Here's How Secretary of Education, DeVos will Destroy Special Needs Programs

One of Betsy DeVos' favorite programs makes special-needs kids give up federal benefits

·         Writer: Chris Weller

School-voucher programs — systems in which public funds are diverted to help kids attend private schools — are contentious for a number of reasons.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been a vocal advocate for voucher programs, but critics say they can drain funds from public schools, increase rates of segregation, and, according to some research, offer few actual benefits to the students who use them.

For parents, vouchers create a more immediate dilemma: In many states, special-needs kids who use vouchers must surrender the federal protections afforded to them by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

These benefits include certain legal protections if a child acts out in school, a guarantee to receive an education on par with a public-school student, and protections regarding the teacher's qualifications.

It's a paradox that often eliminates the desire to use the voucher, and one that sees many students returning to public school within a few years, according to the New York Times.

"The private schools are not breaking the law," special-education lawyer Julie Weatherly told the Times. In several states, including Colorado, Arizona, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, private schools are free to make it a condition of attending the school that parents and kids must waive their federal rights.

In other states, schools are free to decide for themselves, as the law makes no mention one way or another.

Secretary DeVos has held up school vouchers as an example of "school choice," or the ability for parents to pluck their kids from a public school and drop them in a private or home school. On several occasions, she has compared the value of picking schools in a free market to the luxury of choosing Uber or Lyft over a taxi.

The laws regarding special-needs vouchers may signal a roadblock in making education more like a private good.

In Wisconsin, for example, these vouchers cost public school districts $2.4 million in state aid. The money helped fund 202 students with disabilities to attend private schools. Critics of the Wisconsin voucher program, such as the family coalition Stop Special Needs Vouchers, arguethe laws leave private schools free to ignore IDEA's protections, which makes voucher programs less effective yet still costly to taxpayers and possibly detrimental to public schools.

Proponents of vouchers make similar arguments as DeVos and President Trump. In the most conventional view, vouchers give parents the freedom to place their children where they'll learn best. Advocates say the long-term effect is a system in which kids are sorted more effectively, with fewer wasted costs.

Mark Dynarski, an education researcher and voucher expert, says vouchers are still a fairly minor force in American education. On a yearly basis, waves of kids move in and out of a given public school due to changes of address — and they do so at rates far exceeding those of vouchers.

"Given the kinds of waves happening inside schools," Dynarski recently told Business Insider, "it's hard to see how vouchers actually cause the school to stop what they're doing and say, 'We need a plan to respond.'"

Court Agrees - Disney Discriminated Against Autistic Kids

Disney Discriminated Against Autistic Kids, Says Florida Civil Rights Commission; Appeal Filed In Federal Case

Florida’s top civil rights agency has again found that Walt DisneyParks and Resorts discriminated against several children living with autism and their families. In five separate rulings issued May 11, the Florida Commission on Human Relations says that an “unlawful practice occurred” when “Complainant and Complainant’s son were deprived of full enjoyment of the facility.” This comes as an attorney today filed a notice of appeal in a recently tossed federal lawsuit claiming Disney discriminated against families of children with autism and other developmental disorders in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Taking into account the five previous FCHR rulings of February last year against Disney, it bring to 13 the number of occasions the Sunshine State division has found against Florida’s largest employer in the matter of children with the brain development disorder and their loved ones visiting the likes of Walt Disney World. “Complainant was able to demonstrate that Complainant and Complainant’s son were denied a reasonable accommodation in a place of public accommodation for the son’s cognitive disability,” says FCHR executive director Michelle Wilson in one of the correspondences (read it here) that went out last week. “Although Respondent provided an accommodation, it was a blanket accommodation that was supposed to apply to all cognitive disabilities. Respondent failed to consider the son’s specific disability when offering a reasonable accommodation.”

Disney did not respond today to request for comment on that matter. The FCHR ruling permits a Complainant to file a civil suit against a Respondent within a year of the signing of the determination if efforts at relief or concilation fail.

