Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:15
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Having programs be non-means tested can actually help everyone - the wealthier parents who can litigate and advocate strongly for themselves end up establishing strong precedent for everyone, and also have an interest in keeping the program strong that they wouldn't have if it was just for "poor people."
That said, I'm sure the benefits are not equally shared because lower income people don't have the knowledge or ability to advocate. So, you do have to be careful to look for disparities.
And I'd say that a wealthy family that is getting private-paid tuition is morally obligated to pay it forward by donating to special education advocacy groups.
That said, I'm sure the benefits are not equally shared because lower income people don't have the knowledge or ability to advocate. So, you do have to be careful to look for disparities.
And I'd say that a wealthy family that is getting private-paid tuition is morally obligated to pay it forward by donating to special education advocacy groups.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:13
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Some of those schools are over $100k. The amount of your overall taxes probably does not cover your kids and it’s the kid free people paying. Those kids have extreme needs.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:11
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One problem is some of the SN schools only take public funding and not private. Most kids who go to those privates are very severe, not your average SN and they are often way more than $60K. Be grateful you don't have a child who needs it.
Are you saying the private schools for milder special needs do not have public- funded kids because the school system can provide the appropriate program in the public school?
Yes. We private pay for private and outside therapies. We do not announce it. Public failed our kid and cost wise it was not worth fighting. Some of those sn private’s are public funded only so the only option is to sue.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:10
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Unless they are living on tax-free income, they have paid more than their 'share' of the taxes that will go to their child's portion of the free public education. They have the same rights and bear a greater portion of the tax burden.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:05
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP, whether you mean it or not the gist of your question implies that SN education is too expensive and somehow not "worth" it.
I personally don't care if SN education is expensive, if it can result in some measure of independence for child and parent. Many SN kids (mine among them) can grow up to be taxpaying citizens that return far in excess over their lifetime in taxes than what they "cost". Their taxpaying may be to a greater or lesser degree, but it is still better than not educating a child and limiting their independence for life.
Also, more independent SN kids mean more independent parents. The burden of caring for SN kids often means that one parent (often the mother) stops working and thus stops becoming a taxpayer.
Furthermore, IME, SN kids cost the school system far more than necessary because of the school system's stubborn refusal to provide appropriate education. If I totaled up all the ridiculous meetings I have had with school staff arguing about the need for special education, the need for an IEP, the need to comply with the IEP, etc., that cost would have covered private school and college several times over. Remember paid private placement is mandated only after the school system has been shown to have failed at providing free and appropriate public education.
Op here. I must not have made myself clear in the second paragraph of my post. I was wondering what the difference in expense was between educating in the public school vs, private for the public school system and I wondered if the costs were in fact similar. I did not say it was not "worth it." I have a child with SN of my own. I did however, question if there was an income cap, as I do admit I was surprised to hear a wealthy family received free tuition. It sounds like there is not an income cap. My concern was more that there is not an equal playing field for wealthy vs. poor and that those on the lower end of income likely cannot access the quality of legal help. I admit I also wondered about my tac money paying for those can afford the schooling, but I am understanding more both sides.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:04
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:OP, whether you mean it or not the gist of your question implies that SN education is too expensive and somehow not "worth" it.
I personally don't care if SN education is expensive, if it can result in some measure of independence for child and parent. Many SN kids (mine among them) can grow up to be taxpaying citizens that return far in excess over their lifetime in taxes than what they "cost". Their taxpaying may be to a greater or lesser degree, but it is still better than not educating a child and limiting their independence for life.
Also, more independent SN kids mean more independent parents. The burden of caring for SN kids often means that one parent (often the mother) stops working and thus stops becoming a taxpayer.
Furthermore, IME, SN kids cost the school system far more than necessary because of the school system's stubborn refusal to provide appropriate education. If I totaled up all the ridiculous meetings I have had with school staff arguing about the need for special education, the need for an IEP, the need to comply with the IEP, etc., that cost would have covered private school and college several times over. Remember paid private placement is mandated only after the school system has been shown to have failed at providing free and appropriate public education.
Op here. I must not have made myself clear in the second paragraph of my post. I was wondering what the difference in expense was between educating in the public school vs, private for the public school system and I wondered if the costs were in fact similar. I did not say it was not "worth it." I have a child with SN of my own. I did however, question if there was an income cap, as I do admit I was surprised to hear a wealthy family received free tuition. It sounds like there is not an income cap. My concern was more that there is not an equal playing field for wealthy vs. poor and that those on the lower end of income likely cannot access the quality of legal help. I admit I also wondered about my tac money paying for those can afford the schooling, but I am understanding more both sides.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 15:00
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:One problem is some of the SN schools only take public funding and not private. Most kids who go to those privates are very severe, not your average SN and they are often way more than $60K. Be grateful you don't have a child who needs it.
Are you saying the private schools for milder special needs do not have public- funded kids because the school system can provide the appropriate program in the public school?
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:57
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
OP, whether you mean it or not the gist of your question implies that SN education is too expensive and somehow not "worth" it.
I personally don't care if SN education is expensive, if it can result in some measure of independence for child and parent. Many SN kids (mine among them) can grow up to be taxpaying citizens that return far in excess over their lifetime in taxes than what they "cost". Their taxpaying may be to a greater or lesser degree, but it is still better than not educating a child and limiting their independence for life.
Also, more independent SN kids mean more independent parents. The burden of caring for SN kids often means that one parent (often the mother) stops working and thus stops becoming a taxpayer.
