Doug--You are essentially right re the Mpls district (and most others) avoiding almost anything that could trigger special ed eligibility. And, while special ed folks at the district and at DCFL will tell you that I am a fairly persistent burr in their saddles on these things, it must also be pointed out that schools are caught between a rock and a hard place on special ed matters. Federal funding has never supported a fraction of the federal special education mandates and the state legislature has not made up the difference--so districts like Mpls with a high proportion of special needs kids develop subtle but effective ways of ducking responsibility. It can get even uglier in very small outstate districts where even one high-need, very expensive child can break the bank. Your point is also correct, however, that Mpls and other systems often waste huge amounts of taxpayer dollars in fighting parents when those same dollars applied to planful services could make all the difference in helping a child to learn.
Kathy Kosnoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] >CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: [Mpls] Correction: Special ed costs >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 17:39:34 EST > >In a message dated 11/19/2001 11:35:26 AM Central Standard Time, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > In her last > > session as a state rep and chair of the House ed ctte, Rep. Becky >Kelso... > > was able to shift financial burden for some district attorney costs to >the >state...[as well as] administrative costs associated with due process > > hearings--transcripts, hearing rooms, administrative law judge fees, >etc. > > > >Thank you for sharing. > >It is comforting to know that the legislature didn't adopt a bill proposed >by >former Rep Kelso that would have stuck parents with the administrative >costs >and the district's legal fees if the district prevailed in a due process >hearing, and that the legislature repealed the part of the law which >reimburses the district for some of its legal expenses. > >It was also pointed out to me (by a lawyer on the list) that a parent's >attorney can get the district to pay for the parent's cost of legal >representation at the due process hearing if the parent prevails. > >Kathy Kosnoff also noted that"...It is not unheard of for districts to >spend >hundred of thousands of dollars on attorney costs fighting parents..." > >The district routinely denies special education services if there is some >question about a child's eligibility for services, especially in cases >where >the state doesn't reimburse the district for mandated services. > >It has been my experience, and that of many other parents I've had contact >with through the NAACP, parents union and my campaign for the school board, >that the district administers a set of tests that assess instructional >effectiveness (academic achievement and cognitive ability). This is done >to >determine if the district can bill the state for the services it would have >to provide. However, the district doesn't routinely screen for common >learning disorders. > >The districts approach to the issue of special Ed services affects how >teachers evaluate the problems that their kids are having. There may be >such >a thing as a teacher who does too good a job of individualized educational >planning, as far as the district is concerned. Why, if the teacher >documents >a problem that points to a possible learning disability, the district could >get stuck with the cost of doing an evaluation, and of providing services. > >The district is probably wasting a lot more money than it saves, especially >title one and compensatory money, by failing to accurately diagnose and >solve >the problems that the schools can solve through educational interventions. >A >lot of the kids who fall behind are labeled as low-ability learners. Too >many of the children who are allowed to fall behind end up being diagnosed >as >having a behavioral-emotional disorders (the district can collect on that. > >Doug Mann > >Doug Mann for School Board web site: ><http://educationright.tripod.com > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
