I had a long conversation with someone the other and I realized something. Delaware still needs massive help with special education. It’s not every school, it’s not every teacher. It’s not everything the DOE is doing either. But a lot of it is those things. Is it getting better? From what I hear from so many parents, it’s not. In fact, some say it’s never been worse.
On June 24th last year, the News Journal announced the US DOE put Delaware on a needs intervention for special education watch. I started this blog a couple weeks before this announcement, so I jumped on this story right away. I was in complete agreement. What I hoped more than anything was that this warning would galvanize the DOE, schools, and legislators to do more for special education. The IEP Task Force was created and legislators introduced bills to address special education in Delaware. None have been passed yet. With Smarter Balanced, more pressure is on the schools, and I fear special education students needs are not being met because of this. They may be getting more RTI and MAP or DIBELS assessments, but are they getting all of the services they need?
I went and looked at the Facebook comments on the June 24th announcement. Take a look at them. If you were any of those parents, I ask you this: Have things gotten better? Have they gotten worse?
https://www.facebook.com/Delawareonline/posts/10152304695149480
For teachers in our schools, do you find it harder to get IEP goals met for these students with disabilities? For parents, are you getting what you think your child deserves during IEP meetings? I think it’s past time we all organized, separate from all the government and DOE groups. What say you? As we saw with parent opt-out, parents can make a huge difference. Let’s do it with special education!
The Season Of Myths 
Well said Kevin! We also need to put pressure on the legislators to put SB 33 on the agenda for the House and pass it, so we can continue the IEP Task Force! There were so many issues brought up during those meetings, and we have ALOT more work to do to improve these conditions!
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I agree E.T., but, and I will probably get lynched by Nicole Poore for saying this, I think an amendment needs to be added in regards to the parent groups at schools. It was changed from parent groups to already existing groups. In my eyes, this is just another way to shut out parents. Who are these existing groups? Let the parents call the shots on this one. If it wasn’t for other parents helping out, I probably wouldn’t have learned half the stuff about IEPs the schools don’t come out and tell you.
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