Special Ed Bill for DC - supporters needed, fyi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special Education is one of those things where everyone agrees that it's horribly broken, but people disagree radically about how to fix it.

Making it easier for parents to sue is not a cut-and-dried issue. On the one hand, it is only because of parent lawsuits that DC has done anything about special ed. On the other hand the settlement of the lawsuits consumes an extraordinary amount of resources, leaving less for the students whose families don't sue.

Although half of the out-of-state placements have been eliminated, and DC is trying to crawl out from federal oversight. Considering how poorly other things are being managed, I wouldn't expect DCPS to deliver well here without the heavy hand. It hasn't shown that it can do a good job with typical students, it shouldn't be allowed to further short-change students with special needs.

[Anonymous]

Between no-public placements and bus service, DC pays over $200M. It's not all because the schools can't handle special ed kids. There are a lot of parents who have milked the system for a long time. I used to work at OSSE and many lawyers have convinced parents to move their kids to faraway schools even when they aren't as good.

[Anonymous]

The OSSE has failed my child miserably. They don't look at what is best for the child, just at where they have a spot. Parents are trying to do the best they can with what there is. 120 days for a screening is ridiculous. Your child will basically struggle for at least half a school year before they get what they need. We gave up on DCPS and are now very happy at a charter school.

[Anonymous]

The link is to an older version of the bill. The final bill did not include a move to the OAH. It passed unanimously and is great news for DC kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special Education is one of those things where everyone agrees that it's horribly broken, but people disagree radically about how to fix it.

Making it easier for parents to sue is not a cut-and-dried issue. On the one hand, it is only because of parent lawsuits that DC has done anything about special ed. On the other hand the settlement of the lawsuits consumes an extraordinary amount of resources, leaving less for the students whose families don't sue.

Yep. And it sucks resources from the budget and lines the pockets of the lawyers who specialize in this niche area and become wealthy with DC taxpayer money in the process.

As a really longtime DC resident -- who remembers the days when a (white, wealthy, savvy) parent need only show up at a hearing with a lawyer in order to get $60,000 a year tuition reimbursement -- I'm glad the pendulum swung the other way on that issue.