I work in the front lines of this everyday.  I often sit in with parents as
they go to IEP's to give my opinion or sometimes just to be someone on the
side of the parent in a room full of professionals.  I've also been on the
other side and worked in the school system.
There does need to be some accountability of funding and schools in the way
they treat children.  Often, schools use undereducated teachers to teach
very complicated children.  They don't often include parents in decisions
such as changing locations of programs and do a horrible job at explaining
different programs for children.  I see children branded behavioral problems
without the backup of a behavioral plan.  I see schools refusing to utize
equipment.  I see overworked teachers and staff and impossible staffing
ratios.  Mainly, IMHO, if schools would make more of an attempt to do what
they are supposed to do, in the way the law stipulates then they could save
a lot of money.
Also, the whole system could save a lot of money if the governments would
stop the duplication of work forms, create computer programs that would
track the information better to relieve teachers of much of the overburden
of tracking performance.  There are already enough mentally ill inmates in
the prison population we don't need to add more, because with legislation
like this that's where many of these kids could end up.

Just my soap box.

Beth T. the OT

-----Original Message-----
From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List

Subject: Re: FW: Houses Approves Bad IDEA Legislation


This is an example of what I was talking about previously. I am for the full
prootection of children with disabilities, but it is costly to school
districts to be sued. I do not know the answer. The only thing for sure will
be there will be more of this.

Bobby