We need to be better at informing parents of special education availability and process. Currently the district tends to hide what is available in the interest of cost savings.
We need to push for greater circuit breaker reimbursement. We need to call for earlier state intervention to help with borderline case decisions, and enlist the aid of outside organizations to provide parents with unbiased counseling regarding their rights.
We also need to help parents understand the legal limits required by special education laws to reduce false hope.
We should also create a local hearing body consisting of parents, staff, administration, and school committee members to hear disputes and render a non-binding recommendation.
