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News- Page 21
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Education : Voucher veto may be boon
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Posted by Sylvia on Thursday, April 15, 2004 (13:57:11)
Deseret News 26/03/2004
By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Some parents and administrators at a school that teaches autistic children are glad a bill written to specifically benefit them was vetoed.
A veto compromise by the governor actually creates a bigger financial boon for families with children attending — or eyeing — the Carmen B. Pingree School for Children with Autism.
Gov. Olene Walker vetoed HB115, "Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships," this week. But she left the bill's $1.4 million in the budget, with the idea the state school board would use the money to give special education kids private school services through contracts or grants.
"The solution we found was better than the one proposed by the bill," Walker said Thursday during her monthly news conference on KUED. "It removed the constitutional questions and allowed a better opportunity for ongoing funding."
There's some question whether she can do that without legislative approval. But if she can, that $1.4 million could benefit the Pingree school exclusively.
The state school board chairman suggests focusing all the money on autistic children instead of students with an array of disabilities, as authorized under the bill. At least one school district official supports the idea.
That kind of money could allow the Pingree school to serve parents on waiting lists and possibly ease its $21,000 a year tuition, school leaders said.
"I would support the veto. The mechanism (for funding students with autism) is in place now," said state school board member John Pingree, whose wife is the school's namesake and who supported the bill from the get-go. "This is the best solution we could have come up with."
Pingree's comments came Thursday at a luncheon called, in part, to honor Cheryl Smith, mother of bill namesake Carson Smith, for raising awareness to the needs of autistic students.
But his talk turned upside down what bill supporters have been saying about Walker's veto.
Parents have been reeling with Walker's action, which they felt ignored their pleas to help special education students get the schooling they need. Smith, bill sponsors and the governor's office have fielded calls from the public since.
The House and Senate also are polling members about bills vetoed, as is protocol, to see if there's any appetite to override Walker's actions. If two-thirds of both bodies say they want to override a specific veto, then the Legislature can call itself into session to do it.
But House Majority Leader Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, doesn't believe the House will have the needed 50 votes to override HB115, considering 43 representatives voted for it last session.
That's OK with John Pingree and the school's director, Pete Nicholas. They suggest parents could back the veto and still reach the ultimate goal: money to better educate kids with autism.
The state school board will determine how the money is spent. A task force will iron out details. And the program will have to be good, John Pingree said.
"This must succeed or it really does open the door to a tuition tax credit" vehemently opposed by public school officials, he said. "The school board feels that pressure."
There is talk of allowing money only to go to severely disabled students enrolled in programs that research proves work, Pingree said.
The State Office of Education has identified those schools as Pingree, Woodland Hills, Specialized Educational Programming Services Inc. and Cache Valley Learning Center.
There also is talk of targeting the money on students with autism, as suggested in a letter to state school board members by chairman Kim Burningham.
Burningham said he felt that would satisfy the will of the Legislature. But he might rethink that after learning the bill would have offered up to about $5,400 in private school tuition money to parents of students with a range of disabilities, from hearing impairments to brain injuries.
Still, Jordan District executive director of special programs Cal Evans would support giving the money solely to Pingree students. He notes the school includes 2-1 student-teacher ratios, a research arm that collaborates with the University of Utah, and mental health services for students and their families.
"I really think that it's difficult to replicate that kind of an effort" in public schools, Evans said. "They're sure positioned in a good way to use those dollars."
Extra money would help the Pingree school lower tuition and expand, possibly with more classrooms or by taking services to public schools, Nicholas said.
The Pingree school was built for 240 students; it enrolls 96 preschoolers through sixth-graders. Its $550,000 a year financial aide endowment prevents it from growing much more, Nicholas said. Eighty-two students are on a waiting list for preschool services alone.
Parents love the idea of giving the money to Pingree. But they're skeptical it can actually happen.
Some say they're at Pingree because school districts didn't work for, or with, them. Some fear public education will put up roadblocks and leave their kids in the dust.
"I think people are excited to think they will not have to go through the local school districts" under the plan, said Cheryl Smith, mother of Carson Smith. "But I still have qualms. I want it to go smoothly. I just want help for these kids."
About 56,000 students with disabilities, ages preschool through 21 years, attend Utah public schools, the State Office of Education reports. Of them, 966 have autism.
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Education : No school for two years
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Posted by Sylvia on Thursday, April 15, 2004 (13:33:53)
IC Birmingham 25/03/2004
By Guy Newey
An autistic Birmingham 15-year-old girl has not been to school for more than two years because education chiefs failed to find her a suitable place, her family claimed today.
