Serious Question - Special Ed Students in Gen Ed Classrooms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have over two decades teaching in MCPS and have always had inclusion students. Both those formally diagnosed and those that were obviously impacted but slipping through the cracks.

There have been an increase in diagnoses of ADHD and autism, but all that did was put a label on kids that we’ve always taught in GenEd and wished we could formally get services. We’ve long had to find ways of meeting their needs without the paperwork. Many of these students are 2E and I’m happy to teach them in our magnet.

What is your point with this. EVERY single teacher and district in this state is required to meet the needs of every student. It doesn’t mean they are actually getting what they need from the right educator, program, or school. That’s the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

What do you mean that a regular para is much easier? TIA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

What do you mean that a regular para is much easier? TIA.

That was her opinion or experience. I can’t say because I haven’t been a regular para or a 1:1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

What do you mean that a regular para is much easier? TIA.

A 1:1 para is intended for the most needy SpEd students who may not be able to feed or toilet themselves, or whose behavior is the most challenging (i.e. elopement, aggression, self-harm). These students require intense support, but unfortunately the 1:1 positions often go unfilled or are filled by paras who are woefully unprepared. Until this year these critical staffing positions were considered temporary part-time and received no benefits, which was another barrier to hiring. I believe that at least has been upgraded.

[Anonymous]

I have been both a 1:1 para, a gen ed para, and I am also a parent of a special education student (who used to have a 1:1).

A short list of answers to some questions I've seen in this post:

1. MCPS' home school model is the reason there are so many children with special needs in mainstream classrooms. Separate special ed programs are shrinking, and it is hard to get a spot in the ones that remain.

2. It is even harder to get a spot in a private special ed placement. Getting approved for private placement also does not ensure there will be a spot in an appropriate school, and many students remain in their current school or are home schooled while they wait for a spot to open up.

3. It is, surprise, not that easy to get approved for a 1:1 aide. Getting that approval does not mean that there is a staff member ready to fill this role. Until pretty recently, many if not all 1:1 jobs were classified as temporary part-time jobs, which meant no benefits for a very physical and intense job.

4. Being a gen ed para is a completely different job. In that role, I led reading groups, worked with students in small groups, etc. As a 1:1 para, I was hit, bitten, and scratched while providing support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

What do you mean that a regular para is much easier? TIA.

A 1:1 para is intended for the most needy SpEd students who may not be able to feed or toilet themselves, or whose behavior is the most challenging (i.e. elopement, aggression, self-harm). These students require intense support, but unfortunately the 1:1 positions often go unfilled or are filled by paras who are woefully unprepared. Until this year these critical staffing positions were considered temporary part-time and received no benefits, which was another barrier to hiring. I believe that at least has been upgraded.

Do 1:1 paras get paid more than general paras, given the specialized skill set they must have and frankly the much more difficult working conditions? If not, they should.

[Anonymous]

The Home-School Model has led to students with significant disabilities receiving services while in gen ed. This makes sense for students with mild disabilities, however, teachers are now tasked with teaching 25-30 students while managing students with much more serious disabilities. Everyone loses. The behaviors in discrete programs like the Learning Centers are intense and often very unsafe. The department of SpEd offers little to no help, except to suggest things already tried and to tell us to document. Some of the SpEd supervisors are just plain useless. It is next to impossible to get critical staffing (1:1) and even if it is approved, the applicants are few and far between. It has become overwhelming and unsustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s what teachers have been telling you: since COVID the behaviors in classrooms are wild. They are overwhelming. I’d need a sociologist to explain what exactly has happened to kids.

Apparently not just kids.
there's a piece on NPR or another outlet on people's behavior after pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

What do you mean that a regular para is much easier? TIA.

A 1:1 para is intended for the most needy SpEd students who may not be able to feed or toilet themselves, or whose behavior is the most challenging (i.e. elopement, aggression, self-harm). These students require intense support, but unfortunately the 1:1 positions often go unfilled or are filled by paras who are woefully unprepared. Until this year these critical staffing positions were considered temporary part-time and received no benefits, which was another barrier to hiring. I believe that at least has been upgraded.

