Mariah and I testified before the Florida Senate Education Committee in support of SB 1108. We traveled with the newly formed 45 day old, ESE Reform Taskforce of S. Florida group. A group of parents that drove from South Florida to testify and tell our IEP and Special Education stories to our State Senators on behalf of Senate Bill 1108. Mariah Harris, a 6th grader attending Parkway Middle School and included in the S.T.E.M. Magnet Program testified and spoke an awesome public speech telling the Florida State Senators why she wants to be "taught to learn and earn a real High School Diploma, because she wants to go to College to be a Vet Tech!" The Bill passed unanimously with all in favor to pass in a 8-0 vote! This was exciting to be part of and to see Mariah read her speech before live TV and Newspaper Reporters taking notes! Mariah did an awesome job especially for it being her first major public speaking engagement. She was amazing to see her reading her speech! She was a natural public speaker! She enjoyed it and was professional about it!
Two days later House Bill, HB 465 was voted on unanimously 13-0 in favor as well! THIS is a huge win for PARENTS of children on IEP's!! This was a life dream for me to see my daughter well on her way to becoming a National Speaker! She is already thinking about her next speech! Her mother couldn't be prouder! *See Mariah on The Capitol Update from March 18th, 2013.Go to 21:08 on the Video to hear Sen. Andy Gardiner and Sen. John Thrasher present on S.B. 1108. A small snippet of Mariah's speech will follow. http://www.wuft.org/news/2013/03/19/proposed-education-bill-reported-favorably-out-of-fla-senate-committee/#.UUpurn9wxSg.gmail
"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Known as IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal program which provides funds to states and school districts to support education for children with disabilities age 3 to 21, according to: Kids Togetherwww.kidstogether.org. According to the site, the principle of the law is that children with disabilities should not be denied the same opportunities offered to everyone else, everyone gets access to public education and therefore so should children with disabilities. When a child meets the disability requirements of the law, school districts are obligated to prepare and implement an IEP designed to meet the unique needs of the child. The IEP becomes a legally-binding document." To read full article, click here: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/tomball/news/parent-of-special-needs-child-exhausted-by-education-struggles/article_dfe56468-7922-5601-b806-3fe7a4053a89.html
WOW!! This sounds just like what is happening in South Florida, in Broward County especially only more sloppy in how they sabotage well written IEP documents illegally! Parents ~ WAKE UP and stand together no matter what the disability of your Child! If the School District is systematically doing pretty much the same thing to all of our Children, then it absolutely is time to make sure you FILE Complaints with OCR! (Office of Civil Rights) How to file an OCR Complaint - Office of Civil Rights Click above link to learn more about Filing an OCR Complaint.
My stomach is in knots today. It is devastating to know our Children with unique learning challenges (disabilities) are systematically targeted mainly for the $MONEY$ they bring into a School District. Children with Special Needs not being provided a World Class Education as districts advertise on their websites and often times the districts phone message while waiting on HOLD so often is a LIE for many Students today! Those that draw a salary within the EDUCATIONAL BUSINESS today on all levels starting with our ESE Department District Administrators, Supervisors, Principals, School Psychologist and team leaders, school office staff and let's not forget the many Program Specialist on down to the School District Corporate Chain of commands from School Board Members the Public Voted them into their position to our Children's Teachers. These Educational Employees are the New CROOKS, THIEVES and LIARS known as the FAKE PEOPLE or the School District ROBOTS doing what they are instructed and told to do by someone in a higher position than them! It's a Dictatorship absolutely!! School District employees on all levels give you that oh so FAKE smile and canned conversation to make you believe they care. They may even say a friendly hello (like a cold dead fish!) and only give you the most minimal of small talk that avoids addressing any of the real issues of the day. District Level Administrators and the school Principals are only interested in your Child's $ MATRIX $ MONEY $ FUNDING $ and how to USE IT for things other than Educating our Children. EDUCATIONAL CRIMES on the backs of ESE Children that generate the $FUNDS$ into a school district. It's not about education anymore, it's about babysitting and stealing our Children's education, future goals and dreams. They all should be ashamed, it is so