Reply to APS Board & Duran Proposing to Dissolve Integration Station

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Reply to "APS Board & Duran Proposing to Dissolve Integration Station"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]I’m sorry your program is on the chopping block. But I’m not understanding why the school-based options will not serve your needs. Unfortunately we are looking at a lot less ideal options for everyone across the board and I’m not sure this is worth further teaching staff cuts or higher class sizes for older kids.[/quote]

The school-based options pose a few challenges:
(1) APS leadership has yet to identify which sites the classes would relocate to. Which means we have no idea, nor does Dr. Mann, if there is actually enough capacity across APS schools to accommodate the number of students currently attending the program.
(2) If APS manages to relocate all the classes, the CPP program is already under-enrolled for peers needed. APS cannot guarantee that it will have community peers for all these classes. If students who previously attended or would have attended IS no longer are with their typically developing peers, then they would be in a self-contained environment. The move would be regressive since these students would no longer have access to or benefit from exposure to these peers.
(3) The Mini-MIPA (the preschool autism class) and self-contained 3-5 class would be the greatest programs to suffer. These are students who are not quite ready for a full-day of integration in a general education environment, but have access to these opportunities during their day in the IS program by pushing into the general education TCS classrooms.

Moreover, the budget study that APS paid bakertilly claims it would save $1 million. However, that number isn’t accurate when accounting for overhead that would still need to be covered regardless - such as staff salaries, benefits, and transportation. APS and the study also do not specify how much federal funds are provided per student to attend. At least currently, under IDEA, schools should receive direct funding per student with special education services. Even if the Department of Education is disbanded, this law would still be in effect.[/quote]

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