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School district ordered to pay private-school fees for autistic boy
9News ^ | 10/14/2005 | Carrie Mc Clure

Posted on 10/14/2005 10:26:00 AM PDT by kemathen7

BERTHOUD - The Thompson School Board will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on one of its ex-students -- an 11-year-old autistic boy.

Luke Perkins went to Berthoud Elementary School, but his parents felt he wasn't receiving the proper education for his needs.

"He wasn't learning even the basic things he was going to need in life," says his father, Jeff Perkins.

The Perkins decided to enroll their son in the Boston Higashi School in January 2004. The school specializes in teaching children with special needs.

The tuition is over $130,000 a year, and its students live at the school.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act states all disabled children are entitled to a free and appropriate education. The Perkins felt their son wasn't getting the appropriate education for his needs, so a state hearing officer ruled the Thompson School Board should pay for the boy's tuition. Judge Michelle Norcross then upheld that decision earlier this month.

The School District tried fighting the ruling in court, paying over $100,000.

"It's a lot of money for one student," says School Board President, Becky Jay. "It's money that comes out of the funds for everybody else in the district."

Other parents are upset, too.

Joylin Daniels has a 9-year-old son in the district with cerebral palsy. "My son is entitled to get an education and I don't feel that he's going to be able to get the adequate education that he needs if we're having to spend $130,000 to send somebody else's child to a school on the other side of the country."

The school district will decide early next week whether it will appeal the ruling in district court.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Colorado; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: austism; beckyjay; berthoudelementary; boston; disability; education; fleecingtaxpayers; higashischool; jeffperkins; judicialtyranny; michellenorcross; specialed; specialeducation; students; unfundedmandate
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I like how the Act calls for a "free" education. Uh, it ain't free.

It takes a village, I guess.

1 posted on 10/14/2005 10:26:05 AM PDT by kemathen7
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To: kemathen7

It would cost the district less to hire a full time employee dediated to that one child.


2 posted on 10/14/2005 10:29:31 AM PDT by HonestConservative (Bless our Servicemen!)
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To: kemathen7

He is entitled to an education - not to the best education money can buy...


3 posted on 10/14/2005 10:30:05 AM PDT by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - They want to die for Islam, and we want to kill them.)
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To: kemathen7

it's called UNFUNDED MANDATES

The feds declare something has to be- and your local taxes get to pay for it


4 posted on 10/14/2005 10:32:30 AM PDT by Mr. K (Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help...)
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To: kemathen7

You can expect to see several dozen parents with autistic children immediately move into the school district..why not?


5 posted on 10/14/2005 10:41:59 AM PDT by ken5050 (Ann Coulter needs to have children ASAP to pass on her gene pool....any volunteers?)
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To: kemathen7

Isn't this a voucher situation? Call the ACLU and Teddy Kennedy! They should hold a press conference right now to demand that this be stopped.

What? You say they don't pray at this special school? Oh, then I guess Ted and the ACLU wouldn't be interested.


6 posted on 10/14/2005 10:43:45 AM PDT by T.Smith
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To: HonestConservative

Notice the parents wont take care of him


7 posted on 10/14/2005 10:44:27 AM PDT by alisasny (Liberal UTOPIA rains down in New Orleans Way to go)
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To: kemathen7
I thought we should all get to see the face of the child which will drain education funds in Colorado because his parents are greedy and working the system:

As of June 2004, per pupil education spending in Colorado was a meager $6,884. They rank 34th in spending. This child will get out-of-state education at $130,000 or approximately what is spend on 19 students in that state.

They should certainly appeal. No reasonable case can be made for the people of Colorado being required to pay for an elite, out-of-state special education for one child.

8 posted on 10/14/2005 10:46:25 AM PDT by newzjunkey (CA: Stop union theft for political agendas with YES on Prop 75! Prolife? YES on Prop 73!)
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To: alisasny
Notice the parents wont take care of him

Call me a cynic but I have a feeling that isn't by accident.

