Waiver programs - question about scholarships

[Guest guest]

I admit I am not the most savvy on legislative issues and what can and can't

happen...

But on this waiver and scholarship thing that has really been bugging me since

I received my new Individual Service Plan with the dollar amount of $61,000.00

awarded to serve my son...

If they cannot provide to me the services that are approved through their

program and that they do provide for, attendant care, respite care, speech, ot,

recreational therapy, etc. --- then why can't I use that money to send my son to

a private school or an appropriate summer program? Using what I can of those

funds to pay for that?

That money is money set aside to provide services to my child... If they

can't do that, then why wouldn't I be able to choose to use that money to send

my son to a summer program for autism? Or to supplement a private school for

autism for my son?

Right now - the majority of that money set aside for my son is unused. Don't

know what proverbial closet it is sitting in collecting dust -- but is that like

so far out a thought????

That if the state cannot provide the services that are approved through the

program - that the parent should have the flexibility and option to use those

funds as a " scholarship " to pay for another service that would actually benefit

the child? Like a summer program, helping pay tuition to a private school or

camp, etc?

Sincerely,

M. Guppy

M. Guppy

Autism is a very silent world; but the potential in that world speaks

volumes.... Texas Autism Advocacy: www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

" There are some aspects of a person's life that we have no right to

compromise. We cannot negotiate the size of an institution. No one should live

in one. We cannot debate who should get an inclusive education. Everyone

should. We cannot determine who does and who does not get the right to make

their own choices and forge their own futures. All must. "

[Guest guest]

But , that is the same argument I use for why the public school

shouldn't pay me (or let me keep my tax money at least ) for homeschooling

my own son or send him to the school of my choice?

I agree with the idea wholeheartedly because when it comes to the CLASS

services. we have used the very minimum and all due to the lack of quality

of services that they offer. At least for the home-mods, let's get what we

need and then you could reimburse us with the money instead of waiting 18

months (so far) for their services.

Waiver programs - question about

scholarships

>I admit I am not the most savvy on legislative issues and what can and

>can't happen...

>

> But on this waiver and scholarship thing that has really been bugging me

> since I received my new Individual Service Plan with the dollar amount of

> $61,000.00 awarded to serve my son...

>

> If they cannot provide to me the services that are approved through their

> program and that they do provide for, attendant care, respite care,

> speech, ot, recreational therapy, etc. --- then why can't I use that money

> to send my son to a private school or an appropriate summer program?

> Using what I can of those funds to pay for that?

>

> That money is money set aside to provide services to my child... If they

> can't do that, then why wouldn't I be able to choose to use that money to

> send my son to a summer program for autism? Or to supplement a private

> school for autism for my son?

>

> Right now - the majority of that money set aside for my son is unused.

> Don't know what proverbial closet it is sitting in collecting dust -- but

> is that like so far out a thought????

>

> That if the state cannot provide the services that are approved through

> the program - that the parent should have the flexibility and option to

> use those funds as a " scholarship " to pay for another service that would

> actually benefit the child? Like a summer program, helping pay tuition to

> a private school or camp, etc?

>

> Sincerely,

> M. Guppy

>

>

> M. Guppy

> Autism is a very silent world; but the potential in that world speaks

> volumes.... Texas Autism Advocacy: www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

> " There are some aspects of a person's life that we have no right to

> compromise. We cannot negotiate the size of an institution. No one

> should live in one. We cannot debate who should get an inclusive

> education. Everyone should. We cannot determine who does and who does

> not get the right to make their own choices and forge their own futures.

> All must. "

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

MIchelle,

Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving appropriate

services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for children

with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over this.

is this true?

Haven

[Guest guest]

IIRC, was talking about other programs/funding that is allocated to her

son, not public school funding...but she can answer that better than I, and

correct me if I'm wrong...

