BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION, SEPT. 30-Oct 2, 2016) — Since this is apparently the month that THE PLANET addresses “things you can’t talk about” in an America that allegedly cherishes free speech and a free press, let us deal — as September turns to October — with special education in public schools.

The discussion was prompted by Jenn Smith’s lengthy profile in The Boring Broadsheet of a Lee mom who wants the state the drop MCAS requirements for handicapped students that can’t do the work to get a diploma. Kelly Koperek wants the state to dismiss the requirement that to receive a 12th grade graduation diploma, students must pass a series of 10th-grade-level skills in basic subject areas. One of her sons has Down Syndrome and cannot meet those requirements. That is unfortunate, but it would water down every rightfully earned sheepskin if the state agrees.

The state’s “Competency Determination” for a diploma allows “special needs” kids to participate in graduation ceremonies. They walk on stage after their name is called like everyone else and receive a “Certificate of Attainment.” It is both compassionate to the handicapped and fair to the students who toiled four years to earn a diploma legitimately.

If Koperek’s petition succeeds, however, it will set back the cause of public-school reform irreparably. Forget the can of worms. This will open a silo of tarantulas. As it is currently constituted, the category of “Special Education” does enough damage by eating up huge amounts of resources while providing relatively little in return.

When Emotions Kick In Reason Vanishes

THE PLANET understands the emotions involved, having personal experience with “special needs” children. If we had the magic wand, there would be no Down, no handicaps, no disabilities. That’s not the real world, though. Fact is, even at the exorbitant rates at which taxpayers fund public schools, classrooms are “short of money.” America spends the most per-pupil in the world on public education but sees the smallest percentage of each dollar actually make its way into the classrooms. One of the reasons the money doesn’t trickle down to students is because of unsustainable salaries and benefit packages of public school employees. After they gets theirs, “Special Education” comes to the trough.

According to the Pittsfield School Department, Special Ed’s seeks to “minimize the disability and maximize the opportunities” for handicapped students. Sounds noble. In practice, however, due to an ever-expanding list of qualifying disabilities, Special Ed allows kids who will not and cannot learn into regular classrooms. Keep in mind, moreover, that Special Ed services are not limited to resources available within a district but are allocated solely on pre-defined student need. In other words, if the district doesn’t have a particular resource, taxpayers are forced to fund it regardless of the cost, a one-size-fits-all approach that’s bankrupting cities.

THE PLANET knows of an 18-year-old Special Ed student in a local high school. This child, who also has Down Syndrome, has caused every manner of classroom disruption without penalty. She has learned that to get out of class, all she needs to do is act up. She has fought with teachers and students, thrown objects, destroyed property, and more. The school can’t expel the student. Once a child receives the Special Ed tag, he or she cannot be expelled, no matter how wild or disruptive. This child will not receive an education. She will learn little. She will have cost taxpayers a fortune for K-12. She should not receive a diploma.

Countless Billions Out the Window

The money required to provide a sham “education” to un-educable children runs in the countless billions for schools districts, all paid by the country’s Mary Jane and Joe Kapanskis. That is not fair to the vast majority of kids who enter a classroom with the required physical, mental, and emotional skills to succeed but who are being gypped because of the growing list of those labeled as “special.”

It’s not just the physically handicapped who are “Special Ed.” It’s those with alleged autism, developmental disability, specific learning disabilities, intellectual impairment, intellectual disability, emotional disorders, behavioral disabilities, “other” impairments (ADD ADHD), multiple disabilities, and traumatic brain injury. The categories are so loosely defined that the designation becomes meaningless … and political.

With the cost ranging from 1.6 to 3.1 times higher than that of the “normal” student  (U.S. Department of Education), Special Ed has to be placed on the table for beleaguered cities and taxpayers being sunk by the out-of-control albatross. Yes, disability is sad when it happens and life can be cruel, but public schools were not intended to remedy the unfairness of life. Our schools cannot be called upon to give in heroic measure for miracles they cannot perform.

You invest in those students who have the greatest potential, not the worst.

The Comment Line is now open. Be civil. Be clever. Be caustic. Be cool. But please, no more “your mother wears combat boots” comments. Let the guilty accuse themselves. Let the rest have their say.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

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“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.” — Ayn Rand

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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