Whether or not it has an impact on future legal proceedings, the response from the FCHR comes less than two weeks after U.S. District Judge Anne Conway granted Disney’s motion for summary judgment and shut down plaintiffs A.L. and D.L.’s case against the media giant’s parks. At the time, the plaintiffs’ Tampa-based lawyer Andy Dogali told Deadline, “the opinion is unsound, and we continue to evaluate our options.” That evaluation was obviously completed as Dogali on Monday put forth paperwork (read it here) to shift the matter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

This all started in the courts in April 2014 in California when 16 children and young adults with autism and other developmental disorders along with their guardians and parents filed ADA violations against Disney Parks and Resorts. The complaints alleged that the House of Mouse’s October 2013 implemented Disability Access Service was completely unsuited to the needs of individuals with such special needs as the plaintiffs. The DAS was intended as a replacement for the longstanding Guest Assistance Card program in an effort to halt perceived scams — such as well-heeled patrons hiring disabled individuals to travel around Disneyland and other parks with them so they could get on rides without waiting.

The initial complaint claimed that the new system resulted in long waits for rides and other entertainment, which often led to “meltdown behaviors” for the children. “We fully comply with all ADA requirements and believe that the legal claims are without merit,” said Disney at the time.

In time, the company got the case moved to more corporate friendly Florida.

Although they took a drubbing from the FCHR last year and had to face dozens of individual lawsuits on the matter detailing specific instances of “horrible experiences” plaintiffs had at the likes of Disney World under the DAS system, the corporation did see the case of A.L. and D.L. dismissed last month. But that isn’t the end and now Disney and its lawyers from the West Palm Beach, L.A. and D.C. offices of Kaye Scholer LLP may have to fight off the families all over again.

4 Major Companies Are Tackling The Autism Unemployment Epidemic

Learning 4 Major Companies Are Tackling The Autism Unemployment Rate Gave Me a Bit of Hope for Nick's future. 

Thank God we live in a country where private industry can focus on social good, and make an impact in our communities. Thank you Microsoft, Walgreens, Freddie Mac and SAP! 

We have a Walgreens down the street where Nick get's his prescriptions. They are like an extension of our family, always asking how he is doing, giving him compliments. This makes me wonder, maybe Nick can work there one day! 

For adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, employment prospects are often disappointingly few and far between.According to a 2013 report published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the underemployment starts early. Just over 50 percent of young adults with ASD worked for pay outside the home within eight years after they finished high school. And when they did, the work was part-time and low-paying more often than not. Only about 20 percent of young adults with ASD worked full-time at either a current or a most-recent job, and their average pay was just $8.10 an hour.

In total, the combined unemployment and underemployment for young adults with autism is estimated at 90 percent nationwide. People with ASD were said to have a worse “no participation” rate of unemployment than any other disability group tracked in a separate 2012 study from Washington University in St. Louis. Bt it doesn’t have to be this way. As noted in a 2014 report published in the Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, some people with ASD possess a number of particular traits and attributes that are in-demand among employers, such as excellent visual perception and the ability to remain highly focused in certain situations.

Recognizing this, increasing numbers of businesses large and small are stepping up to not only recruit and employ adults with ASD, but to do so in a way that provides adequate support to ensure their talents and skills are put to use in an effective and sustainable way, benefitting both employer and employee.

There is a long way to go, according to Leslie Long, vice president of adult services at the national ASD advocacy group Autism Speaks, which late last month launchedTheSpectrumCareers.com, a jobs portal aimed at promoting inclusive employment of the autism community. “More progress needs to be made because there’s a whole population of individuals that need competitive employment,” Long told The Huffington Post. “We need to have a continued, sustained discussion on this topic.”

Below are examples of the work several major companies are doing to foster workplaces that are inclusive of people with ASD. Long is hopeful their work will inspire others to take similar steps.

"I still want to see the impact," Long said. "The leadership on this has to be across the board, at all levels for a change to happen."

1. Freddie Mac 

In this July 13, 2008, file photo, Freddie Mac Corporate Office are seen in McLean, Virginia.

McLean, Virginia-based mortgage-finance firm Freddie Mac has been hiring recent college graduates with autism as paid interns through a partnership with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network since 2011. The graduates come from fields including computer science, mathematics or finance. ASAN helps the company train managers who help the interns acclimate to corporate life and also assists with crafting job descriptions for the company.

In a 2014 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Aaron Cohen, the firm’s first full-time hire as a result of the partnership, said, “[I]t’s a good fit for me. I like number crunching; that's always something I've liked doing.” Cohen, a data analyst in the firm’s information-technology department, has Asperger’s syndrome.