Furthermore, IME, SN kids cost the school system far more than necessary because of the school system's stubborn refusal to provide appropriate education. If I totaled up all the ridiculous meetings I have had with school staff arguing about the need for special education, the need for an IEP, the need to comply with the IEP, etc., that cost would have covered private school and college several times over. Remember paid private placement is mandated only after the school system has been shown to have failed at providing free and appropriate public education.
I personally don't care if SN education is expensive, if it can result in some measure of independence for child and parent. Many SN kids (mine among them) can grow up to be taxpaying citizens that return far in excess over their lifetime in taxes than what they "cost". Their taxpaying may be to a greater or lesser degree, but it is still better than not educating a child and limiting their independence for life.
Also, more independent SN kids mean more independent parents. The burden of caring for SN kids often means that one parent (often the mother) stops working and thus stops becoming a taxpayer.
Furthermore, IME, SN kids cost the school system far more than necessary because of the school system's stubborn refusal to provide appropriate education. If I totaled up all the ridiculous meetings I have had with school staff arguing about the need for special education, the need for an IEP, the need to comply with the IEP, etc., that cost would have covered private school and college several times over. Remember paid private placement is mandated only after the school system has been shown to have failed at providing free and appropriate public education.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:51
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:One problem is some of the SN schools only take public funding and not private. Most kids who go to those privates are very severe, not your average SN and they are often way more than $60K. Be grateful you don't have a child who needs it.
+1. Once public funding for a placement is secured, the school can be assured they will receive full payment. If they accept a student private-pay and then midway through the year the family isn't able to pay the tuition anymore, it can put the school in a real financial bind. So it's possible the family you know had to get a private placement from the school system to access the appropriate school for their child.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:48
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
One problem is some of the SN schools only take public funding and not private. Most kids who go to those privates are very severe, not your average SN and they are often way more than $60K. Be grateful you don't have a child who needs it.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:45
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Every child has a right to public education, and if the school district is unable to meet a child's needs they can file a lawsuit that may result in a private placement at taxpayer expense.
As for the unequal playing field, there are advocates and attorneys who will represent families who cannot afford to pay. They vary in quality.
In DC AJE gets good results http://www.aje-dc.org/
How do they measure whether a child's needs are met and how low is the bar? Wasn't there just a Supreme Court case last year about this and how we definite adequate yearly progress or whatever the term was?
Typically a child would need to be making no progress toward goals. Sometimes school districts can also fail badly on procedural grounds (missing repeated deadlines for evaluation, not implementing the IEP at all) and a student can end up with a private placement.
Re the Supreme Court ruling, these articles may be helpful. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/05/02/a-year-ago-the-supreme-court-raised.html and https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/04/19/supreme-court-ruling-iep-landscape/24994/
Great articles. Thx.
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:38
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Every child has a right to public education, and if the school district is unable to meet a child's needs they can file a lawsuit that may result in a private placement at taxpayer expense.
As for the unequal playing field, there are advocates and attorneys who will represent families who cannot afford to pay. They vary in quality.
In DC AJE gets good results http://www.aje-dc.org/
How do they measure whether a child's needs are met and how low is the bar? Wasn't there just a Supreme Court case last year about this and how we definite adequate yearly progress or whatever the term was?
Typically a child would need to be making no progress toward goals. Sometimes school districts can also fail badly on procedural grounds (missing repeated deadlines for evaluation, not implementing the IEP at all) and a student can end up with a private placement.
Re the Supreme Court ruling, these articles may be helpful. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/05/02/a-year-ago-the-supreme-court-raised.html and https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/04/19/supreme-court-ruling-iep-landscape/24994/
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:29
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Anonymous wrote:Every child has a right to public education, and if the school district is unable to meet a child's needs they can file a lawsuit that may result in a private placement at taxpayer expense.
As for the unequal playing field, there are advocates and attorneys who will represent families who cannot afford to pay. They vary in quality.
In DC AJE gets good results http://www.aje-dc.org/
How do they measure whether a child's needs are met and how low is the bar? Wasn't there just a Supreme Court case last year about this and how we definite adequate yearly progress or whatever the term was?
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:26
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Every child has a right to public education, and if the school district is unable to meet a child's needs they can file a lawsuit that may result in a private placement at taxpayer expense.
As for the unequal playing field, there are advocates and attorneys who will represent families who cannot afford to pay. They vary in quality.
In DC AJE gets good results http://www.aje-dc.org/
As for the unequal playing field, there are advocates and attorneys who will represent families who cannot afford to pay. They vary in quality.
In DC AJE gets good results http://www.aje-dc.org/
Anonymous
10/18/2018 14:23
Subject: Suing for Private Placement -is there no income cap?
Help me understand this and see the other side. From having a child with SN we have connected with a number of other families with kids who have SN. One family we know sued for private placement and won. The father is in a field where he easily brings in well over half a million a year. They live in a mansion. They are getting free tuition paid for I assume by our tax dollars. Is there no income cap here? Also, does this mean poor families who's kids' needs cannot be met in the school have no chance of getting a private placement because they can't afford a great lawyer? Is there anything in place to help those less fortunate who have kids with SN who's needs cannot be met in public. Does the school system cut a deal with these schools so say a 60,000 a year SN private is only costing the school system $20,000?
Also, I assume our kids with SN all ready cost the school system a lot and cost varies by amount of services. Is it possible it costs the school system almost as much to educate our kids in public school as it would to send them to private school?
Also, I assume our kids with SN all ready cost the school system a lot and cost varies by amount of services. Is it possible it costs the school system almost as much to educate our kids in public school as it would to send them to private school?