I firmly believe our federal government wants to eventually usurp IDEA and IEPs for special needs children. They want the “common” goal to be increased standardized test scores for these students. This is a very strong opinion, but here’s why I believe this.
The volley started on June 24th. This was the day OSEP announced Delaware, California, Texas and Washington D.C. needed federal intervention for special education. Their criteria for these states was based on compliance, NAEP testing, and students with disabilities drop-out rates. But let’s not fool ourselves for one minute this had anything to do with compliance. It’s all about Common Core and test scores. Common Core is the complete opposite of an IEP. The I in IEP stands for “INDIVIDUALIZED”, not a sameness for all special needs students.
The feds have already said if these states don’t get it together, they could be at risk of losing federal funding for special education. And what happens then? With no funding, they wouldn’t have to grant special ed. Which is the overall plan. They announced a $50 million dollar data center to help special needs children increase their test scores on the same day. But if all states eventually lost their $11.5 billion dollars in special education funding, what would that mean? The IEP will be gone!
I think they know special needs students will tank and fail the upcoming tests coming out next year: Pearson and Smarter Balanced. As a result, they will have their reason for getting rid of many special education teachers as well as regular teachers. They will use this as justification for getting rid of IDEA and IEPs as they are currently written. It will still exist, but new legislation will be introduced to make everything about increasing test scores for our disabled children. And guess which states will be the pilots for this federal intrusion into the heart of education for special needs students? Delaware, California, Texas and Washington D.C.
This has been planned for a long time. It will change everything. As a result, inclusion will become a thing of the past. Without the current accommodations in place for these children, chaos will reign in classrooms for a very brief period of time. Teachers and administrators will throw their hands up, and then what happens to these children? I fear the worst, and I’m frightened to even write down that thought, so I won’t.
The only way to stop this is for parents to get together NOW. Not later. Not into the school year. It will be too late then. The media will be focused on the upcoming elections, and which side will reign supreme. Then we get into the presidential race, and so on. This is our key moment parents, and if we waste this chance, it will be gone. I am only one person, and I can’t change all of this by myself. I need your help. Our children need our help. Some of us may not like what our children have now, but it won’t matter when it is all gone.
The Season Of Myths 
I would like to contact a number of students who were successful due to the program provided to them through their IEP. I know about 20 that would come on board and tell their stories. Sally Cordio M.S. CCC/SLP
LikeLike
Definitely! The more support, the better. A good IEP can do wonders for a special needs child. This has been proven time and time again. But tailoring IEPs to a national standard to improve high-risk testing scores….not a good idea.
LikeLike
Here is their ultimate plan. Tests will be deciding which children will go to college and which ones will just have career training. They will then decide what these kids will be. Their decisions for the special needs children will be to give them the jobs and or careers that are the low wage, meaningless jobs that no one wants like fast food, or sanitary workers. This is just my opinion but what the heck is going on with this country? Rights are being taken away left and right. Mindless sheep are just sleeping through this. As a parent of 3 kids with IEP’s, I want my children to be what they decide. I don’t want anyone to just give up on teaching them because they learn differently. Every day I remind them if they work hard enough they could be anything they want including president.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve hit the nail right on the head. Society still thinks people like me are only good for flipping burgers and pushing brooms. That attitude has to change.
LikeLike
Duncan is changing IDEA regs to shift a proportion of compliance on IEP’s to NAEP scores. He was on NPR with TN’s Kevin Huffman touting this nonsense.
The implications of this are striking:
This move by DoEd appears to be a backdoor for weakening IEP decision making powers by reducing the influence of the IEP team based decisions to test score-based decisions. We must resist any and all attempts to weaken IEP and due process for SPED students. We have come too far, for too long to permit this to happen.
It is unclear how shifting a proportion of compliance from IEP’s to test-based scores will strengthen outcomes and guarantee full due process protections for students in SPED. In public schools all over the country, standardized test scores are being used to punish teachers, not to improve instruction.
Children in SPED are becoming more segregated and excluded, rather than included, due to DoEd’s test score-based accountability. In TN, we have political leaders stating that they, I quote: “are not going to spend money on those [special education and at risk] kids.” [my words inserted are relevant to the context].
IDEA makes the IEP – NOT TEST SCORES- the decision point for placement, related services, testing, and due process. A child’s goals and objectives are the source for accountability. This new policy asserts that test scores are the primary determinant of progress, rather than individualized goals.
Shifting the decision making power to test scores undermines the fundamental integrity of the IEP. Parents & Professionals cannot participate in such a shift if we are to assure the school based IEP team maintains its contractual power.
NAEP scores are helpful in comparing large groups of similarly situated children in controlled studies. NAEP is not designed to measure individual progress, and as such, should not have the weight of overseeing schools compliance on IEP goals and objectives. Standardized test scores alone cannot inform curriculum, staffing, targeted instructional procedures, specialized equipment, or paraprofessionals. This is the role of the IEP. Yet, DoEd will usurp these decisions if test scores become the goals they choose to enforce.
I sent this argument to CEC- Council for Exceptional Children, but have yet to receive a response.
LikeLike
And if the only goal is for my children to complete these standardized “garbage” tests and pass then I guess according to their knowledge my child won’t ever accomplish the goals of the IEP. I will refuse these tests for my children till the day I die. This is unfair to the children forcing them and their parents to be compliant.I know what my childs goals should be. My child’s teacher knows what he needs and how to teach him. They can take their stinking test and their money making sceme with them.
LikeLike