FYI, I just priced private schools for my GT son, as an option for him (an

option we can't afford), and we'd be sunk with vouchers with my other son...the

voucher amounts wouldn't come remotely close to what the private schools cost,

and we simply cannot afford the difference. Besides, there's the uniform

issue...my son won't wear tucked shirts....and the fact that the few different

schools I looked at have behavior codes, and he simply could not adhere to

those. ly, I'd be putting him into a situation that would make him " stick

out " even more. But with vouchers, I'm afraid my public school system will

adopt a " take it or leave it " attitude. It's scary, really.

But we've gone over all of this already....

e

Haven wrote:

MIchelle,

Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving appropriate

services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for children

with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over this.

is this true?

Haven

[Guest guest]

" I'm afraid my public school system will

adopt a " take it or leave it " attitude. "

This is exactly why the scholarship bill was proposed last session.

This attitude is pervasive in our Texas public schools WITHOUT such a

program. Many children with autism are " sunk " already. Statistics show

that per student spending increases across the state in public schools

in states that have adopted one. Just because there is no desired or

affordable private school nearby does not mean this program will not

benefit someone who remains in the public school, nor does it mean

that there are not countless other children it could help. It's just

about giving parents the opportunity for an equal role in the

education plan of their child vs. setting goals and begging for

services for the children whose futures depend on it. Just providing

some options for those who would choose to exercise them, and would

eliminate the need for them to fight for years and bankrupt their

families through the sham of due process, as the child loses precious

time and the schools drain our taxpayer-funded school budgets funding

legal defense seminars and running the IEP process with attorneys. But

then we have gone over all of this already : )

And, yes, does support scholarships.

> MIchelle,

>

> Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving appropriate

> services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for children

> with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

>

> It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

> every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

> children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

>

> I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over this.

> is this true?

>

> Haven

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I just want you to know we got ALL the paperwork from the ARD! Thank you soooo

much for your help!!!

Lesli

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Re: Waiver programs - question about

scholarships

" I'm afraid my public school system will

adopt a " take it or leave it " attitude. "

This is exactly why the scholarship bill was proposed last session.

This attitude is pervasive in our Texas public schools WITHOUT such a

program. Many children with autism are " sunk " already. Statistics show

that per student spending increases across the state in public schools

in states that have adopted one. Just because there is no desired or

affordable private school nearby does not mean this program will not

benefit someone who remains in the public school, nor does it mean

that there are not countless other children it could help. It's just

about giving parents the opportunity for an equal role in the

education plan of their child vs. setting goals and begging for

services for the children whose futures depend on it. Just providing

some options for those who would choose to exercise them, and would

eliminate the need for them to fight for years and bankrupt their

families through the sham of due process, as the child loses precious

time and the schools drain our taxpayer-funded school budgets funding

legal defense seminars and running the IEP process with attorneys. But

then we have gone over all of this already : )

And, yes, does support scholarships.

> MIchelle,

>

> Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving appropriate

> services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for children

> with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

>

> It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

> every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

> children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

>

> I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over this.

> is this true?

>

> Haven

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Great news, Lesli! I just love it when the schools actually comply

with the law when presented to them : ) Such a rarity. Thanks for the

update.

> > MIchelle,

> >

> > Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving appropriate

> > services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for children

> > with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

> >

> > It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

> > every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

> > children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

> >

> > I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over this.

> > is this true?

> >

> > Haven

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I am willing to participate in whatever we have to do to get

vouchers/scholarships for my GS. We were so sick of a terrible situation in

public school that we have our own " private school " home school. It was so

bad in March of last year that we just withdrew him from school altogether.

I have rented a private classroom in a local church and I pay a young lady

with a BS degree to teach him 5 hrs. per day, general curriculum, ABA/VB

methods.. The change has been absolutely AMAZING in a short time he has

learned more than he did for an entire year at PISD. SO..can I afford this?

Hell no and it is killing me but what other choice do I have. I could not

afford private schools either, and when I could find one that would accept

him they were 50 miles away. (we now live in a rural area) but there are a

few public schools within a 45 mile range I might have considered with the

scholarship program.)

