Special Needs Stimulus Perspectives and a Few Harsh Words

• Education Week writes about caution around the all the new funding that will go to schools for special needs. The sudden flood of funding may help a landscape that has been in a fiscal drought for years but provides no promise of sustained funding. One school's experience suggests how complex these decisions may be:

... Judith Johnson ... will be able to use stimulus money to preserve about five teaching positions in next year’s proposed budget. However, the stimulus measure didn’t prevent the district from sending layoff notifications last week to some 50 staff members, including teachers, clerical employees, and custodians. The employees who may end up being laid off at the end of this school year represent about 10 percent of the district’s staff.

• Similarly, Administrators Ponder Best Use for Special Education Stimulus Funds
• From New York an editorial on federal stimulus should be tapped to restore special needs education. The resident of Pearl River wants money to make up for cost-of-living-increases, day rehabilitation services for adults with special needs and out-of-home residential care.
• Harsh words from the parent of a special needs student on IEPs and transportation. To better understand how parents can feel about this, it's well worth checking out the whole stream of discussions.