Sarah Louise Smith and her parents won a tribunal judge-ment in December ordering that Birmingham Education Authority should find her a full-time place by the end of January.
But four months later the teenager is still searching for an appropriate school, they said.
Today her parents Jim and Pauline Hadley spoke of the nightmare two-year struggle they have faced to get their daughter educated.
They said that in January 2002, Sarah Louise was unable to cope with the demands and pressures her condition imposed on her at Langley Secondary School, in Solihull.
At the same time, she begun cutting herself because she was so uncomfortable and even ran away from the family home in Acock's Green for six days.
Her Autism Spectrum Disorder means that Sarah Louise feels deeply uncomfortable in crowded situations and finds it difficult to bond with other children.
Her parents blame the failure of special needs education staff for her daughter's predicament.
"We see all the time that kids and their parents are being fined for playing truant from school," said former nurse Mrs Hadley, aged 41.
"But we have been trying for two and a half years to get our daughter into school and have been blocked every step of the way.
"We phoned the Special Educational Needs department every day from February to May last year to try and speak to someone - including 28 times in one day - but we were fobbed off every time.
"What chance has Sarah Louise got now? This delay has seriously damaged her future. We just feel let down."
Sarah Louise, who wants to be a hair and beauty therapist, fears she may miss out on her dream career because she has not been in school for two years.
"I want to go to school, but I know I cannot cope with the big classes - I have lost two important years," said the 15-year-old.
Sarah Louise has had referrals to the special education department both from the West Midlands Police's vulnerable officer, her social worker and her doctor.
A Birmingham LEA spokeswoman said: "Sarah has very particular complex emotional and behavioural needs, which require a unique range of support.
"She needs a one-to-one teacher who specialises in her needs, as well a guide to travel with her to school.
"The Link Centre in Small Heath has succeeded in finding her the right teacher, and the LEA is seeking a suitable guide.
"Mrs Hadley has been offered the chance to accompany her daughter on LEA transport, until a guide is found, so that she can start her placement at the centre this week."
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Education : Cut class sizes plea
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Posted by Sylvia on Thursday, April 08, 2004 (23:20:45)
Liverpool Daily Post 24/03/2004
By Mike Hornby
Class sizes in Liverpool could be reduced to less than 20 pupils, it was claimed today.
The NUT says a surplus in teachers caused by the city's falling pupil numbers should be used to reduce class sizes.
But it is feared that as many as 40 teachers may lose their jobs this year.
The NUT, which represents around 48% of Liverpool's teachers, last week threatened strike action if redundancies are forced through.
The average primary school class in the city is around 25 pupils and 20.1 for secondary schools.
Ruth Knox, secretary of the NUT in Liverpool, said: "The bottom line is that we want teachers to be redeployed not made redundant.
"This is an opportunity to bring down class sizes to an enviable level, rather than casting aside valuable teaching experience."
The NUT is seeking meetings with Liverpool's education bosses to discuss what will happen when the school budgets are confirmed and headteachers know the full picture of staffing issues.
It says smaller classes will benefit all pupils but particularly those with special needs.
Ms Knox added: "In recent years there has been a policy, which we have supported, of integrating special needs children into mainstream classes.
"That does work but in some cases there are classes with more than one special needs pupil and that can create difficulties in terms of the amount of attention the teacher can afford to give a pupil."
Executive member for education Cllr Paul Clein said: "Money is passed straight to the schools and it is up to governing bodies to decide what they do with it.
"I don't believe there will be many redundancies and it is alarmist to suggest otherwise.
"Regardless of pupil numbers, schools will receive 4% more money than last year.
"With pupils numbers falling it is likely that class sizes will reduce, but that is up to the schools to decide for themselves."
Labour spokesman for education Cllr Peter Killeen said: "The fact is that the government is spending record amounts on education in Liverpool, and reducing class sizes should be a priority anyway.
"We support the NUT because this is a golden opportunity to drive up education standards."
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Education : Family's struggle with autism therapy
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Posted by Sylvia on Wednesday, April 07, 2004 (08:15:03)
Oak Ridger 19/03/2004
By Jennifer Fern
Hannah Martin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when she was 2 years old and living in St. Louis, Mo.
Now 4 years old, Hannah attends the Oak Ridge Preschool, where her parents, Scott and Natalie Martin of Oak Ridge, hope she can receive "a free and appropriate education."