My GS regressed steadily from the beginning of 1st grade until the time we

pulled him out in March in favor of ABA based therapy. Despite repeated

requests, PISD would not let us transfer within the district to a more

desirable school with a superior program and we were just stuck with " too

bad this is all you can have " so we decided it was not enough and we went

our own way. I do not have the time to wait for them to get their shit

together to design a great program for equality of all schools. That will

take YEARS, And I truly believe that will never happen, there is always

going to be the Super Star districts and then there will be the also rans,

my GS deserves the BEST education. I wholeheartedly agree with the

voucher/scholarship program. It will not help everyone but for the dreamers

that think all children will be helped by denying them to some then they

need to realize that unless they have a toddler then help from the system

may arrive just a little too late for their own child. If more people

pulled their kids out of school, then the powers that be might take more

notice and consider the scholarships. If you have a child with Autism, you

do not have the luxury of waiting for the " big fix " . I also did not have the

nerves of steel to live day in and day out with fighting for my GS

rights..It was just tooo emotionally exhausting and you knew you were not

going to win a fight with a giant to begin with.

I was criticized in the past by list members for only thinking about " my

grandchild " and not the good of the masses..well if you think about it, If

there is a boat full of drowning people and you can only save one, you can

bet your butts it will be your own child. Most of the folks who are the

biggest critics of this program no longer even have school age

children..when it is no longer personal I can understand how they would

feel.

All in all, scholarships may not even help us since we are home schoolers by

choice but if it helps only a few I am still for it.

Chris

" Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do,

something to love, and something to hope for. "

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of e Slatton

Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 12:26 AM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Waiver programs - question about

scholarships

IIRC, was talking about other programs/funding that is allocated to

her son, not public school funding...but she can answer that better than I,

and correct me if I'm wrong...

FYI, I just priced private schools for my GT son, as an option for him (an

option we can't afford), and we'd be sunk with vouchers with my other

son...the voucher amounts wouldn't come remotely close to what the private

schools cost, and we simply cannot afford the difference. Besides, there's

the uniform issue...my son won't wear tucked shirts....and the fact that the

few different schools I looked at have behavior codes, and he simply could

not adhere to those. ly, I'd be putting him into a situation that would

make him " stick out " even more. But with vouchers, I'm afraid my public

school system will adopt a " take it or leave it " attitude. It's scary,

really.

But we've gone over all of this already....

e

Haven <hdelaygmail (DOT) <mailto:hdelay%40gmail.com> com> wrote:

MIchelle,

Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving appropriate

services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for children

with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over this.

is this true?

Haven

[Guest guest]

I agree that many of the smaller schools would probably adopt a the " take it

or leave it " attitude.

In addition, if schools won't follow Federal law (IDEA) why would they

follow a state law that would take funding out of their budget?

Tonya

[Guest guest]

How can there be an equal role if there are no options available other than

the local public school? Seems to me that it won't help and could hurt. I

can easily envision the small schools saying this is what we have, if you

don't like it, take your voucher and go elsewhere. For the majority of

families in TX, that simply isn't an option. Appropriate private schools

are not state-wide. They are clustered in the major metroplexes. For many

families, that simply isn't feasible since they are over 300 miles away even

IF they could afford to supplement the vouchers.

Tonya

[Guest guest]

" I'm afraid my public school system will

> adopt a " take it or leave it " attitude. "

I think this statement meant take what we offer, or leave it and take

your voucher and go elsewhere. This is a very real possibility since

like you said they already do that, it can get worse, the legislators

can also say, we gave you vouchers, that is your solution, you have

choice use it and go away, we don't need to do anything more to

improve public schools or TEA.

Given Texas's record and mentality on education and education

spending in general, this is a very likely scenario.

Nagla

> > MIchelle,

> >

> > Boy do I agree with you! Our children are NOT receiving

appropriate

> > services in the public schools and the time for vouchers for

children

> > with autism is NOW! So how can we make it happen?

> >

> > It is ridiculous that we have to go back and forth and fight for

> > every little thing when the truth is that they are not serving our

> > children and to me our children are being denied FAPE.

> >

> > I thought I heard a group of parents were suing the State over

this.

> > is this true?

> >

> > Haven

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >