Special Ed Disaster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education is hugely expensive. Cuts will be necessary if there is a budget shortfall.

Title 1 schools are expensive too. Want cuts there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Special education is hugely expensive. Cuts will be necessary if there is a budget shortfall.

Title 1 schools are expensive too. Want cuts there?

Special education costs a lot more than Title 1. A LOT more. It is not even close.
- mom of autistic kid

[Anonymous]

Our children are increasingly neurodivergent but MCPS has not kept up with staffing/programs to meet these needs. If anything they've pushed an inclusion model that does not work for anyone. For all their talk of equity, if you have a neurodivergent child in this era, you have most likely paid a lot of money out of pocket for their care. Any neurodivergent child without resources is pretty much doomed in the model (or lack thereof) set-up within MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Special education is hugely expensive. Cuts will be necessary if there is a budget shortfall.

If you don't provide enough paras, it's hurting the general education population deeply. So if your kid is normal, you should also support spending on special Ed as well.

[Anonymous]

Multiple aggressive and high needs children have drained our wonderful school. It’s not the fault of the children or school staff who go above and beyond to patiently deescalate. Directors, such as Donna Redmond Jones, do not allow us to suspend so hands are tied and we are forced to accept this abuse. Someone will get very hurt and these higher ups are so far removed and do not care. It’s disgusting and the community has to fight back to help all students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Multiple aggressive and high needs children have drained our wonderful school. It’s not the fault of the children or school staff who go above and beyond to patiently deescalate. Directors, such as Donna Redmond Jones, do not allow us to suspend so hands are tied and we are forced to accept this abuse. Someone will get very hurt and these higher ups are so far removed and do not care. It’s disgusting and the community has to fight back to help all students.

DRJ is an associate superintendent, not director.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our children are increasingly neurodivergent but MCPS has not kept up with staffing/programs to meet these needs. If anything they've pushed an inclusion model that does not work for anyone. For all their talk of equity, if you have a neurodivergent child in this era, you have most likely paid a lot of money out of pocket for their care. Any neurodivergent child without resources is pretty much doomed in the model (or lack thereof) set-up within MCPS.

Many kids in the past and currently go without the support they need in school. Nothing new. Wealthier parents or those with insurance will address it outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our children are increasingly neurodivergent but MCPS has not kept up with staffing/programs to meet these needs. If anything they've pushed an inclusion model that does not work for anyone. For all their talk of equity, if you have a neurodivergent child in this era, you have most likely paid a lot of money out of pocket for their care. Any neurodivergent child without resources is pretty much doomed in the model (or lack thereof) set-up within MCPS.

Many kids in the past and currently go without the support they need in school. Nothing new. Wealthier parents or those with insurance will address it outside.

The amount of neurodivergent kids have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. Ask any educator. Yet special ed programs have systematically been dismantled. We used to be able to service well, the kids with autism, learning disabilities, ADHD. No more-- so yet it is increasingly on the parent to fill in these large gaps, which only the well off can do.

[Anonymous]

"The amount of neurodivergent kids have increased dramatically in the last 10 years."

This is bc the diagnostic criteria have dramatically loosened and changed to widely expand criteria for meeting services (and reimbursement). The original intent around this is so that anyone who meets anything will get early intervention. There are a lot of unintended consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our children are increasingly neurodivergent but MCPS has not kept up with staffing/programs to meet these needs. If anything they've pushed an inclusion model that does not work for anyone. For all their talk of equity, if you have a neurodivergent child in this era, you have most likely paid a lot of money out of pocket for their care. Any neurodivergent child without resources is pretty much doomed in the model (or lack thereof) set-up within MCPS.

Many kids in the past and currently go without the support they need in school. Nothing new. Wealthier parents or those with insurance will address it outside.

The amount of neurodivergent kids have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. Ask any educator. Yet special ed programs have systematically been dismantled. We used to be able to service well, the kids with autism, learning disabilities, ADHD. No more-- so yet it is increasingly on the parent to fill in these large gaps, which only the well off can do.

No, they haven't. What has changed is the access to get kids diagnosed and the criteria for diagnosis. Most teachers and admin ignore red flags and concerns and as a parent you have to get a diagnosis and fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"The amount of neurodivergent kids have increased dramatically in the last 10 years."

This is bc the diagnostic criteria have dramatically loosened and changed to widely expand criteria for meeting services (and reimbursement). The original intent around this is so that anyone who meets anything will get early intervention. There are a lot of unintended consequences.

+1

And the standards and demands at early grade levels have increased, causing more students to struggle and therefore need intervention. It's not always that students aren't meeting age appropriate standards, it's that the standards are not age appropriate and now students are not meeting them. They also are not being taught foundational skills because the scope and sequence of instruction no longer leaves room for it.

That's a factor for an increase in students with "mild disabilities", and it's only one factor. There has been an increase and there are many factors. This just happens to be one that is in our control. Addressing it would benefit many gen ed and special ed alike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"The amount of neurodivergent kids have increased dramatically in the last 10 years."

This is bc the diagnostic criteria have dramatically loosened and changed to widely expand criteria for meeting services (and reimbursement). The original intent around this is so that anyone who meets anything will get early intervention. There are a lot of unintended consequences.

+1

And the standards and demands at early grade levels have increased, causing more students to struggle and therefore need intervention. It's not always that students aren't meeting age appropriate standards, it's that the standards are not age appropriate and now students are not meeting them. They also are not being taught foundational skills because the scope and sequence of instruction no longer leaves room for it.

That's a factor for an increase in students with "mild disabilities", and it's only one factor. There has been an increase and there are many factors. This just happens to be one that is in our control. Addressing it would benefit many gen ed and special ed alike.

The standards have been dumbed down. They are age appropriate. If a child is not reading by the end of first grade they should be flagged for an evaluation and support. It’s easier now to get kids evaluated, diagnosis have changed over the years and easier access to information to advocate.

[Anonymous]

It’s very hard to get a kid into a non-mainstream program if they need it but the parent doesn’t want it. It takes like a year of diligent documentation and a lot of admin don’t want to take the time to do it or don’t know how. Directors are not teaching principals how to meet the legal requirements and document needs in highly disruptive elementary school students. It’s completely hit or miss if admin knows how to do it.

It feels like more and more we are having brand new or less experienced principals and there’s just a lot of stuff they don’t know how to do to work the system the way the older principals did. This is true for staffing, getting good substitutes, and all kinds of little things experienced principals are better at

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is the person in special ed who has proposed all of these changes to the ESY schedule? As someone who has worked ESY for the last 10+ years, I’m very concerned about the impacts of these changes.

Don't underestimate how much Taylor diddles in areas in which he shouldn't. The habit of tearing things up to reorganize in ways yet unknown is harming our school system.

I support his efforts to do this. The status quo was/is not working and he is moving quickly to try to find solutions. The “harm” you mention is speculative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s very hard to get a kid into a non-mainstream program if they need it but the parent doesn’t want it. It takes like a year of diligent documentation and a lot of admin don’t want to take the time to do it or don’t know how. Directors are not teaching principals how to meet the legal requirements and document needs in highly disruptive elementary school students. It’s completely hit or miss if admin knows how to do it.

It feels like more and more we are having brand new or less experienced principals and there’s just a lot of stuff they don’t know how to do to work the system the way the older principals did. This is true for staffing, getting good substitutes, and all kinds of little things experienced principals are better at

It takes suing mcps usually.