They need to hear that its just not reporters who want this looked at. State agencies use a loophole of contacting the AG's office to delay or avoid producing documents.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
SB122 - Modifies provisions regarding the Sunshine Law
SB122 - Modifies provisions regarding the Sunshine Law
Audit finds strong points for R-7
Audit finds strong points for R-7
Too bad they didn't talk to the parents of children with special needs. This report would have been very different. I continue to get calls every week from desperate parents that are fighting with the district because they are not doing what is in the best interest of the children. Why don't they ever do REAL research when they publish this findings?
Too bad they didn't talk to the parents of children with special needs. This report would have been very different. I continue to get calls every week from desperate parents that are fighting with the district because they are not doing what is in the best interest of the children. Why don't they ever do REAL research when they publish this findings?
School Choice Week | StudentsFirst.org
School Choice Week | StudentsFirst.org
It's National School Choice Week, and we here at StudentsFirst believe that school choice is a critical tool for empowering parents.
Although education is sometimes described as a "great equalizer" -- a powerful social force that can level playing fields of opportunity among citizens -- our current education system only provides some kids with opportunity insofar as their parents can actually choose for them to attend good schools.
The primary way that today's parents exercise school choice is by moving to a neighborhood in which their children are guaranteed to attend great schools. Other parents -- parents who don't have the luxury of moving to a neighborhood filled with high-performing schools -- are usually left with little or no choice.
The Final 2 Survival Characteristics
The Final 2 Survival Characteristics
7. Being ruthless – Now this survival characteristic is a further extension on “determination”. What I am talking about here is the need, when necessary, to be as ruthless as the most hard-nosed business person when it comes to your child. To give you an example I have heard of parents who bake cookies and take other treats into IEP meetings to try and “win over” the teachers and other educators in the room. Now for a start this isn’t my favorite approach as I feel it can blur the boundaries of what can be a “battle ground” at times. However I know people who do it and get great results so who am I to argue? But my point is – what happens when the head teacher turns around and flatly refuses the extra social skills class that your child needs (whilst he’s sat merrily chomping on your best home made chocolate brownie)?
This is when ruthlessness needs to take over. If your son NEEDS that extra help then things may need to turn a little heated for you to achieve that. This may involve you a very stubborn attitude and continuing to question the school in terms of their legal and moral rights to deliver what your child needs.
It may also mean mentioning a third party agency with clout such as The Office of Civil Rights in the USA. They are a very powerful force and I got some great advice on this from an interview I did with a mom called Mary Romaniec several years ago, who told me…
“That’s something that a lot of people don’t realize how much power that has, even putting that into a letter. The Office of Civil Rights is the federal arm of the special education laws. And if by chance a school district is found to potentially be violating federal laws, the school district could have the federal attorneys come into their offices and be there, camp out for months as they comb through files and interview personnel, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney bills. And all a parent has to do is just mention, “I believe that you violated my child’s federal rights.” And you put that in writing and you will be surprised at just how much a school district will finally start paying attention to what you have to say…”
So whether it’s mentioning an external legal or governing body, or the ability to stare the head teacher in the eye and quite openly question their commitment to your son (with an attitude that you don’t intend to take “no” for an answer) – then there is definitely a time and a place to be ruthless.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Who Will Take Care Of Him
As I am packing my suitcase for my trip I am worrying about Jake. Not about my absence right now because there are adults that are going to look after him for the twelve days that I am going to be gone. I worry about what will happen to him after I leave this world.
Who will make sure that he has food? Who will make sure that he sees the doctor? Who will make sure that he gets his medication? Who will take him to the store for his video games? Who will make sure that his clothes are clean? Who will make sure that the world doesn't hurt him? I couldn't protect him from the school district and the emotional and psychological abuse that they heaped upon him, but I have learned so much since then and I protect him with all that I have now. Who will make sure that he has a place to live, heat, electricity, and air? Who is going to do all of the things that I will no longer be able to do?
Many times he has told me that he wants to die when I die. He tells me that he doesn't want to live without me. I don't want that for him. I want him to live to a very old age. But, what have we done to make him want to?
Why do we allow our teachers, principals, administrators, legislators, etc. to hold our children's lives in their hands? Why do we continue to allow these people to destroy our children's futures and lives? Why are these people not held accountable for their neglect and abuse?
What is going to happen to the other children like Jake? Society doesn't care. They see our children as a drain on taxes, a nuisance in the classroom, a hindrance to their children's education.
I have read more than one commentary that says that special education students shouldn't be in the classroom with their children. Their children are advanced students that will make a difference in the world and they need all of the resources that the school district has to help them attain their goal. Well, my child could have made a difference, too. But, the resources that he so desperately needed were not there. They were used on the students that would score high on tests and make the district look good. They were used on band uniforms that would make the district look affluent. They were used on AstroTurf that made our football team look better. They were used on a swimming pool to make the swimming team look better. They were used on an administrative center that make the district look as good as the county to the west.