Stephanie Roemer, Freddie Mac’s diversity manager, told Reuters in 2013 that the program has been a success.

"Historically, there seemed to be a certain perception of this population as being incapable of performing corporate level work,” Roemer said. “In reality people on the spectrum offer so much to an organization ... willing to think outside of the box and view this cadre of talent as a 'value add.’”

2. Microsoft 

The Visitor's Center at Microsoft Headquarters campus is pictured July 17, 2014 in Redmond, Washington. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Last month, Microsoft announced it is launching a small pilot program where it will hire people with autism for full-time positions in collaboration with Specialisterne, a Danish firm that assists with job training for people with autism. The program will begin in May with 10 candidates.

“Microsoft is stronger when we expand opportunity and we have a diverse workforce that represents our customers,” Mary Ellen Smith, the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant’s corporate vice president of worldwide operations, wrote in a company blog post on April 3. Smith's 19-year-old son was diagnosed with autism when he was 4 years old. "We believe there is a lot of untapped potential in the marketplace and we are encouraged by the strong level of readiness from the vendors who cater to this segment."

Microsoft previously hosted a hackathon aimed at developing new tech tools that could help families dealing with autism.

3. SAP 

German software company SAP is another major firm that has partnered with Specialisterne to help people with autism find employment opportunities. In 2012,SAP launched the pilot version of its Autism at Work Initiative in India and later expanded it to Ireland. In India, according to Specialisterne, six people with autism have been hired as software testers. SAP offices in the U.S., Canada and Germany are now using the program, too.

According to the San Francisco Gate, the company’s eventual goal is that 1 percent of its global workforce will be people with ASD.

Jose Velasco, the head of SAP’s U.S. autism initiative, told the Gate that the company remains committed to the program’s continued rollout to the Czech Republic, Brazil and elsewhere “because of the business value and innovation promise it delivers.” 

“This is not about social responsibility or philanthropy,” Velasco continued. “SAP values the unique skills and abilities that people with autism bring to the workplace.”

4. Walgreens 

Walgreens, based in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, is another corporate leader when it comes to this issue. The company employs a high number of individuals with autism and other disabilities at a distribution center in Anderson, South Carolina, which it opened in 2007. The pilot program in Anderson had such strong results -- the facility turned out to be the company’s most productive, and more than 200 other companies have toured it -- that Walgreens expanded the model to other distribution centers.

The program was spearheaded by Randy Lewis, formerly a senior vice president of the company. Lewis’ own son, Austin, has autism.

"People come to me and say, will this work in my environment? Yes, it will. This is not just a good thing to do, the right thing to do. This is better," Lewis told ABC News of the Anderson facility in 2008.

In addition, Walgreens has built a mock store in Evanston, Illinois, as part of a workplace training program for individuals with ASD and other disabilities. It established the program in partnership with the Have Dreams Academy.

Walgreens intends to hire and train more people with autism to work in its stores.

Employment and The Rising Cost of Autism

Another reason to create employment opportunities for individuals with Autism. 

They contribute more, and you contribute less. 

Do You Live In 1 of the 10 Best States For People With Disabilities?

The 10 Best States For People With Disabilities Was A Surprise to Me! 

I expected California to do better. At the sametime I've been watching families face more and more challenges identifying and getting services. Frightening. Maybe a move will be in our future.
Donna

Eleanor Goldberg 
Impact editor, The Huffington Post

So, what does it take for a state to foster a comfortable and safe environment for people with disabilities?

According to the United Cerebral Palsy’s most recent ranking of the best states for people with disabilities, there are five distinct categories. It requires promoting independence, keeping families together, encouraging productivity, reaching those in need and tracking health, safety and quality of life.

The 2015 Case for Inclusion report came back with some disappointing figures. Waiting lists for residential and community services remain high and unemployment rates have increased among this demographic. 

In just eight states, 33 percent of people with disabilities have competitive employment. That’s down from 10 last year.

Still, a number of states have made some marked improvement, and these are the 10 best for people living with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

·         10

Ohio

Ohio "dramatically" increased the number of individuals and resources committed to serving the disability community and cut the number of people being served in large institutions by more than half, according to the 2015 Case for Inclusion report. It rose from No. 48 in 2007, to No. 10 in 2015.

