Reply to Anne Arundel - NO special ed teachers will return

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So those of you saying fire them, where are you getting new sped teachers from right now?  There aren't 100s of unemployed, ready to work people with sped credentials.  They can't even find enough subs on a daily basis when we aren't in a pandemic, and that has basically no qualifications. I get the frustration, but unless you want someone with no classroom education or experience teaching the neediest kids, there isn't a better option, is there?[/quote]

I don't really see the downside. The teachers have worked hard to ensure schools won't open anytime soon regardless if what is done. It's true that firing/furloughing the teachers might not allow reopening, but that's already the situation that we're in.

The best way to deal with this problem long-term is to nip this in the bud now.[/quote]

So you'd rather have no school than virtual school? Am I understanding that correctly?  And then when school reopens eventually have no teachers to come in? That seems incredibly short sighted, but maybe I'm missing something.[/quote]

Yes.  Virtual school is the same as no school for SPED kids.  I know this because I'm living through it right now (in MCPS).

I might be more worried about losing teachers if[b] I wasn't so convinced that a substantial percentage would do their jobs if the alternative was losing their jobs without unemployment benefits.[/b][/quote]

That's a game of chicken, and you might not win it. That's fine, but better clearly articulate the back-up plan in case you lose the bluff.[/quote]

It's less of a bluff and more of a calculated risk.

[b]And the back-up plan is basically the status quo[/b]... As bad as that is, there's not much to lose when there's no end in sight.[/quote]

So ... if those SPED teachers retire or find other jobs, and kids return to school, you're just going to be ok with the status quo continuing? A lot of SPED positions were unfilled before the pandemic -- and before you pretty much told trained professionals "my way or the highway." They aren't going to be easier to fill now. 
[/quote]

The school districts would figure it out. Perhaps not immediately, but fairly soon. Why? Because they're legally required to provide it. If they had to, they'd hire contractors with nurses and therapist to meet the legal requirements. And longer-term, they'd be forced to renegotiate the contract with the unions to pay SPED teachers more.[/quote]

Right. They may be legally required to do so, but physically unable to do so (e.g., there are not specialized teachers to do it). In that case, the only option is to modify the law.

Laws change sometimes. In this hypothetical case, they would have to -- e.g., decreasing the skills or accreditation level of providers so the positions can be filled.

You may be satisfied with that, but I am not. [/quote]

The far more likely scenario is that they'd be forced to hire much more expensive contractors to provide the service, or paying for specialized private schools, since the alternative would be getting a *federal* law changed.[/quote]

Ah. So, we're okay with much higher property taxes. Fair enough.[/quote]

It wouldn't be noticeable, nor would it be long-term. And honestly, in the long term, SPED teachers should get paid substantially more. I'd have no problem if this all resulted in SPED teachers getting 50% raises. The only way the teachers union would let that happen is if there's an otherwise intractable problem to address.[/quote]

All I can say is -- and without a shred of irony or sarcasm -- I hope that works out the way you planned. I don't want the kids to pay the price of not getting back to reasonable in-person care, any more than I want the SPED teachers to take on too much risk.[/quote]

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