I don't want anyone's pity. My son has blessed my life in so many ways. I want people to get angry. I want them to get as angry as I am and I want them to stand up and say, "I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore." I want millions to stand up and say that EVERY child is special and deserves a chance at a future. I want EVERY parent to go to bed at night knowing that their child has gotten EVERY chance at a successful future and that they can die without worry.
Who will make sure that he has food? Who will make sure that he sees the doctor? Who will make sure that he gets his medication? Who will take him to the store for his video games? Who will make sure that his clothes are clean? Who will make sure that the world doesn't hurt him? I couldn't protect him from the school district and the emotional and psychological abuse that they heaped upon him, but I have learned so much since then and I protect him with all that I have now. Who will make sure that he has a place to live, heat, electricity, and air? Who is going to do all of the things that I will no longer be able to do?
Many times he has told me that he wants to die when I die. He tells me that he doesn't want to live without me. I don't want that for him. I want him to live to a very old age. But, what have we done to make him want to?
Why do we allow our teachers, principals, administrators, legislators, etc. to hold our children's lives in their hands? Why do we continue to allow these people to destroy our children's futures and lives? Why are these people not held accountable for their neglect and abuse?
What is going to happen to the other children like Jake? Society doesn't care. They see our children as a drain on taxes, a nuisance in the classroom, a hindrance to their children's education.
I have read more than one commentary that says that special education students shouldn't be in the classroom with their children. Their children are advanced students that will make a difference in the world and they need all of the resources that the school district has to help them attain their goal. Well, my child could have made a difference, too. But, the resources that he so desperately needed were not there. They were used on the students that would score high on tests and make the district look good. They were used on band uniforms that would make the district look affluent. They were used on AstroTurf that made our football team look better. They were used on a swimming pool to make the swimming team look better. They were used on an administrative center that make the district look as good as the county to the west.
I don't want anyone's pity. My son has blessed my life in so many ways. I want people to get angry. I want them to get as angry as I am and I want them to stand up and say, "I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore." I want millions to stand up and say that EVERY child is special and deserves a chance at a future. I want EVERY parent to go to bed at night knowing that their child has gotten EVERY chance at a successful future and that they can die without worry.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Charley Reese’s final column on how Washington D.C. operates - Omaha Republican | Examiner.com
Charley Reese’s final column on how Washington D.C. operates - Omaha Republican | Examiner.com
545 vs. 300,000,000 People
By Charlie Reese
By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in a foreign country it's because they want them in a foreign country ...
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Abusive and Negligent Principal Facing Criminal Charges
Education News
I wish that I could say this doesn't happen here, but it does. I have been to meetings in Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, and KCK that have educators that are ignoring abuse and neglect and then are hiding and changing records to cover themselves. I have been to meetings where five experts have written or called to give their expert opinions only to have the school districts state that they know better. Really?!! I have seen families face retaliation for standing up for their children and others. Not once. Not twice. Not three times. But, too many times to even keep track of anymore. I advised my Representative about these situations and he went to the district with that information. It gained him favor and made situations worse for our kids. Click on the link and read the whole article.
The parent of the student, who has proven to be an extremely strong, dedicated, relentless, and passionate advocate for her son; willing to take on the entire school district in order to ensure a safe and quality education for her son, stated that, “Mr. Raymond does not care about my son, and has never cared about him. He has never contributed anything to my son’s education, and has only threatened, intimidated, and harassed me because I will not allow him to violate my son’s civil rights. The only administrator that has been fair, worked with us, and done what was best for my son is Assistant Principal Sharron Archer, but because she is African-American, Raymond will not let me work with her. He told me that I could only speak with Assistant Principal Anne Greene, who is a first-year administrator or himself, the two white administrators that have mistreated my son. No other person in the district has even asked my son how he feels about what is happening to him. He does not feel safe at the school. I do not feel safe at the school, or why would I request a police escort? Enough is enough. Now that my son is a possible witness against Raymond and the others, I know that I am not sending him back there. They could do anything to him so that he would not be able to testify against them. Moody Middle School is not a safe place, even if the Superintendent Russo’s children go there. He better watch Mr. Raymond with his children too.”
I wish that I could say this doesn't happen here, but it does. I have been to meetings in Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, and KCK that have educators that are ignoring abuse and neglect and then are hiding and changing records to cover themselves. I have been to meetings where five experts have written or called to give their expert opinions only to have the school districts state that they know better. Really?!! I have seen families face retaliation for standing up for their children and others. Not once. Not twice. Not three times. But, too many times to even keep track of anymore. I advised my Representative about these situations and he went to the district with that information. It gained him favor and made situations worse for our kids. Click on the link and read the whole article.
