We can’t take special needs education law for granted. We did not always have IDEA or Sec. 504 protections, and there are people who somehow continue to believe that assistance to the most vulnerable holds “everyone else” back. The following article by Rachel Aviv, from the current New Yorker magazine, shows how insidious, inbred and short-sighted that belief can be.
Of course, disability is not the only issue at play in Georgia. But the problem is that any failure to follow federal law, while accepting federal funds, hurts every community school. When local administrators are allowed to decide who gets and who does not, corruption rules the process. And then, every child is eventually left behind. Those who “get” believe themselves “better” than all others and lose natural curiosity to explore the whole world around them.
An election looms over us. Please examine with your own representatives what, exactly, they plan to support for mental health, health care, and education. Don’t be satisfied with vague answers. Talk about numbers with them. We must use and protect what we have, build a better future for ourselves and our children, and demand fairness for all.
Read The New Yorker article here.
Robin S. Kuykendall, JD
Advocate & Educate, LLC