Reply to Serious Question - Special Ed Students in Gen Ed Classrooms

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

+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 It’s an outdated system built on the Prussian (army) model from the early 1800s then “modernized” in the 20th century to produce compliant factory workers.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.

[/quote]

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

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