Do 1:1 paras get paid more than general paras, given the specialized skill set they must have and frankly the much more difficult working conditions? If not, they should.

lol, no, and there's no training for either. Special Ed para who made $26k annually 2 years ago. 1:1 paras are TPT (temporary, part time employees), who are paid hourly, with no benefits, so they make even less.

There are many who have made some good points throughout, and many who are just ranting. The Homeschool model, in place for a long time now, has been a disaster for most students, special ed and neurotypical.

There isn't enough space or money or teachers for more discrete special ed classrooms, so special ed students, with a variety of needs from very little to a lot, are in the general ed classroom. These days its difficult to get a 1:1 aide in your student's IEP, because it's expensive (even though it's hourly pay with no benefits), and, there aren't enough to be hired who want this job, so even if you are lucky enough to have this in your student's IEP, you may not actually have one.

There are so many students with behavioral problems in the gen ed classroom, who don't belong there now than there were 10-15 years ago. Even in ES, they are violent, throw things, over turn desks and scream, causing teachers to need to evacuate the classroom, counselors and principals to come running to help, and, nothing changes.

Even when parents WANT appropriate, discrete special ed placement, and as an earlier parent posted, it took over 18 months of meetings, documentation, and lawyers to make it happen. Now imagine a less educated parent, or a less resourced parent, or, a parent who is in denial about their child's needs, and that is never going to happen. The child remains in the gen ed classroom, to the detriment of the special ed student, and the other 25 students who are unable to learn because they are always on edge over when the special ed student, or students, in their classroom will become disregulated, and they will have to evacuate. Again. And the student with minor needs, who would be successful with just a few supports, can't get them at all because everyone is so focused on the one, or the few, who have disruptive, explosive behavior.

It is a not good. And the solutions cost money we don't have, and teachers who don't exist.

[Anonymous]

It's important that teachers and paras don't get paid a living wage in America because the dictators in the head office and admin need to be able to hold leverage and power over the teachers to blame them for how bad education has become.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any teachers who have not seen the change are just lucky at this point. When you have a student that makes it impossible to teach, yet the county refuses to move them, EVERY child and adult in the classroom are affected.

OP- you are not imagining things. Students with severe disabilities are much more mainstream than they were even 2 years ago.

That's not true. My oldest kid (now nearly completing high school) had a blind child with cerebral palsy starting in their K class, so this is now over a decade ago. The child had a 1:1 aide--and the teacher said she loved that because that aide could lend a hand if needed as there were always 2 adults in the classroom, which is a gift.

Yes, some kids have special needs--but you're being very closed minded to think that it's always a bad thing to have those special needs kids in class. The child I mention was a lovely kid--certainly better behaved than some of the neurotypical MCPS kids I've met. My kid still remembers how they taught him a little Braille so that he could understand how he blind child was learning to read.

It’s very hard for students to get 1:1 support now. This is happening. And believe me, if a teacher wants to call the police because of immediate safety concerns, they will be disciplined. Ask me how I know.

I'm sure it was hard to get a 1:1 support 12 years ago too. But it still happens today. I've seen it in my kids' classroom where there are extra adults when there are kids with severe needs.

It’s very hard to get 1:1 now because no one wants to do this. Your anecdotal experience is not the new normal.

Yet we’re supposed to believe that your anecdote is the new normal?

Just speaking the truth; not trying to argue. It’s not anecdotal. The funding is not there to pay people properly and it’s disappearing as fast as this administration can dismantle the Department of Education.


https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-dismantling-education-department-could-affect-disabled-students-across-us

Go to bed.

Did you even read what you posted? It’s an op-ed from Urban Wire that does not mention MCPS or 1:1 aides. None of this bolsters your anecdotes, or makes your anecdotes superior to the other anecdotes posted on this thread.

Please stop. It’s odd how you are arguing about something that actual teachers are telling you is no longer in existence. This is a huge issue. And it’s getting worse. No one is going to write a report just on MCPS. This is not an op-ed piece. This is an independently funded organization that provides actual data and analysis of policy changes that affect our most vulnerable populations.

Let the teachers talk please.