9 posted on 10/14/2005 10:47:25 AM PDT by newzjunkey (CA: Stop union theft for political agendas with YES on Prop 75! Prolife? YES on Prop 73!)
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To: alisasny

That was my thought. Why aren't they homeschooling them, and taking care of THEIR responsibility to teach their son "the basic things he was going to need in life,"


10 posted on 10/14/2005 10:48:11 AM PDT by justche (Many at FR would respond to Christ "Damn straight, I'll cast the first stone!" - MeanWestTexan)
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To: dead; Incorrigible

Ping


11 posted on 10/14/2005 10:48:37 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: kemathen7

"He wasn't learning even the basic things he was going to need in life," says his father, Jeff Perkins."

If this is the main part of the suit, what would stop a failing student from filing the same claim?


12 posted on 10/14/2005 10:49:01 AM PDT by OldYank1
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To: newzjunkey

I will take 130 K a year and have him come live with me. All his needs will be met and he will get an education : )))


13 posted on 10/14/2005 10:51:42 AM PDT by alisasny (Liberal UTOPIA rains down in New Orleans Way to go)
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To: kemathen7

Yeow! Legalized pocket picking.


14 posted on 10/14/2005 10:53:48 AM PDT by lilylangtree
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To: afraidfortherepublic

So far the posters on this thread have shown a remarkable lack of knowledge and sympathy about what it takes to educate an autistic child and how school districts try to duck THEIR responsibility for such. I do not know any parents of autistic children who are shirking their responsibilities.

Autistic children are part of our population, like it or not, and the taxpayer is going to wind up supporting them, like it or not. Some autistic children can be educated to be able to provide for their own basic needs and to be productive members of society, and that will save the taxpayer money in the long run.


15 posted on 10/14/2005 10:54:14 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: alisasny

Do you know any autistic children? I'd give you a week before you would be screaming for help.


16 posted on 10/14/2005 10:55:54 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic

OH PLEASE..his parents are sending this poor child away

They dont want him.


17 posted on 10/14/2005 10:56:44 AM PDT by alisasny (Liberal UTOPIA rains down in New Orleans Way to go)
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To: alisasny
To me the point is, if everyone is "entitled" to a public education, and that this education be appropriate for the person, then the teachers union and the ptb in the school system are then responsible to provide same, by law.

The school districts want the money and the control, but not the accountability. In this case, the parents seemed to have held them accountable for results. This is a big no-no to members of the teachers unions.

The officials decry the $140,000 lost to all the "children". What they are really disturbed about is the loss to the pool that fills their paychecks.
18 posted on 10/14/2005 10:56:53 AM PDT by HonestConservative (Bless our Servicemen!)
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To: kemathen7
The tuition is over $130,000 a year, and its students live at the school.

WHOA! What on earth could cost that much? Most 4 year college degrees can be had for cheaper than that!

Also, so the disabilities act mandates that "all disabled children are entitled to a free and appropriate education."

Where does it say that the cited "free" education isn't the one provided by the public school, the parent gets to arbitrarily determine what is appropriate, the education can be provided by a private school of the parent's choosing which the school must pay for, and it can be out of state?

Don't get me wrong - I'm a homeschooler and I think public schools are woefully inadequate, but why should these parents get anything more than say, a voucher for the cost of one student in public school to put toward the school of their choice? 130k, whew, makes my head spin.

19 posted on 10/14/2005 11:01:29 AM PDT by agrace (Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me if you know so much. Job 38:4)
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To: kemathen7
This case under scores the need for special education reform.
The state and federal government spend a huge amounts of money on special education students but their is no accounting for what individual school districts do with this money. To often special education means stuffing kids with behavior problems in a room with kids with downs syndrome and letting a teachers aide take care of them. Special education is neither special nor is it education.
20 posted on 10/14/2005 11:03:02 AM PDT by after dark
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