Do not move to Florida if you have an Autistic Child (schools, kids)

[kah1675]

To those of you who have to move to FL because of a transfer. God bless you! Wish you all the best of luck with the schools here in FL. We moved to FL Summer 2018 to be near family and it was one nightmare after another with housing falling through 2 days beforehand and then when school started I could not get my son into a charter or private school because of the long wait lists. Private schools run $35,000 a year and you have to be in a public/charter school for a year before you can apply for the McKay scholarship which will then help you pay for private school. There are 2 schools that are year round which are your best bet....


We ended up having no other choice, but to send him to the local Elementary school here in Tampa.
They are clearly not equipped to handle Autistic children with behavioral issues. The 2nd day of school my son came home with a bruise on his arm. When I called the school to ask for the Principal to call me back, the Special Education coordinator called me back instead. She then let me know she had enrolled my son in a school that would be a better fit for him. FIRST OFF..... this is illegal! She can not legally do this without a FORMAL IEP Meeting....and without us seeing the school, meeting the staff and agreeing to the transfer.


When I told her my son came home with a bruise on his arm she admitted she grabbed his arm which is where his bruise was. I took my son to the ER to have it documented and I contacted the area superintendent supervisor. I then had to contact Child protective services. They are suppose to be investigating the situation.



The 4th day of school the office sent home a letter via my other son for us to sign and send back.
First off, it stated the incident happened that day, when it happened the day before, and it stated they restrained him while he was seated which I know NOTHING about....and stated there was NO Injury which was FALSE! So I refused to sign the letter.



So we are not staying down here. We are moving back to the state we were in, where I know he will be taken care of and get a good education. Florida is a great place to visit...and maybe if our situation was different it would be good....but having a child with special needs........ you really want to think long and hard about your move and make sure your child is in a good school that can handle every situation before moving.



God bless!!!!

[coschristi]

Sorry, you are having problems too (I'm not in Florida, though)!

I've been "binge-researching" this last week & I'm beginning to think that this is going to get progressively worse & worse, as districts find various loopholes around what is basically: A violation of federal law.

SPED enrollment is at an all-time high of over 13% of students enrolled overall & it goes up every year & has since 1976. Now our kids have turned into the "hot-potato" students, so it's hard to empathize. Basically; they don't want our kids.

I don't give a darn about their budgets. You should see my (lack of) household budget after 12 years of unemployment due to caregiving.

If they want a change in funding? Maybe they should speak up when those ridiculous: "Autism rates aren't increasing; we are just better at diagnosing!" conversations arise. If the level of impact on education is also rising (which it is) ... why don't they speak up?

Forget IEP/FAPE violation complaints; those are getting thrown out left & right. I think the IEP's are designed more for the school's protection than for our children's protection.

Restraint & seclusion of students is becoming a hot topic & so are the discriminatory enrollment procedures which are designed specifically to keep SPED students on endless waiting lists. Here are some investigations pending:

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/li...ions/dis2.html

And some enrollment violations:

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/li...10161154-a.pdf
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/li...15131395-a.pdf

[AnotherTouchOfWhimsy]

I don't know about that county, but there is one elementary school in my city and one in a neighboring county that has special programs for students with autism. I know that they provide transportation for students even if that is not their regularly assigned school. Does Hillsborough (or whatever county you are in) have something like that? Some elementary schools might have designated programs for those who need them. I know that the law mandates that children are in the least restrictive environment, but if they aren't equipped to handle your child's needs, that might not be the right environment for him.

I hope you can find a solution quickly that works for all involved. It must be so scary and frustrating to have to send your son to a school that is not able to meet his needs.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by coschristi

Sorry, you are having problems too (I'm not in Florida, though)!

I've been "binge-researching" this last week & I'm beginning to think that this is going to get progressively worse & worse, as districts find various loopholes around what is basically: A violation of federal law.

SPED enrollment is at an all-time high of over 13% of students enrolled overall & it goes up every year & has since 1976. Now our kids have turned into the "hot-potato" students, so it's hard to empathize. Basically; they don't want our kids.

I don't give a darn about their budgets. You should see my (lack of) household budget after 12 years of unemployment due to caregiving.

If they want a change in funding? Maybe they should speak up when those ridiculous: "Autism rates aren't increasing; we are just better at diagnosing!" conversations arise. If the level of impact on education is also rising (which it is) ... why don't they speak up?

Forget IEP/FAPE violation complaints; those are getting thrown out left & right. I think the IEP's are designed more for the school's protection than for our children's protection.

Restraint & seclusion of students is becoming a hot topic & so are the discriminatory enrollment procedures which are designed specifically to keep SPED students on endless waiting lists. Here are some investigations pending:

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/li...ions/dis2.html

And some enrollment violations:

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/li...10161154-a.pdf
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/li...15131395-a.pdf

Unfortunately it is not always an issue just with the enrollment but with the actual lack of trained individuals to do the job. That’s not to say that the school systems themselves are entirely blameless (some are awful), but in Florida there is a dire shortage of trained behavior specialists in the schools and just generally. Hillsborough is a large school district that should have better access than others, but that does not mean that it has qualified professionals in every school. The more rural school districts in Florida are absolutely horrific. When I worked with a state agency and we were trying to deal with some of the school systems, it was just a nightmare... they’d try to get out of giving students the legally required services.

However, the level of people diagnosed IS increasing, but the number of people trained is not increasing fast enough. That is an unfortunate fact.

[Tencent]

Florida is a bad state for everything. Hands down worst in education. Not a safe place to raise a child in general let alone one with autism.