The parent of the student, who has proven to be an extremely strong, dedicated, relentless, and passionate advocate for her son; willing to take on the entire school district in order to ensure a safe and quality education for her son, stated that, “Mr. Raymond does not care about my son, and has never cared about him. He has never contributed anything to my son’s education, and has only threatened, intimidated, and harassed me because I will not allow him to violate my son’s civil rights. The only administrator that has been fair, worked with us, and done what was best for my son is Assistant Principal Sharron Archer, but because she is African-American, Raymond will not let me work with her. He told me that I could only speak with Assistant Principal Anne Greene, who is a first-year administrator or himself, the two white administrators that have mistreated my son. No other person in the district has even asked my son how he feels about what is happening to him. He does not feel safe at the school. I do not feel safe at the school, or why would I request a police escort? Enough is enough. Now that my son is a possible witness against Raymond and the others, I know that I am not sending him back there. They could do anything to him so that he would not be able to testify against them. Moody Middle School is not a safe place, even if the Superintendent Russo’s children go there. He better watch Mr. Raymond with his children too.”
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Appeals Court Backs Parents in Special Education Placement - The School Law Blog - Education Week
Appeals Court Backs Parents in Special Education Placement - The School Law Blog - Education Week
The school district appealed to the 10th Circuit court, where it was joined in a friend-of-the-court brief by the National School Boards Association and the state school boards' groups for five of the six states that make up the 10th Circuit: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah. (Wyoming is the sixth state in the circuit.)
"School districts should not be responsible for unilateral residential placements made for medical purposes," the NSBA brief says. "Such responsibility is not only beyond the range of their competence and funding but also exceeds the requirements of the IDEA."
Meanwhile, the parents drew the support of the Obama administration, with the U.S. Department of Justice filing a friend-of-the-court brief on their side that was also signed by a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Education.
"This court should join the majority of circuit courts of appeals and adopt a test that a school district is liable under the IDEA for the cost of a residential placement, less the cost of medical treatment that can be provided only by a licensed physician, if the child's mental-health needs are so significantly intertwined with his or her educational needs that educational services cannot be provided without some mental-health treatment," the federal brief says.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Police probe 'kill list' at Lee's Summit school | Local News - KMBC Home
Police probe 'kill list' at Lee's Summit school | Local News - KMBC Home
One parent notified took to television airways to vent frustration at what she called a lack of communication on part of the district. In a report that aired Jan. 4 on KSHB Channel 41 Action News, the parent questioned the district’s urgency in the matter.
According to the report, the mother said school officials told her they’d found the list of five students – including her daughter – in an agenda, or planner, Dec. 7, but the mother wasn’t notified that day.
“They waited a week to contact me and let me know my daughter is on the list,” the woman told 41 Action News. “They said ‘We have investigated, but we couldn’t find out who the planner belonged to.’ They didn’t speak to the students on the list, and now my daughter is afraid to go to school.”
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Missouri's Grade
http://reportcard.studentsfirst.org/state-detail?state=Missouri&utm_medium=email&utm_source=StudentsFirst&utm_content=Get+the+grade+Find+out+how+well+STATENAMEyour+state+is+doing+on+everything+from+education+spending+to+school+choice&utm_campaign=20130107ReportCardLaunch&source=20130107ReportCardLaunch
Currently, Missouri's education policies do not prioritize great teaching, empowering parents with quality choices, or allocating resources wisely to raise student achievement. The state is behind when it comes to enacting critical education reforms. Missouri has moved to improve its educator evaluations, but the new system is not meaningful, and districts are not required to link student performance, educator performance, and personnel decisions. The state should free teachers locked into the state's existing pension systems by offering more attractive, portable retirement options. Missouri could empower parents more by providing meaningful information regarding school and teacher performance. The state recently strengthened accountability for public charter schools and expanded authorization, both positive steps forward. State policy should prioritize the establishment and replication of high-performing schools as well. Finally, Missouri should allow mayors to take control in low-performing districts and strengthen the state's ability to intervene in low-performing schools.
Currently, Missouri's education policies do not prioritize great teaching, empowering parents with quality choices, or allocating resources wisely to raise student achievement. The state is behind when it comes to enacting critical education reforms. Missouri has moved to improve its educator evaluations, but the new system is not meaningful, and districts are not required to link student performance, educator performance, and personnel decisions. The state should free teachers locked into the state's existing pension systems by offering more attractive, portable retirement options. Missouri could empower parents more by providing meaningful information regarding school and teacher performance. The state recently strengthened accountability for public charter schools and expanded authorization, both positive steps forward. State policy should prioritize the establishment and replication of high-performing schools as well. Finally, Missouri should allow mayors to take control in low-performing districts and strengthen the state's ability to intervene in low-performing schools.
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