You're an anonymous person on the Internet--and not a particularly accurate one at that. No one knows if you're truly a teacher, and if you were, you would recognize that you're not in every MCPS classroom in every school, and that [b]yes, there are classes with 1:1 aides.

1:1s aren’t assigned to a class, they are assigned to a specific student.

My school fought Central Office for 18 months to get a 1:1 for a student who elopes when dysregulated. We only got her Tuesday after the Washington Post article about the children who died in Maryland. She expressed yesterday that she might quit because being a regular para is much easier.

What do you mean that a regular para is much easier? TIA.

A 1:1 para is intended for the most needy SpEd students who may not be able to feed or toilet themselves, or whose behavior is the most challenging (i.e. elopement, aggression, self-harm). These students require intense support, but unfortunately the 1:1 positions often go unfilled or are filled by paras who are woefully unprepared. Until this year these critical staffing positions were considered temporary part-time and received no benefits, which was another barrier to hiring. I believe that at least has been upgraded.

Do 1:1 paras get paid more than general paras, given the specialized skill set they must have and frankly the much more difficult working conditions? If not, they should.

lol, no, and there's no training for either. Special Ed para who made $26k annually 2 years ago. 1:1 paras are TPT (temporary, part time employees), who are paid hourly, with no benefits, so they make even less.

There are many who have made some good points throughout, and many who are just ranting. The Homeschool model, in place for a long time now, has been a disaster for most students, special ed and neurotypical.

There isn't enough space or money or teachers for more discrete special ed classrooms, so special ed students, with a variety of needs from very little to a lot, are in the general ed classroom. These days its difficult to get a 1:1 aide in your student's IEP, because it's expensive (even though it's hourly pay with no benefits), and, there aren't enough to be hired who want this job, so even if you are lucky enough to have this in your student's IEP, you may not actually have one.

There are so many students with behavioral problems in the gen ed classroom, who don't belong there now than there were 10-15 years ago. Even in ES, they are violent, throw things, over turn desks and scream, causing teachers to need to evacuate the classroom, counselors and principals to come running to help, and, nothing changes.

Even when parents WANT appropriate, discrete special ed placement, and as an earlier parent posted, it took over 18 months of meetings, documentation, and lawyers to make it happen. Now imagine a less educated parent, or a less resourced parent, or, a parent who is in denial about their child's needs, and that is never going to happen. The child remains in the gen ed classroom, to the detriment of the special ed student, and the other 25 students who are unable to learn because they are always on edge over when the special ed student, or students, in their classroom will become disregulated, and they will have to evacuate. Again. And the student with minor needs, who would be successful with just a few supports, can't get them at all because everyone is so focused on the one, or the few, who have disruptive, explosive behavior.

It is a not good. And the solutions cost money we don't have, and teachers who don't exist.

This is OP. Thank you so much for this, especially this statement:

There are so many students with behavioral problems in the gen ed classroom, who don't belong there now than there were 10-15 years ago. Even in ES, they are violent, throw things, over turn desks and scream, causing teachers to need to evacuate the classroom, counselors and principals to come running to help, and, nothing changes.

This is what I am hearing about a lot and this was not the case even 7-8 years ago, at least for our school. The parents of most of these kids though, seem perfectly content to have their kids in the general ed classroom. Many of them straight up fail every worksheet and many cannot read. It is sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been both a 1:1 para, a gen ed para, and I am also a parent of a special education student (who used to have a 1:1).

A short list of answers to some questions I've seen in this post:

1. MCPS' home school model is the reason there are so many children with special needs in mainstream classrooms. Separate special ed programs are shrinking, and it is hard to get a spot in the ones that remain.

2. It is even harder to get a spot in a private special ed placement. Getting approved for private placement also does not ensure there will be a spot in an appropriate school, and many students remain in their current school or are home schooled while they wait for a spot to open up.

3. It is, surprise, not that easy to get approved for a 1:1 aide. Getting that approval does not mean that there is a staff member ready to fill this role. Until pretty recently, many if not all 1:1 jobs were classified as temporary part-time jobs, which meant no benefits for a very physical and intense job.

