Search Results for: blog education news

How School Dress Codes Can Harm Your Daughter’s Education

Does the school your children attend have a dress code? Many of them do. Some schools opt for a specific, very limited, dress code. Others are a little less stringent. While a dress code might annoy your son, school dress codes can harm your daughter’s education. Here are some things for parents to watch out for. Ideally, a school dress code is designed to equalize students. Everyone has to wear the same type of uniform, with limited variations. (Typical variations include skirts for girls and pants for boys). Schools might choose to only allow clothing of specific colors. The goal … Continue reading →

The Sequester Will Affect Special Education

Scan through the news this week, and you are sure to find the word “sequester” popping up a lot. If Congress cannot manage to come to an agreement about how to balance the budget, it will result in a lot of funding cuts beginning on March 1, 2013. Here is a quick roundup of how those cuts will affect Special Education this year. The source for this data comes from WhiteHouse.gov. Alabama * Loss of $11 million in funding for primary and secondary education * 150 teacher and aide jobs at risk * Additional loss of $9 million in funds … Continue reading →

Special Education and the 2012 Election

Across the nation, Americans were asked to cast their vote on issues relating to special education. Voters were asked about funding for special education in several propositions. You may have voted for a candidate because you agreed with his or her views about Special Education. Here is a brief review of the results that could affect your child’s education. In St. Louis County, Missouri, Proposition S was on the ballot. It asked voters if they wanted to allow a 19 cent tax levy to take effect. The money would be used for the Special School District of St. Louis County, … Continue reading →

Blogging From the Personal Side of Parenting

The internet has a wealth of information about a vast variety of special needs. It is fairly easy to look up medical information or news articles regarding a special need. Sometimes, it can be comforting to read a blog written by a parent about the personal side of parenting a child who has a special need. Here are a few interesting ones to explore. Parents can get online and quickly look up symptoms, recommended diets, help with IEPs, and news about health insurance coverage for their child’s special needs. What about if all you want is some conformation that your … Continue reading →

Zombies, Playgrounds, and News Updates

There is always a wide variety of topics that appear on the Special Needs Blog. This week, there are blogs that update previous news stories, information about a Zombie Walk, and places to find inclusive playgrounds that can accommodate kids with special needs. These blogs appeared between September 17, 2012, and September 22, 2012. The Trailers are Still Being Used Last year, a public school in Missouri placed the Special Education classrooms into two trailers, that were not located on the grounds of the elementary school. Parents were upset, and threatened to remove their kids from the school if the … Continue reading →

School Vouchers, Medications, and Special Education

This week, the Special Needs Blog focused on topics such as the school voucher program in Ohio, information about the IEP, problems with bussing, and lots of news about medications. This Week In Review is quite the variety pack! Here is a quick review of the blogs that appeared here between August 28, 2012, and September 1, 2012. An Update on Ohio’s School Vouchers Ohio has a school voucher that is called The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship. It can be used by any student, who has any type of special need, and who is a public school, private school, … Continue reading →

Illinois School Earns Award for Special Education

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Most of the time, if a news article talks about Special Education, it is because the news is bad. It is incredibly refreshing to hear a story about a school that has an excellent Special Education program. A school in Elgin, Illinois, has been granted a very high honor by an important national organization. It seems to me that we hear three or four negative stories about things happening in Special Education before we hear one that talks about a positive situation. I’m not sure if this is because bad news, scandalous behavior, and words of hate, fly faster across … Continue reading →

Principal Suspended For Comments About Special Education Students

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A principal in Pennsylvania is in trouble for referring to a special needs student as a psychopath. This happened during a school meeting with the student and his mother. The principal sent the comment by text message. A meeting took place at Oxford Area High School, a public school in Pennsylvania. The meeting included principal David Madden, a student, and the student’s mother. The meeting also included Lisa Lightner, who is from the Arc of Chester County. During the meeting, Principal David Madden sent several text messages. I’m not sure exactly who the messages were intended to be read by. … Continue reading →

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – June 24 – 30, 2012

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Every week, the Special Needs Blog Week in Review brings you a quick summary of each of the blogs that were posted here in the past seven days. It makes it easier for you to find out about the ones that you might have missed. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on June 25, 2012. This week, I’d like to point out an episode of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday”. The episode was called “Planes, Patience, and Slightly Kid-Friendlier Security”. This is a good one to listen to for parents who will be traveling by plane with their children this … Continue reading →

Trailers, Instead of Classrooms, For Special Education Students

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A school district in Missouri is facing anger from parents. The school has been conducting Special Education classes in trailers and segregating students who have special needs away from their peers. Parents want their kids to have a classroom inside the building. The school district says they don’t have the funds to make any changes. The current trend in Special Education emphasizes inclusion. Historically, the pendulum of public opinion swings from wanting all students who have special needs to be isolated from the general population to wanting all students to be together, regardless of special needs. As a former teacher, … Continue reading →