Monday, October 29, 2012

School Budget Cuts and Special Education

Are you the parent of a child currently receiving special education services? Are you extremely concerned about the troubles schools seem to be having with money lately? Have you been told by special education personnel that your child's services are going to be cut due to lack of money, or that you will have to pay for some services? This article will be discussing school districts lack of money and threats being made to cut special education services; whether it is legal and possible motivations for doing this!
Special education services are considered an entitlement under Federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004--IDEA 2004). In order to be eligible for special education services a child must have a disability (such as autism, a specific learning disability) and have educational need. School districts are required to provide children a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) which includes all services needed for the child to benefit from their education. While parents must fight for these services, the child is entitled to them.
Since a child is entitled to all the services they need; it is truly illegal for a school district to state that they will not provide services, due to lack of money. The Department of Education's Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) has taken the position over the years that lack of money is not an excuse, for not providing needed services. The problem becomes that parents must prove that their child needs the services, and then fight for the school district to actually provide them!
Lately I have heard from several parents that have received threats from school personnel that their child's self contained program was going to close, and/or that they were going to ask parents to pay for Extended School Year services during the summertime. The child with a disability is entitled to FAPE which includes the word Free, so charging for services is not legal; under any circumstances! Also schools must provide a continuum of placement services which starts from the regular classroom, and then goes to special classes, special schools etc. If the school district is threatening to close a child's self contained class how will they educate the child if they close the class. Shutting programs that children need is also not legal!
Below are a few of my thoughts on why some school personnel may be making these threats to parents:
1. School personnel may be trying to force a tax increase or fight for more state and Federal money! I have actually seen rallies on television where parents are fighting for new taxes for education, and/or trying to get the State or Federal Government to fund schools more. Schools already receive a large amount of Federal and State tax money. more than any other sector. Perhaps the problem is how they are spending their money, and what their priorities are!
2. One reason school personnel may be threatening parents is because many parents do not know that schools cannot legally cut special education services or programs that their child needs! This is the reason that it is critical that parents know Federal and State law, so that they can stand up to school personnel!
3. School personnel may be trying to get parents to back down from asking for expensive services. I talk about this a lot in my book Disability Deception-about how schools do not want to provide services to children that may be costly-even though the child needs it. It is important for parents to advocate for their child because their child's life will be ruined if they do not receive an appropriate education.
Many of the threats being made to parents of children in special education are actually illegal under Federal law! Children are depending on us as their parents, to stand up to lies and deceptions in special education, for the good of their education!

Monday, October 15, 2012

A Boost to Your Educational Plan

The US government promotes higher education and offers one of the world's best possible educational options to prospective students and has allotted a staggering $160 billion for the current financial year. With college education becoming expensive, it might be a bit difficult for the students especially on a tight budget to carry on higher education. But the US government offers various kinds of college grants to enable them to get college education.
College grants are actually excellent source of educational funding and the government has also launched various interesting funding schemes to encourage more and more students for higher education. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the National SMART Grant are some of the ways to help the students fund their studies. These education grants are meant for the academically bright students who want to pursue higher education.
The US Education Department's different federal students' aid program is the largest source of higher education grants in the US, not to mention the college grants. College grants are of different types to serve different purposes- the student grants to the students comes from low income families; subject specific grant to encourage more enrollment in under represented subjects; higher education grants to enable students go for doctoral studies, etc. The education department has an annual budget of more than $100 billion for scholarships, aids, grants and higher research. There are many subject specific grants available in the community colleges and the universities.
There are other types of education grants available like the Undergraduate Scholarship Program which encourages students to continue career in biomedical research. The other popular types of education grants are the PLUS loans and the Stafford loans that should be repaid but have very low interest rates. There are special college grants for women who would like to pursue higher studies. There are different types of grants that are provided to women like the Undergraduate Education Grants for Women.
There are many sources for these College Grants. Even though the main bulk comes from the US Department of Education and the Federal Government, there are many private organizations who give away these grants as well. All these college grants need proper documents to apply and come with specific deadlines for application. You can apply online and submit all your documents including your social security number, driving license if you have one, all your W2 and tax papers, property and investment details and other required documents.

Monday, October 8, 2012

The Face of Education Today

What does education look like today? Does it match what is expected in the real world?
"We are so trapped in the memory of what school was like for us. When we were students, the world outside of school looked like the world inside of school. Now, it does not. The paper based system does not make any sense to kids who are coming up in school. Is our educational system geared toward innovation? Do we want an 18th century model or a 21st century model for our schools?" - Susan Patrick U.S. Dept of Ed.
Though I would not agree with many things that Ms. Patrick would say, I do agree that we need to give our children an education that is geared toward real life. It is true for many of our public schools are modeled after what education looked like when we were young. Yet, educational methodology should be changing to represent the changes in our culture, but so often we are late to incorporate this change in our government schools. Understandably, the vastness of the infrastructure prevents constant change, but this is the problem. The change belongs to the medium in which the education is given - the knowledge itself does not change except to grow and improve in its breadth as more discoveries are made.
Homeschool families tend to adapt their education to model a real world example, and I applaud the many homeschool families that are embracing technology as a day to day integral part of their homeschool. With the path that our society and culture is taking, this new method of education models the real world. Online curriculum, tools, and resources that educate through technology are the 21st century model of education, and one I believe most families are ready and willing to embrace. To accomplish this, adapting our methods of education to model the real world must become a necessary part of daily education. This can be done by adding technology to the training we give our children. There are many wonderful sites available on the internet today to make this a reality. From public education to private to homeschooling - education must be geared to model, train, and prepare students to function well in the future.

Monday, October 1, 2012

education look like today

What does education look like today? Does it match what is expected in the real world?
"We are so trapped in the memory of what school was like for us. When we were students, the world outside of school looked like the world inside of school. Now, it does not. The paper based system does not make any sense to kids who are coming up in school. Is our educational system geared toward innovation? Do we want an 18th century model or a 21st century model for our schools?" - Susan Patrick U.S. Dept of Ed.
Though I would not agree with many things that Ms. Patrick would say, I do agree that we need to give our children an education that is geared toward real life. It is true for many of our public schools are modeled after what education looked like when we were young. Yet, educational methodology should be changing to represent the changes in our culture, but so often we are late to incorporate this change in our government schools. Understandably, the vastness of the infrastructure prevents constant change, but this is the problem. The change belongs to the medium in which the education is given - the knowledge itself does not change except to grow and improve in its breadth as more discoveries are made.
Homeschool families tend to adapt their education to model a real world example, and I applaud the many homeschool families that are embracing technology as a day to day integral part of their homeschool. With the path that our society and culture is taking, this new method of education models the real world. Online curriculum, tools, and resources that educate through technology are the 21st century model of education, and one I believe most families are ready and willing to embrace. To accomplish this, adapting our methods of education to model the real world must become a necessary part of daily education. This can be done by adding technology to the training we give our children. There are many wonderful sites available on the internet today to make this a reality. From public education to private to homeschooling - education must be geared to model, train, and prepare students to function well in the future.