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects functioning of the brain.
According to her mother, Hannah is profoundly autistic and is affected socially, has a large degree of sensory disorder and a lack of communication skills. Natalie said in the beginning, Hannah had no communication - she didn't respond to her name, understand language or even point at objects she wanted.
Dealing with the disorder
While in St. Louis, Hannah was put on a 40-hour per week Applied Behavior Analysis program, where college students earning their master's degrees at a local university conducted the therapy at the Martin home and were supervised by a professional consultant. ABA treatment focuses on all areas of functioning, including social, academic, play and self-help skills. Language skills in particular are heavily emphasized.
At the age of 3, Hannah became "school age" and began attending preschool, where she was given an Individualized Education Plan. An IEP is a written plan for a child with a disability that is developed and implemented according to federal and state regulations.
The Martins said Hannah's IEP team evaluated her strengths and weaknesses, made goals and set up services needed to help the child. In the IEP meeting, the team developed a program for Hannah to receive per week, 35 hours of ABA, two hours of speech and language, one hour of occupational therapy and 18 hours of preschool in a classroom setting of children both with and without autism. She was also assigned a one-on-one assistant in the classroom.
Much of Hannah's ABA was conducted at school. However, the program also remained set up in their home, where Hannah received ABA during school breaks. Natalie said the St. Louis County school system paid for all of Hannah's IEP services.
Before coming to Oak Ridge, Natalie said she and her husband contacted the Oak Ridge school system to verify that Hannah could receive the same services that she was receiving in St. Louis. Natalie said Marion Phillips, principal of the Oak Ridge Preschool, assured her that Hannah's IEP would stay the same. But, after they moved, she said the school wanted to reconvene Hannah's IEP.
"I understood wanting to reconvene her IEP," Natalie said.
According to the Tennessee Department of Education Division of Special Education, a child's IEP may be reviewed and/or revised at any time during the school year at the request of the school or the parents, and the IEP must be reviewed annually to determine whether the annual goals for the child are being met.
However, Natalie said the school system did not provide any testing or assessments for Hannah before making changes, nor did the school psychologist meet Hannah before making changes. Natalie and Scott met with Hannah's IEP team the last week of July 2003, and Natalie said Hannah's IEP was reconvened based on discussion between them and the IEP team.
Natalie said Hannah's IEP was changed to two hours of ABA per week, two hours of speech and language per week, one hour of occupational therapy per week and she is in a classroom setting from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.
"We tried to keep up with the ABA at home," Natalie said, since Hannah lost 33 hours of ABA per week.
Superintendent Tom Bailey said the Oak Ridge school system operates under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which he said basically states that all children are entitled to a free and appropriate education.
"You determine it (free and appropriate) not by Tom Bailey saying it's appropriate, but you get the people in what's called child studies and IEP, Individual Education Plan, meetings and you look at specific disabilities," Bailey said.
He said this pulls together psychologists and teachers trained in special education and they all sit down and do a medical, social and educational evaluation. Following the evaluation, Bailey said experts in those fields discuss the results of the tests to determine what type of educational program the child needs.
Due process
In early August 2003, the Martins filed a due process action against the Oak Ridge school system alleging the school system's violation of IDEA.
The judge ruled, in late November, in favor of the Martins and Hannah's IEP was changed to 26.75 hours of instruction five days per week, including 13.75 hours of classroom instruction, two hours of speech and language therapy, one hour of occupational therapy and 10 hours of discrete trial therapy (ABA). The interim order also stated that Hannah would receive 7.5 hours of discrete trial therapy outside of classroom time. The extra hours were added during the school day, one hour before school, one hour after school and during naptime because Hannah doesn't take a nap.
In addition, Natalie said the court also ordered the Oak Ridge schools to consult with staff of the Special School District of St. Louis County to confirm Hannah's levels of performance when she came to Oak Ridge; to consult with the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville to develop and improve special education and related services for Hannah; and to have regular meetings to coordinate Hannah's program.
Bailey said if a school system does not have the resources to provide a proper education for a student then it becomes a residential placement.
"You have to provide the least restrictive environment," Bailey said.
He said the key is to have an environment that is appropriate and will provide the program that you know will work. He said in order to fund a program like ABA, the school system has to go back and look in the budget and find the extra money somewhere that didn't use all of its allocated money.