·         9

South Carolina

The report found that improving conditions for people with disabilities doesn't necessarily require enormous wealth. South Carolina was the 44th poorest state, based on median income, yet it was No. 9 in terms of quality of life for people with disabilities. 

·         8

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. is one of 14 states that reported having no state institutions that seclude people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. 

·         7

Minnesota

Minnesota is among 14 states that offers support services to a large number of families caring for a relative with disabilities. Such programs allow families to stay together and enable people with disabilities to live in a community setting, according to the 2015 Case for Inclusion report. 

·         6

Colorado

Colorado is one of eight states that are top performers in the “home-like setting standard" category. That means that 80 percent of people with disabilities live in their own home, a family home, or group setting that has fewer than four residents.

·         5

Hawaii

Hawaii is one of 10 states where at least 10 percent of people with disabilities use self-directed services, according to the 2015 Case for Inclusion report. That means they have more control, and are more involved in decision-making matters, when it comes to their Medicaid services. 

·         4

New York

Since 1960, 220 state institutions have closed. By next year, 16 more are expected to be shuttered, which include two in New York. Activists often argue that such large institutions segregate people with disabilities from society and also aren't cost efficient, Amber Smock wrote in a blog post for American Association of People with Disabilities. 

·         3

Missouri

Missouri jumped from No. 41 in 2007 to No. 3 this year by increasing the amount of resources allocated to people with disabilities and closing six state institutions, among other noteworthy improvements.

·         2

Maryland

Maryland is one of just eight states where at least 33 percent of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are working in competitive employment. That’s down from 10 stateslast year, according to the 2015 Case of Inclusion report. 

·         1

Arizona

While Arizona ranked No. 1 overall, the 2015 Case for Inclusion report called on the state to still work toward making the state even more accessible for people with disabilities by promoting productivity, a category it came in at No. 41.

5 Minutes Can Stop Programs From Being Forced to Close as Dedicated Professionals Depart the Field Due to Poverty Wages

I won't be here forever to subsidize the entitlesment system when it fails my son and others with disabilities. However, I am here now and as a citizen and a taxpayer I have the right, no the obligation to fight for his rights, to protect him. So I am standing up for Nick, and for my own piece of mind. Will you take 5 minutes today and stand up with me, for the 85,000 individuals living in LA with developmental disabilities and their families? 

Los Angeles Must be Heard! ~ Rally in LA on Sept. 1 There are about 85,000 people with developmental disabilities living in Los Angeles County. That is nearly one-third of all people served by California’s Regional Centers. But, the critical decisions affecting their lives are made some 400 miles north, in Sacramento. It is agonizing to watch from a distance as our state leaders listen sympathetically, debate endlessly but then no action is taken to help us. As programs are forced to close and as dedicated professionals depart the field due to poverty wages, clients, families and organizations that serve them are struggling desperately. We can be silent no longer. Too many lives are at stake! We must tell our Los Angeles legislators that, while they vote in Sacramento, they should fight for the people they represent here in Los Angeles. They must stand up to the Governor right now and demand the emergency rate relief we need. Let’s tell them! Deliver the Message in Person at a Rally in LA on September 1 Join us at the Los Angeles District Office of Senator Kevin de Leon on Tuesday, September 1 at 11 a.m.  We hope to have 100 people or more come to the Senator’s district office located at 1808 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles. Bring a short personal note urging him to fight for funding now for people with developmental disabilities. View sample note (PDF) View sample note (Word) For more information contact Steve Miller atsteve.sj.miller@gmail.com or 818.540.5275. (Steve Miller is the former executive director of Tierra del Sol and now advocates for families and service providers.) Can't Make It To The Rally? ~ Show Your Support Via Phone or E-mail Deliver the Message by Phone Call Senator de Leon’s District Office at 213.483.9300. Tell them to please tell Senator de Leon to fight for funding now for people with developmental disabilities. View sample phone message (PDF) E-mail Your Message to Senator de Leon Send an e-mail athttp://sd24.senate.ca.gov/contact/email Fill out the e-mail form and use the comment box to urge the Senator to fight for developmental disabilities funding now. View sample e-mail message (PDF) See which zip codes Senator Kevin de Leon serves in the Los Angeles area. View list