4. Being a gen ed para is a completely different job. In that role, I led reading groups, worked with students in small groups, etc. As a 1:1 para, I was hit, bitten, and scratched while providing support.

+1. This is exactly our experience too.

We are on year 3 of those placement meetings and the outcomes are always the same - paraphrasing: “we don’t have any programs that meet your child’s needs. We will have another meeting in 3 months…”

It’s a combination of national policy and local short-sightedness. IDEA and LRE are nice on paper, but aren’t working in reality in 2025. And, with DoE cuts I’m not sure IDEA will survive another year.

Locally, mcps cut most in house discreet programs over the past 20 years then post-Covid whatever is left is watered down. So if you can’t cut it in gen Ed, then you vie for a very limited number of spots in private placement. DC, PG, Frederick, Howard county are also competing for those limited number of spots too.

Also, MoCo demographics are so different now than 20 years ago. The county has been living off legacy for too long and it’s all caught up.

Special Ed or not, the current public school model isn’t ideal for anyone in 2025. It’s an outdated system built on the Prussian (army) model from the early 1800s then “modernized” in the 20th century to produce compliant factory workers.

The more tech advances and society changes, the more kids will naturally push back on things that don’t fit.

[Anonymous]

Paras are paid in different tiers now, starting just this year under Taylor. It's been a long time coming as special ed paras absolutely should be paid more.

There is definitely a lack of programs available to help these kids. A lot of them don't fit the profile for seses (emotional disability kids) and so the learning centers have become a dumping ground. They were intended to be for kids who were academically 2-3 years behind. Now they are full with kids who have significant behaviors and are low cognitively, but not low enough to qualify for alternate learning outcomes (students have to have a cognitive disability). The staffing at the learning centers does not reflect this shift in needs and so kids and the staff suffer.

I've also seen kids inappropriately placed in the ALO autism classrooms because people have no idea what profile of kids are served there and think any kid with autism who needs intense behavioral support should be there. These kids are learning how to communicate and some will never be verbal- it is not conducive to kids who are verbally fluent and can access the gen Ed curriculum. But it just shows how desperate people are to get these kids out of the home school model.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been both a 1:1 para, a gen ed para, and I am also a parent of a special education student (who used to have a 1:1).

A short list of answers to some questions I've seen in this post:

1. MCPS' home school model is the reason there are so many children with special needs in mainstream classrooms. Separate special ed programs are shrinking, and it is hard to get a spot in the ones that remain.

2. It is even harder to get a spot in a private special ed placement. Getting approved for private placement also does not ensure there will be a spot in an appropriate school, and many students remain in their current school or are home schooled while they wait for a spot to open up.

3. It is, surprise, not that easy to get approved for a 1:1 aide. Getting that approval does not mean that there is a staff member ready to fill this role. Until pretty recently, many if not all 1:1 jobs were classified as temporary part-time jobs, which meant no benefits for a very physical and intense job.

4. Being a gen ed para is a completely different job. In that role, I led reading groups, worked with students in small groups, etc. As a 1:1 para, I was hit, bitten, and scratched while providing support.

+1. This is exactly our experience too.

We are on year 3 of those placement meetings and the outcomes are always the same - paraphrasing: “we don’t have any programs that meet your child’s needs. We will have another meeting in 3 months…”

It’s a combination of national policy and local short-sightedness. IDEA and LRE are nice on paper, but aren’t working in reality in 2025. And, with DoE cuts I’m not sure IDEA will survive another year.

Locally, mcps cut most in house discreet programs over the past 20 years then post-Covid whatever is left is watered down. So if you can’t cut it in gen Ed, then you vie for a very limited number of spots in private placement. DC, PG, Frederick, Howard county are also competing for those limited number of spots too.

Also, MoCo demographics are so different now than 20 years ago. The county has been living off legacy for too long and it’s all caught up.

Special Ed or not, the current public school model isn’t ideal for anyone in 2025. It’s an outdated system built on the Prussian (army) model from the early 1800s then “modernized” in the 20th century to produce compliant factory workers.

The more tech advances and society changes, the more kids will naturally push back on things that don’t fit.

I love this answer. Agree wholeheartedly. The current model does not meet anyone’s current needs.