Monday Rundown: Stimulus, Gaffe (Again), Problems in Canada

• In Massachusets, Gov. Deval Patrick was set to order $290 million in federal for special education services. The state's education secretary said these funds are critical. "There are many very talented teachers in schools ... who have dedicated their careers to educating students with special needs," S. Paul Reville stated. "The announcement ... will directly support their work and improve the educational opportunities of all students."
• Meanwehile, education officials in Connecticut see flaws in the federal stimulus aid aimed at their state. The Hartford Courant Reports, "...$243 million is targeted to special education programs or Title 1 schools, which have a high percentage of poor children. Federal rules appear to require that the money go to new initiatives, so a school system can't just backfill a general budget shortage with the money. That's why many educators fear they could be powerless to avoid regular education layoffs while at the same time having either to hire extra special education or Title 1 staff — or give back the stimulus money."
• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who apparently is an international coach of the Special Olympics, defended President Obama over the gaffe that on "The Tonight Show" that caught a lot of heat last week. "I know where his heart is at. He loves the Special Olympics and he would do everything he can to help the Special Olympics. And every one of us sometimes makes a mistake by something comes out of your mouth and you say, 'Oops I wish I wouldn't have said that.' I've had many of those," Gov. Schwarzenegger said.
• It's not yellow school buses, but the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting that special needs transit buses are "rife with problems." Concerns include "accounts of drivers dropping mobility-challenged customers at the curb [and] leaving them to walk to their residence by themselves" and a "lack of driver training for handling individuals in wheelchairs."
• Is there a kid on the bus who just can't sit in his/her seat or just fidgets so much s/he falls right out? You may know a kid with SPD (sensory processing disorder). A parent of a child with special needs explains that the disorder "causes him to engage in activities that 'feed' his need for a lot of sensory input."
  

Olympic-sized Presidential Gaffe and More Talk on Funding

• The Obama Administration is pledging an additional $5 billion for early-preschool education as part of a a five year educaiton reform plan.
  
• During his appearance on "The Tonight Show" President Barack Obama attemped a joke, saying that his bowling (score: 129) was "like the Special Olympic or something." But, before the joke aired, the president was apologizing to the chairman of the Special Needs Olympics. Needless to day, the phrase and even the apology are taking a lot of heat in the blogosophere.
• Meanwhile, in Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is joining some other Republican governors in rejecting a portion of the federal stimulus money bound for her state. According to to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin has rejected 30 percent of the money designated for Alaska. The biggest chunk of that, some $170 million, is intended for education, including money that would go for programs to help economically disadvantaged and special needs students. That's upsetting some Alaksa school leaders.
  

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.

Hot Topics and Slow Dollars

• Like Molases: Stimulus money is coming, but many districts will have to wait. One Texas district expects to wait months to see the first trickles of a $100 million stream over the next two years.
• Too Hot to Touch: About.com's Special Needs blog spins off an idea from NPR with its list of Ten Toxic Special Needs Topics. On the top of the list of hot-button issues in special needs discussions: peanut bans.
• On that note... NPR also looks at an experiment that takes a bite out of peanut allergies.
  
• The Examined Life: A special needs parent asks if sometimes 'we' coddle special needs children too much. While another parent looks at how best to discipline her special needs teen.
  

New Video: Installing STAR

As we ramp up for the this year's School Transportation News Conference EXPO and Trade Show, this week we add another new video from the 2007 EXPO. In this video, SafeGuard IMMI's Charlie Vitts shows attendees how to install and remove the company's SafeGuard STAR child safety restraint system.

After the Ride: Job Numbers Grim for People With Disabilities

Occasionally, we look at how schools prepare special needs riders for life after the bus ride ends. Transition planning often includes travel training on how to use public transit systems and getting them ready for the working world. But like everywhere else opportunities here are shrinking. "In February, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities rose to 14 percent compared with 8.7 percent for the rest of the population ... Meanwhile, just 19.8 percent of people with disabilities are employed compared to 64.8 percent for the rest of the population." Indiana University East Disability & Community Blog laments:

For many students with disabilities, becoming a productive citizen is a deciding factor in whether they can enjoy the liberties of a democratic society. People with disabilities are often dependent upon social services to provide a variety of supports that make it possible for them to be employed. It can take months if not years to get agency help coordinated in ways that make employment possible. It is a daunting task to start the support process all over again when a job falls through.

Texas Team Takes Home 2009 Roadeo Crown

As promised, results from the 2009 National Special Needs Team Roadeo during the Transporting Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers 18th National Conference & Exhibition. From our Web site:

Jeffery Brown and Deanna Mallow of Kileen, Texas, took home the first place trophy after a hotly contested 2009 National Special Needs Team Roadeo during the Transporting Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers 18th National Conference & Exhibition.

The economy appeared to have something to do with smaller total conference attendance numbers than from recent years, and only 16 teams competed this year down from 30 in 2008. But that fact did not keep the participants from pushing each other in such skills tests as evacuations, railroad crossings and child passenger seat restraints. Brown and Mallow held off Lynea Brown and Michael Ingraham of Falcon, Colo., by just five points. Finishing in third place was Suzanne Gettings and Lee Ann Ovens of Penn Yann, N.Y.

The event was held in freezing cold temperatures on Feb. 28 at Decatur Intermediate Learning Center. The larger conference concluded on March 4.

Look for more on the conference in our April issue. For now, some a photo of the winners: