"Broadbrush Attack Parent" or "Alienated Parent" - Whatever

Here is another perspective on the "war between the teacher and the public".

Maybe I should claim to be an alienated parent. My first rebuttal would be that I only asked for an appropriate program, and never asked for the most effective. After all, I was not a professional teacher, I was simply a parent of a disabled kid. How could a simple parent, especially one with a disabled kid, even come close to knowing what is the most effective program? Why would I argue with a professional who told me that they knew what was right for my child, at the same time those professionals kept pointing out that what was happening, in their own classroom, was wrong for my child.


Maybe it was because my son entered the classroom without a funding mandate. Deaf/blind is one of those high cost mandates. Little did I know that the regular kids were privy to programs that did not force the school system to seek less costly ways to meet whatever mandate that regular kids come under.

Or, are regular ed kids not seen as "an extra burden"? Regular ed kids get to walk through the front door of the school without the big red "UM" (unfunded mandate) emblazoned on their shirt.

Maybe the school system can put a little logo right next to the handicap emblems on the short buses: "Unfunded Mandate Kids Ride This Bus".

Top Ten: Issues Impacting School Administrators:

"Unfunded Mandates The U.S. school system is designed as a collection of locally controlled districts. But inevitably, state and federal regulations and programs influence how a local district must operate.
Laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act call upon schools to provide services or accommodations, but the mandates often do not include funding to carry out the provisions of the law.
When state and federal governments require schools to adopt certain policies or establish specific programs without providing the money needed to do so, schools often are between a rock and a hard place: Ignore a federal or state mandate and risk punitive action, or slash other programs to free funds and meet the unfunded mandates.
Without the money to carry out a program, a district often is put in the position of seeking less costly ways of meeting a mandate, which can alienate parents who believe their children are entitled to the most effective program, regardless of cost."