disgusting all the LIES & COVER-UP that goes on everyday in our Schools and the District! Our Children are being raped of an Education! How do so many School District Employees SLEEP-AT-NIGHT, when they do what they do on a daily basis as part of their JOB DUTIES? It has to create some sort of Criminal Mentality & Callousness towards people. How can so many school district staff employees systematically partake in daily EDUCATIONAL CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN as part of their daily job duties? It has to create A Stone Cold Heart in those people. How can so many Educational Employees do what they do to STUDENT after STUDENT, CHILD after CHILD, PARENT after PARENT and FAMILY after FAMILY? I think it's important to inform the Public how the Broward School District Legal Department Lawyers & Due Process employees TAKE OVER & CONTROL Special Education for the Districts Ultimate AGENDA. What that AGENDA is exactly I'm not sure, but there most certainly is an AGENDA. The Legal 'team' stop good parents from helping their Child or Children from receiving a 'world class education' from this school district. The Legal Department feel they have the power to illegally REWRITE and REDO a student's IEP, especially when a Parent exercises their Procedural Safeguard and ends up FILING for a DUE PROCESS. This has happened to me personally. This District is doing all they can to dumb down Student IEP goals and provide some students with a canned set of goals on IEP's, all with the very low grade level expectations. Sometimes the IEP goals are what the Student is already capable of doing, yet they push to get IEP goals written to be something that allows teachers and staff to bring down and dumb down ESE Students all around, starting with lower grade level IEP goals. It is disgusting what IEP teams are pushing & promoting at IEP meetings, daring parents to go ahead and FILE for a Due Process. Stealing our Children's Education & Dreams for their Future is an EDUCATIONAL WHITE COLLAR CRIME! Educational Criminals should carry a FELONY CHARGE! I have witnessed first hand the amount of LYING & HALF-TRUTHS turned into a complete lie, just to move on a School District's AGENDA and school Principal's AGENDA. I have experienced first hand blatant disregard, first of all for FEDERAL IDEA LAWS and more importantly disregarding Civil Rights of our Children. It is time for parents of students that are daily being victimized by our Public School Districts Agenda's to NOT PROVIDE "A World Class Education" to our Students with Disabilities. Students and Families that have instead experienced many forms of EDUCATIONAL CRIMES that are systematically being done daily to our Children in Special Education need to band together. This goes for our General Education Students and Families as well, as they too NEED Special Education Services but are being delayed and denied evaluations or interventions that would help them be successful...in the CURRENT school year! I have experienced first hand in Broward County Florida, just how much our Public School District on all levels, absolutely does not care about our (my) Children's Education. Our school district is in the business of using our Children's Special Education $FUNDS$ to do any number of things on the School Boards AGENDA, and certainly not the AGENDA of Providing a World Class Education to ALL Students, as part of their Advertising campaign. From the TOP DOWN, it is my personal experience that they are all EDUCATIONAL CRIMINALS (...and liars...) that should be slapped with FELONY CHARGES for GRAND THEFT many times over!! What is allowed to continue to go on with our Children's Educational Funding Dollars also known as the ESE Students MATRIX FUNDING is DISGUSTING! Parents of ESE Students in Broward County, it is time for ESE REFORM! A group of Parents in Broward County, Florida has recently formed a Grassroots group called; ESE REFORM TASKFORCE S.FLORIDA. Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/EseReformSFlorida
We are about ALL Students being provided a World Class Education.
I am a Special Education Advocate and Parent Trainer. A very proud parent to Mark and Mariah. Aunt Nana to many wonderful "Kiddo's" I hold close under my wing! Helping Parents Partner with Teachers. Helping with quality collaboration & communication so our Children with Unique Learning challenges are provided a Solid Education for their Future Success to Live Life Independently.
Shelley Moore: Transforming Inclusive Education
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Published on Apr 4, 2016
Shelley Moore, of The University of British Columbia, is one of the Top 25
finalists in SSHRC's 2016 Storytellers challenge.
The ...
Met her new teachers for 4th grade.
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Met my daughters new teachers for 4th grade. I like to set up a meeting
before schools starts to meet with Mariah's new teacher/s.This year our
little elem...
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