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Keep Eanes Informed
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A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. - Steve Martin
No man stands so tall as when he
stoops to help a child.
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To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. - Albert Einstein
All children deserve an equal playing field. - Ed Allen, Westlake Picayune April 2008
My vision for Eanes can't be seen on a Jumbotron ...
- Eanes ISD parent
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
If You Aren't Completely Appalled You Haven't Been Paying Attention
All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. - Mark Twain
Information is
currency for democracy.
-Thomas Jefferson
It's about
power and money and the law firms who control and run
the school districts.
- K.
Yeaman,
Mom
Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.- Albert Einstein
The best
protection of the Texas Public Information Act is
enforcement of the Texas Public Information Act.
- Dianna Pharr
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Perhaps you could "deflect" the financial bullet you describe as "parents seeing school districts as a 'Pot of Gold' for a variety of outside services, including private tuition" - by again doing what is appropriate for the student in the first place. If parents see the school district as a "Pot of Gold" as you describe - it is only because schools seemingly have an abundance of money when it comes to hiring attorneys and going to due process - versus - not having any money to provide the service needed. - Michelle Guppy
Texas Autism Advocacy
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Attached to this letter
is a brochure about a conference in Texas organized by
the National Educators Law Institute. As the parent of a
child with autism, I find the workshop titles and
workshop descriptions somewhat confusing as to their
intent, and a bit disheartening if indeed I do
understand the intent correctly..... Special
Education in Texas - is a very serious issue and one not
meant to be trivialized or circumvented. It is an
issue that warrants collaboration and cooperation - most
certainly not an "us" versus "them" mentality as
conferences with workshops such as this one creates.
If the purpose of an ARD meeting is for parents to be
equal partners with school officials - then why do we
need separate workshops for each - where one group is
not allowed to attend the other groups conference?
I hope that the National
Educators Law Institute would reply to the following
letter. Below the letter, is an
e-mail that was sent to a representative of an Advocacy
organization, who was "un-invited" to the conference
when it was determined that she was a parent advocate
and not a school employee.
Michelle M. Guppy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Letter from National Educators Law Institute:
Thank you for
your email. In answering your question, I'm rather
embarrassed at what I need to tell you regarding
your registration, and I sincerely hope you'll
understand.
LETTER OF RESPONSE FROM MICHELLE GUPPYWhen you registered for the December conference, as you know, we were already at capacity and you were placed on a waiting list. As such, I was not paying much attention as to where people were from, just when their registrations were received so that they could be kept in date order on the list. When you called me to transfer your registration to our Houston conference, I still had no idea that you were from Advocacy, Inc. Kay, I'm so sorry, but NELI conferences are for school district personnel only. The content is designed for educators, not attorneys or advocates, or parents. I'm sure you will understand that based on the curriculum in the brochure, our regular attendees would be a bit nervous to have a representative from Advocacy, Inc. in the audience. This is terribly rude, but I must "uninvite" you to our Houston conference! If you have any questions, please email or call me. Sincerely, NATIONAL EDUCATORS LAW INSTITUTE 3660 Stoneridge Road Suite D-101 Austin , TX 78746 (512) 732-2988 (512) 322-9342 FAX
Dear National Educators Law Institute,
(e-mail:
edservices@nelilaw.net)
Re: "Un-inviting parent
advocate to the Houston Conference"
In reply to the
letter "un-inviting" an area Advocacy organization's
representative from attending your Houston
conference, (after she registered and paid to attend
the event), solely on the basis that her
organization represents parents,
I must say that
yes, you rather should be very embarrassed about it
as you state in your letter.
Embarrassed not
only by what you wrote - but also by the fact that
the whole brochure and workshop titles and the
super-educator character - seem to further the
divide between parents and school districts.
What do you mean
by the workshop title "Kryptonite - ABA and
TEACCH and PECS, Oh My!"?
"Oh My!"
