School vouchers
Theresita Polzin’s ignorance of the plight of the disabled is forgivable in her “rebuttal” of Erik Palmer’s Speakout column on school vouchers, as is the heartlessness borne of such ignorance. But to represent herself as authoritative or knowledgable on the subject is not, because she has no idea what she’s talking about.
All students in the USA are entitled to FAPE, or a Free Appropriate Public Education, including disabled people. Public schools are subject to IDEA, or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires them to accept disabled students, and to provide them with said FAPE. Private schools are under no such mandate, and the private school which accepts special needs students at the same cost as “typical” students is non-existant. Hence, Mr. Palmer’s “sweeping generalization” is accurate and reasonable.
People who choose private schools are entitled to the same FAPE as everyone else, whether or not they choose to avail themselves of this opportunity.
That some citizens have a particular aversion to secularism, or to minorities, or science, or people with disabilities gives them no moral position from which to loot the public school system for selfish reasons. Yes, they’re paying twice. By choice.
I challenge Ms. Polzin to name the private school which would welcome the special-needs student at the same cost as the “typical” one; which would provide the speech and occupational therapies available in the public schools; which would provide a full-time one-on-one paraprofessional when appropriate, and whose dedicated staff are willing to change diapers for a severely disabled 14 year-old because market forces won’t. Those of us in the disability community will be thrilled to learn of this resource.
While we’re waiting, perhaps Ms. Polzin should devote her eloquence to subjects she knows something about, and thank her lucky stars that her children don’t need the special services available to all, paid for by all, and thankfully needed by only some, in our public schools.
This letter has not been edited.
The laws you describe that mandate services to the disabled are similar to the laws mandating services for illegal aliens. For this reason, disabled citizens should join in the effort to secure our borders before public education heads off in the same direction as hospital emergency rooms - nonexistence. Yes, the law mandates the services be provided within the existing infrastructure - but the infrastructure can be liquidated over time if taxpayers perceive they receive no benefit from the system. That will leave only private education, and medical service, as the only option.
Posted by RS on October 6, 2007 03:14 PMSCHOOL VOUCHERS...did you say VOUCHERS?
Sign me up! Competition and choice, the enemy of the teachers union and their hostile monopoly, are America's only exit from decades of being bogged down and trapped in a failed quagmire!
VOUCHERS...AN OLD IDEA THAT IS LONG OVERDUE. And they would also put an end to Ritter's endless tsunami of "BLUE RIBBON" commissions!
Posted by Hank on October 6, 2007 03:23 PMRS and Hank should take advantage of the fact that there are resources in the public schools for the mentally challenged. Neither of them seems to have any idea what the letter is about. Is there any subject at all that anyone could bring up that RS would not think is about illegal immigration? And of course when someone says "school" Hank's knee jerks once again.
Posted by Truth on October 6, 2007 06:45 PM
once upon a time there were many community center schools who took care of the mentally and physically challenged in out coummunities. the school districts provided some of the resources for these schools based on the number of thier students who were attending them. then the wonderful educational leaders and teacher unions said wait we are not getting all of the money so lets do something really neat and create a program and call it 'mainstreaming'. we then get all the money and who cares if the services for these kids goes down?
andrew you need to get off the protect the teachers and public school soap box. if public schools are already providing the services for the handicapped and vouchers were used then for the remaining students the class size would be less and more time available for help to all. there are many private schools who take special needs kids and provide the services that the government monopoly funded public schools do, only they do it better and with care and concern.
Apparently, Hank needs to go to school. Someone give him a voucher, quick.
As for mainstreaming, the idea and the impetus originally came from the handicapped community and their advocates themselves, not the educational leaders or the teachers' union. I know this because I was working with the handicapped at the time. The education establishment was oblivious and sometimes resistant to solving the problems faced by the handicapped. Ridge Home or trying to provide all that was needed at home, were lousy options.
Posted by Stan B on October 7, 2007 01:28 PMTruth (sic) blurted: "Is there any subject at all that anyone could bring up that RS would not think is about illegal immigration?"
There are no issues of social spending that exclude the topic of illegal immigration. Did you fail to notice the May 1st protest marches by illegals resulted in a 75-80% truancy rate in some schools? People are noticing these trends, people that vote. Centralization of school funding at the state level only goes so far. Eventually, the taxpayers will make their voices heard.
Posted by RS on October 7, 2007 03:58 PMWhat Andrew says may be true, but it's beside the point. The main role of public schools to educate the kids, not to change diapers.
We've got students who don't know who the President was during WWII, can't find the Pacific Ocean on a map, and can't write a simple declarative sentence. Colleges and universities have to offer remedial reading classes to incoming freshmen.
What we have a teacher's union that is more interested in maintaining its power than in teaching students. Pointing to the disabled as the reason is simply a distraction from the fact that the public education system is a failure.
RS,
Rather than wasting time trying to reason with Truth, it would probably clarify things by having Truth thoroughly explain what the letter is about.
Posted by Mountain Cat on October 9, 2007 03:52 PM