Speak Out: Special Education
What resources do you think would benefit special education programs within the Montgomery County Public Schools system?
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Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr led a forum on special education Monday night at Seneca Valley High School. The 90-minute forum drew about 350 attendees, mainly parents, teachers, school administrators and community groups that work with special needs children.
Montgomery County public schools has 17,500 students with disabilities, the largest population of students with disabilities the state, according to information provided by MCPS.
The desired outcome of Monday night’s forum, according to the superintendent, was for parents and educators to gain perspective and for administrators to see where there is room for growth.
That said, if you are a parent or are part of a group that works with special needs students, what resources do you think would benefit special education programs within the Montgomery County Public Schools system?
Janis
9:45 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
MCPS has in house attorneys for special education litigation and outside attorneys. Require the outside attorneys to compete for those contracts. At present the attorneys who handle special education litigation have had their contracts renewed without having to compete for those jobs for over 10 years. It's time for some competitive biddiing for these jobs. Howard County Public Schools put their legal services contract out for competitive bids and got a bunch of proposals.
There is no oversight of how much is spent on legal fees by outside law firms. It's time to put the brakes on this spending and on the MCPS "scorched earth" litigation policy in special education matters.
soccer mom
12:49 pm on Wednesday, April 18, 2012
How about raising awareness to the students (without disabilites) within the school system? I think the children without disabilities need to be educated about their peers that do require special needs. There should be a level of comfort where the student without disabilities, is able to co exist with the student that is physically or mentally challenged. There are too few children that are comfortable and confident (teenage years) enough to get involved in the programs that are available to help their peers that require special needs.