Natalie said the preschool followed the court order and Hannah received 17.5 hours of ABA per week until Christmas break. But, during the break, Natalie said Hannah went almost six weeks without services, including the first two weeks back to school in January when there was apparently a misunderstanding of Hannah's services. In addition, Natalie said she thought on the first day back to school she would be picking Hannah up an hour after school got out. But, Hannah ended up coming home on the school bus and Natalie said the school did not notify her or Scott.
The Oak Ridge school system has filed a lawsuit on due process grounds against the Martins and the school system has hired Charles Weatherly, an attorney in Atlanta, Ga.
Bailey said money for attorney fees is in a line item controlled by the superintendent that is allocated for attorney fees that pertain directly to the schools. Within that line item, Bailey said that he can look at funding and funds necessary to engage in something that comes up that isn't anticipated.
"We don't budget for lawsuits," Bailey said.
He added that there is money in any school system that always has an area of contingency - the unanticipated issue that comes up in the school year.
"To say that I had money specifically in the budget for a specific court case related to a specific person - it doesn't happen," Bailey said.
Bailey confirmed that the school system is using Weatherly. He said they typically try to use the school board attorney, however they prefer to stay within his level of expertise.
"We attempt to use him in all situations that we feel comfortable that he provides the level of support that we need and knowledge and understanding," Bailey said. "It's very hard to be a school board attorney and know every single aspect of every single identified area of law."
Bailey said Weatherly was chosen because several school systems have used him and Bailey said he feels comfortable hiring Weatherly because he is trained in the area.
"He has a complete understanding of the legal issues and the processes and methodologies that are appropriate in serving autistic children," Bailey said.
Natalie said the due process hearing is tentatively set for April, and Tennessee Protection and Advocacy has offered to provide co-council to the Martins so they can afford to continue the process. She said there will also be a hearing in May that is a continuation of the November hearing, which she said had a substantive ruling.
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Education : WCCC program with MRDD opens students' eyes
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Posted by Sylvia on Friday, April 02, 2004 (19:12:25)
The Western Star
By Lisa N. Knodel
Kati McFarland knew she wanted to be a teacher, but she hadn't considered pursuing special education. After working with children at the Warren County Board of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities, she's reconsidering her college plans.
"Working with special needs children has opened my eyes to the special attention they need," the Lebanon High School senior said. "I'm considering going into early childhood and special education because of these experiences."
McFarland and her classmates enrolled in the Warren County Career Center's Teacher Academy have developed relationships with special needs children through a partnership between WCCC and MRDD.
"The parents in the MRDD early intervention program wanted a way to help each other," said Leslie "Kit" Combs, family liaison with the MRDD. "They can use each other as resources. The problem is having the time with young children."
By inviting the WCCC students to play with the young children, Combs and MRDD Early Intervention Supervisor Scott Gates are free to work with parents.
At the same time, the high school students are gaining valuable teaching experience.
"Working with these kids has really changed my perspective," Brittany Tudor of Waynesville said. "If I wasn't in the Teacher Academy, I wouldn't have known about special education. Now I know I want to study it in college."
Teacher Academy instructor Joy Santoloci said she plans to incorporate the monthly visit to MRDD into the curriculum for next year.
"This experience has been eye-opening for the students. They fell in love with these kids," she said. "It's inspired some of them to consider special education. The Teacher Academy helps these students to become more confident and gain engaging experiences."
The career center's program helps prepare students for the educational field by combining classroom instruction in child development, learning theory, teaching techniques and classroom development with multiple internship experiences throughout Warren County classrooms.
Combs said the students in the Teacher Academy also are investigating the process for becoming respite providers.
"It's hard to find respite providers and we are looking to find a way to provide training to these students," Combs said.
As a certified care giver, parents could contact these students to work with their special needs children.
The networking group, called Food for Thought, meets once a month to help parents prepare for the transition in MRDD services for children once they turn three.
"The parents have specific questions and our goal is to get the parents talking," Combs said.
The group started because of the leadership of parent Denise Marantes.
"I have a child with autism, and of my three children, two have (individual education plans)," she said. "I wished I had more support. The process for getting help can be incredibly overwhelming, and it's important to get emotional support, too."
Through the early intervention program, families are provided a variety of services to assist them in their child's growth and development. Services include developmental evaluations and assessments, referral to support agencies, home visits, therapy consultations, parent/child groups, family resources and service coordination. Children ages 0-36 months are eligible for early intervention services if they have an established, biological or environmental risk.
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