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I would think that the quest for quality education overall would lead to other solutions beyond, "Let's take away from one group of student who is federally protected against having their needs as marginalized as they have historically been."
It doesn't seem fair, and I understand the ire of parents of mainstream children. That said, I also understand the tremendous financial burden of caring for a special needs child. It can wipe a family out, and it often does. Many two-career families see their income cut in half when one parent has to leave his or her (mostly her) job to handle the overwhelming needs of a disabled child. These families need help. Where do they get it?
Last edited by randomparent; 08-27-2014 at 07:03 AM..
I would think that the quest for quality education overall would lead to other solutions beyond, "Let's take away from one group of student who is federally protected against having their needs as marginalized as they have historically been."
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Originally Posted by randomparent
It doesn't seem fair, and I understand the ire of parents of mainstream children. That said, I also understand the tremendous financial burden of caring for a special needs child. It can wipe a family out, and it often does. Many two-career families see their income cut in half when one parent has to leave his or her (mostly her) job to handle the overwhelming needs of a disabled child. These families need help. Where do they get it?
The issue is the definition of what services the child has a right to as defined by "free, APPROPRIATE education". Appropriate is not the same as "the optimal" or "the best". There are all kinds of services that could be provided to all kids such as low class size, low student:teacher ratio, larger classroom size, new textbooks, more teacher planning time, more technonolgy, tutors, field trips, enough materials for hands on science experiments, art class materials, free musical instruments, foreign language classes, clubs, sports, and such that have been proven to improve educational outcomes for all students, but that cost money the school system doesn't have, and are therefore deemed too expensive to be paid for out of the school budget. At a time when there are schools that have 7-10 year-old science text books, that list Pluto as a planet or don't have all the new elements listed it, it is very disheartening to discover enough money to supply well over 2,000 new textbooks is being spent on one child.
Having parents demanding expensive interventions on the taxpayer's dime, because they want the best for their child, when adequate public services exists can't continue. Most parents of "regular" or "gifted" students who feel the local school is only providing adequate free education, and want their child to have the best, have to come up with the extra money on their own to pay for private school. Of course all children deserved to be educated, but right now having such a disproportate amount of the budget used by such a low percentage of the students isn't fair either. Money is a finite commodity.
I don't know the answer. Perhaps it is that this level of intervention should not come out of local school system budgets and should come strictly from the fed, which created this mess. Other countries do not include these types of intervention, including the much heralded Finland, as part of their regular school system.
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It is unfortunate that there are those who feel that it is not fair that children with disabilities are legally afforded the accommodations necessary to enable them to receive the same access to an education as any other child.
I think children with disabilities should be given the same education as other students. In my district that education is really just the bare minimum. It bothers me that the vast majority of students get the bare minimum while a few kids get the gold standard. If everyone was getting the gold standard then I would be ok with student with disabilities getting it as well.
I think children with disabilities should be given the same education as other students. In my district that education is really just the bare minimum. It bothers me that the vast majority of students get the bare minimum while a few kids get the gold standard. If everyone was getting the gold standard then I would be ok with student with disabilities getting it as well.
School programs for the disabled are one of the few places that families of such children can get support. If you agree that they deserve help, how do we provide for it? Where does the money come from? Do we set up schools for those with special needs and fund them separately? Wouldn't that also be seen as favoritism?
School programs for the disabled are one of the few places that families of such children can get support. If you agree that they deserve help, how do we provide for it? Where does the money come from? Do we set up schools for those with special needs and fund them separately? Wouldn't that also be seen as favoritism?
The law is on their side. Stop worrying that money will be cut from them.
It won't. Mainstream classes will get cut to provide for SPED.
School programs for the disabled are one of the few places that families of such children can get support.
True. But it shouldn't be funded entirely by local school districts that people randomly happen to live in, because it's not sustainable.
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If you agree that they deserve help, how do we provide for it? Where does the money come from? Do we set up schools for those with special needs and fund them separately? Wouldn't that also be seen as favoritism?
Those are the right questions but there aren't any answers yet. It's more than just school/education too, it's long term care for some of these kids, Americans who can't care for themselves once the family passes on, and it's all part of the same issue. We have just been pushing it off on school districts because nobody knows where the money will come from.
The law is on their side. Stop worrying that money will be cut from them.
It won't. Mainstream classes will get cut to provide for SPED.
That's not my point. I'm getting the impression that parents of mainstream children vastly underestimate the financial burden faced by families of special needs kids. I'd like to know if their frustration over the inequity indicates that they would support pulling funding and leaving these families to deal with things on their own.
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Originally Posted by Ceece
Those are the right questions but there aren't any answers yet. It's more than just school/education too, it's long term care for some of these kids, Americans who can't care for themselves once the family passes on, and it's all part of the same issue. We have just been pushing it off on school districts because nobody knows where the money will come from.
Thank you, Ceece, for acknowledging that this is a complex issue that has far-reaching consequences.
Last edited by randomparent; 08-27-2014 at 06:26 PM..
Reason: added quote for clarity
School programs for the disabled are one of the few places that families of such children can get support. If you agree that they deserve help, how do we provide for it? Where does the money come from? Do we set up schools for those with special needs and fund them separately? Wouldn't that also be seen as favoritism?
The job of the school district is to educate ALL the students in the district not to financially support families of special needs kids. It is not the job of a school district to provide financial support to ANYONE. If mainstream kids get a "good enough" education then SPED kids should not get a gold plated education. They should be entitled to exactly the same "good enough" that everyone else gets.
That's not my point. I'm getting the impression that parents of mainstream children vastly underestimate the financial burden faced by families of special needs kids. I'd like to know if their frustration over the inequity indicates that they would support pulling funding and leaving these families to deal with things on their own.
Thank you, Ceece, for acknowledging that this is a complex issue that has far-reaching consequences.
My frustration is not related to funding as much as it is to the inequity of providing a gold plated education to some students and bare bones to others. It will always cost more to educate SPED kids than it does mainstream kids and that's ok with me. But it's not ok with me that public dollars are spent on the very very best for SPED kids when everyone else gets whatever.
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