous amount of time and effort. They have to be written to meet specific guidelines, require input from teachers, parents, social workers, counselors, OTs...
The IEP meetings alone can take up hours of time from teachers, counselors, OTs...
Then they have to be followed and updated. They are time-consuming. No doubt about it.
Its not extra money. Its needed money. There's a difference and I'm sorry you are unwilling or unable to understand that.
You misunderstand the least restrictive clause. If the nature of the disability proves the student incapable of being in a mainstream classroom, schools are well within their rights to relocate that child to a different, more appropriate environment.
Sports programs benefit a very few students compared to the entire student body. I have no issue with sports programs, but I also recognize that they benefit a very few students over all.
IEP's. Mostly a smoke and mirrors document written to satisfy state requirements, typically a copy paste from previous year with a few words changed.
Parents of special needs children should understand 1 important fact. The school district is not your child's advocate. MHMR is not an advocate. The parent is the only true advocate.
Absolutely and that is why I've educated myself on my rights and the rights of my son. That being said, if IEPs are merely a copy and paste from last year without input from teachers and parents then the school is breaking the law.
Its not extra money. Its needed money. There's a difference and I'm sorry you are unwilling or unable to understand that.
You misunderstand the least restrictive clause. If the nature of the disability proves the student incapable of being in a mainstream classroom, schools are well within their rights to relocate that child to a different, more appropriate environment.
Wouldn't that cost more? Who's going to pay for it?
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