EEUU: School board needs to act on special education

NoticiasAmérica del Norte, Estados Unidos, Noticia

EEUU/November 07, 2017/By: Zachary Noble, Frederick/Source: https://www.fredericknewspost.com

I was upset and sad when I read The Frederick News-Post’s article about the parents, teachers, and others blowing the whistle on Frederick County Public Schools’ special education department.

The dozens of people who spoke out aren’t outliers or disgruntled complainers. Their stories show a pattern. Special education advocates have been trying to call attention to that pattern for years. The system seems to have ignored or dismissed them.

If we believe special education parents and teachers (and I do), FCPS managers are skirting and possibly breaking state and federal special education laws through what they do and what they fail to do. That would also violate our ethical and moral obligations to children who need special education services. And that would also mean that hardworking teachers are being pressured to act as unwilling accomplices — all at the expense of children, families and taxpayers.

 If the allegations in the article are true, FCPS is mismanaging our county’s special education services. System-wide problems require system-wide solutions. Here’s what I think we should do as a start.

First, the Board of Education should set up a safe way for people to come forward so we can really understand the scope of the problems we face. Whistleblowers clearly fear school system retaliation. We need to know why. It’s time to listen to parents and teachers.

Second, the Board of Education should undertake an independent audit of FCPS’ special education department. How many of the county’s 4,000 Individual Education Plans are legal and valid? How many special education students are receiving services as legally required? How many teachers are being asked by FCPS to provide more daily hours of special education services than there are hours in the day? If there isn’t a systemic problem, then a full and publicly transparent audit will show that.

We need to thank the parents and teachers who are speaking out for special education students and families. The best way to do that is to act.

Source:

https://www.fredericknewspost.com/opinion/letter_to_editor/school-board-needs-to-act-on-special-education/article_9aa10033-ec80-5de4-93ca-5130c564bd89.html

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