Going through my school board meeting notes I ran across one of those last minute items that gets introduced as the meeting is happening, this time it was a Resolution to Establish a Special Education Program at three schools: Barlow, Clinton and Woodland. Apparently approval by the county had to be sought and the resolution was the application for such permission.
The services described on the October 18, 2011 resolution offered by this new program are geared to students with Autism, language learning disabilities and PSD (Preschool Disabled?).
The district needed to provide to the county rationale for each proposed special education new program/service. This rationale, and the answer from the county superintendent, is public information and can be obtained either at the district or the state via an OPRA request. Perhaps tomorrow at the community meeting the school board and/or the district can offer information of the status of this application and what the response was, especially now that the district is thinking of reconfiguring schools and add new construction to Barlow and Woodland.
To view the resolution you will need to look at the October 18, 2011 Minutes, page 55. Click HERE for the BOE Minutes.
6 comments:
These classes will be a tremendous help to our SPED students. Almost every SPED class in the elementary schools is bursting at the seams. Some contain 16+ children ranging with age spans of up to 4 years. For the children who are supposed to be getting more individualized attention, the district sure has a funny way of doing it. Most kids are only getting a fraction of the instructional time they deserve while the teacher teaches multiple grade levels and balances some severe behavior problems...and all of this with less supplies than the reg ed classes. Some of these classes don't even have text books. The SPED department is in a sad state of affairs.
"16+ children" "less supplies"
What!?!
Doesn't NJ law & IEPs require no more than 6 children per class and supplies? What is the penalty for a county superintendent and/or district admins who "allow" special needs children to endure these conditions? It is nearly January;have kids been enduring these conditions for 4 months? If documented, this is tragic to say the least!!!
4+ months? Try many, many years. The law for 6 kids only covers classes for autistic children. The 16+ classes are full of children of all disabilites, including autism and every other disability you can imagine. As for supplies, the teachers try to get them but are always told there is no money. And many of them are squeezed into tiny classrooms, where they are tripping over eachother. Just because a law says 16 kids is legal, does not mean it is good for children.
Doesn't special funding (local, state and federal)follow special needs children? Isn't the special funding meant to provide for an environment and staffing which is mandated by an iep and the law? Where is the money going??? If the district isn't using the funding for supplies, staffing and physical plant (building), where is all that money????? We need a financial breakdown. As with charities, we need to know how much money is being wasted on administrative "costs" and how much is actually going into the classrooms. Clearly, we have an administrative problem. How updated are the parents? Do they get a breakdown of the funds brought in by and meant for their individual children? Is there a PTO for special needs parents? It seems logical to believe that they have special parental needs and require a special PTO. TRANSPARENCY is key. We all need to help our special needs families.
PS: Thank you, Maria!
As the parent of a special needs child, I am so thankful my child is out of district and has been for the past 6 years. The program the district tries to pass off as "special needs" is unorganized, overcrowded and not needs specific. They ( the district) think they can just designate a class "special needs" and that covers everything and everybody. I don't believe their intentions are honest and above board because they are always telling me to bring my child back to district because they are going to have this or that program, then it never materializes because they are not sincere they only want us back so they can get our student dollars, but they don't want to do the work to ensure that each child's need is actually being met. No way would I take my child out of a place that is meeting her needs with proven programs and methods to put her in a district that cares nothing about her.
Linda P.
And, in addition to the tragic SpEd mess (described above by Linda & Annon), the bilingual department needs "sunlight" too! Where is the money going??? Why so many law suits, complaints and questions about services and "highly qualified" personnel...???? Where are OUR board members? Do they work for truth or for the admins??? The board needs to clean house (the ENTIRE House), NOW!
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