- that you should avoid them as Superman would
Kryptonite? Or, "Oh My!" - that we better
advocate for funding from our state so that we can
appropriately train teachers and para-professionals
on scientifically proven methodologies of teaching
that are effective and that do teach students what
they need to learn? I would further elaborate that
if perhaps schools would embrace and learn, rather
than exclude and avoid, certain methodologies in the
classroom --- such as Applied Behavior Analysis; -
that you would not even need the workshop later in
the day titled "Addressing Challenging Behaviors
Under Autism and Other Disabilities."
What do you mean
by "Super Kids" - and "how to deal with
outside evaluations and how a district should
conduct its own evaluation that can be defended in
court"? Is this workshop designed to
appropriately identify students who need services,
in recognizing that doctors go to medical school to
learn how to diagnose; and school personnel go to
school to learn how to test and teach?
Or is this
workshop designed to show how to refute a doctor's
diagnosis and how not to have to identify a
disability so the student doesn't get the benefit of
those services they need so they can be successful
in school?
You asked that
the person who you addressed your letter to; to
understand your position.
I'm afraid that
not only does she not, but many of us parents do
not.
I do not
understand how professional organizations can use "Deflecting
Financial Bullets" as excuses to not work
together for what is right, what is needed.
Perhaps you could "deflect" the financial bullet you
describe as "parents seeing school districts as
a 'Pot of Gold' for a variety of outside services,
including private tuition" - by again doing
what is appropriate for the student in the first
place.
If parents see the school district as a
"Pot of Gold" as you describe - it is only
because schools seemingly have an abundance of money
when it comes to hiring attorneys and going to due
process - versus - not having any money to provide
the service needed. In that particular workshop,
do you also go over the fact that most times it can
be determined that the service, training, or staff
requested, - is way less than the cost of fighting
that?
Special
Education in Texas is a "Superhuman Challenge"
- and it does require "Leaping Tall Buildings";
- those obstacles that our legislatures and
policymakers have created in sorely underfunding
programs and salaries and training for Special
Education. If anyone is facing a "Superhuman
Challenge" or "Leaping a Tall Building" - it is the
parent who is trying to get a fair and unbiased
decision from a system that regulates itself.
IDEA is IDEA.
What it provides for is what it provides for. I
didn't know there was one law for parents, and
another one for educators. I guess I do need that
"X-Ray Vision" you describe in another one
of your catchy workshop titles, to understand why we
have to have one workshop educating parents on what
their rights are - and another one that teaches
school attorneys or school personnel how to
perhaps follow the law - but as far behind it as
they can legally get away with.
Who really wins
then?
Further in your
letter, you state that your "regular"
attendee's would be "a bit nervous" at
seeing parents or their advocates at the
workshop.
I chuckle at
that..... Yes I bet they would be nervous; - but
then they would also get a better understanding of
what it's like for parents at an ARD meeting who
know that those at the ARD meeting have attended a
workshop such as what you are putting on - to learn
how to minimaly provide their child with a Free and
Appropriate Public Education - or worse - how to
defend themselves in court when it's proven that
they haven't appropriately provided a Free and
Appropriate Public Education.
You asked at the
end of your letter if there were any questions.
Yes, I have a few....
Explain to us
parents - how your workshops actually benefit the
students your catchy titles refer to? How it helps
those students who will be your neighbors one day,
your check out clerks one day; or who, with the
present state of special education funding and
training in the public schools, - your tax
dollars, and your children's tax dollars, will be
supporting 24/7 for a lifetime one day - if they
don't get the appropriate funding for an appropriate
education with appropriate services they need now?
Are the workshop
titles you are promoting, the content of which you
would want a "super-educator" abiding by if it were
YOUR child receiving that special education service?
This issue is
not about battlegrounds of methodology, services, or
diagnosis.
Nor is it about
winning or losing in court.
It's not about
me (parents), against you (attorneys).
It's not even
about being a super-educator with a cape as
your brochure portrays.
It's
about stepping up and working together as the
Fantastic Four:
Parents,
Educators, Policymakers, & Legislators.
Only then will
there ever be a "Pot of Gold" to be found at the end
of the rainbow, which is for a student to have
graduated with the skills and training necessary to
live the most independent life they can after
graduation.
Only then, will
it finally be about who it needs to be about.....
The student.
Sincerely,
Michelle M.
Guppy
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