1 more comment on Money vs. Education

There are so many aspects about SpEd that don't meet the trained eye. One aspect about the previous story of the kid getting "voted out of the class" is that the article states the kid was being evaluated for autism ---- since February.



For those who are buying into the reality that our public school system is more about the "'business' of education" rather than the "business of 'education', I will follow my previous post's comments by examining the following concept. Delay, delay, delay also saves money.

For those who must deal with the seedy side of special education, it may be easier to realize how the student's are more about "business decisions" than "education decisions", yet this same decision making strategy is used with regular education kids.

The following analogy contained in the linked article may make it more clear. One must understand that under IDEA, parent's have a "right" to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). My understanding of the rules, despite what I have heard in IEP meetings, is that the parent does not have to provide a reason for the request (read the procedural safeguards), the parents only have to state that they disagree with the District's evaluation and they (parents) are requesting an IEE at public expense.

Upon this request, my understanding of the rules is that the District has two options - provide the IEE or go to Due Process. No threats that if the IEE says the same thing, the parents have to pay. No promises of delays until next year at which time the IEP team can look at the situation again, and none of the parsing and bullshit that usually comes when a parent tries to exercise their "rights".

I have several anecdotal stories of the abuse towards IEE evaluators. One story is about how an independent evaluator re-wrote a complete evaluation, after the first one was presented in an IEP meeting. There is a lot of power behind some district's ignorance and arrogance.


The Blame Game!
Are School Problems the Kids' Fault?
by
Pamela Darr Wright, M.A., M.S.W.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker




Independent Educational Evaluations

Parents ask: "Why can’t I tell the school that I want an independent educational evaluation done on my child? Money is short. Private testing is expensive. Aren’t we are entitled to this?"

Before we answer your question, let’s change the facts.

If you belong to a managed care health plan, you have a primary care doctor. This person entered into a contractual agreement with your insurance company, and agreed to abide by certain rules. The most important rule is that this doctor agreed to hold medical costs down by managing care.How does this work?

In managed care,your primary care doctor acts as a "gatekeeper," regulating (limiting) your access to medical treatment. If you go to a specialist without an appropriate referral by your primary care doctor, your insurance company does not have to pay for your treatment. If your doctor is successful in holding costs down, the insurance company will reward him or her with financial bonuses. If your doctor isn't willing to play by these rules, the insurance company will probably cancel his contract. He will lose you and many other patients – and his livelihood.

Now, let’s assume that you have a sick child. You take your child to your primary care doctor who is associated with the managed care company. Although the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes treatment, your child gets sicker. You ask for a referral to a specialist. After discussion and disagreement, the doctor refers your child to a specialist – who is also a member of the managed care plan.

This specialist signed a contract with the managed care entity in which he is forbidden to fully inform you about the treatment options for your child - this is called a "gag order." If you learn about these treatments, you will want them for your child. The best solution from the insurance companies perspective is to keep you ignorant about these treatment options. because your HMO or managed care group does not want to pay for them.

Do you want your sick child treated by doctors who are not permitted to inform you about certain (expensive) treatment options? Of course not! Your child’s health is at stake.

Now, let’s return to your question about independent evaluations. Earlier in this article, you learned that most school psychologists officially consider only child or family factors when they assess children’s learning and behavior problems. Aren’t things different with independent evaluators?

The relationship between independent evaluators and school districts is often similar to the relationship between managed care specialists and insurance companies. In many jurisdictions, people who are on the approved list of independent evaluators have agreed to abide by certain rules. When they perform evaluations on children, they are paid by the school district.

As a parent, you have to ask yourself this question: If my evaluator is paid by the school district, how independent can he or she be?

In our practice, we see cases in which an independent educational evaluator recommends that a child receive more or different special education serves than the district wants to provide. After making pro-child recommendations, these diagnosticians were dropped from the school district’s approved list of evaluators.