Mrs. Susan Fiordland
Cream Ridge, NJ 08514
January 18, 2006
I would like to start by thanking you, the NJ State Board of Education, for giving me this time
in hearing my statement.
My name is Susan Fiordland. I am a mother of four young children. 11, 7, 5 and 3. Two of which have IEP’s. My 7 year old is chronically ill and spent the first year of her life in CHOP and continues as an outpatient to this day. My 5 year old has Autism with severe speech and learning delays. I am also a continued survivor of Lupus and am currently fighting cancer. As you can imagine, all of my time is spent in IEP team evaluations, doctors offices for treatments, evaluations and services and so forth. This is a daunting task that many parents with children with disabilities face every day. However, I am never so overwhelmed or exhausted that I can not focus on my childrens’ education. In fact, as you may agree, their education is the key to their success in the future. Without proper services, my disabled students futures may include a life of poverty, crime, underage pregnancy or worst. This being said, I feel that a more "challenging education" will not come from lessening expectations, but rather by increasing desired outcomes. The recent re-authorization of IDEA has allowed for the weakening of this law and the effects that these changes can and will effect the 250,000 New Jersey children that this law protects in this year alone! On behalf of the parents of these children, I am asking this board to keep the following safeguards and oppositions to relaxed regulations:
PLEASE! Oppose the removal of short-term objectives or benchmarks in IEPs. Short term objectives and annual goals provide the action plan toward achieving any improvement and are the cornerstone of accountability needed to see if an educational program is meeting the elements of long term goals.
Oppose multi-year IEP review periods. Regular self evaluation is integral toward greater success; lengthening the review period can lead to stagnation and apathy.
Oppose the weakening of the rules governing who must attend an IEP meeting and to the allowance of participation through written documents, phone conferences or telecommunication. The current multi-discipline decision process is critical to a global perspective of a student’s strengths and areas that need further development. Face to face interactions are integral to high quality, open teamwork meetings that are in the best interest of the student’s progress. The removal of the childs classroom teacher and/or parents in the IEP meeting would be disastrous. To remove these persons, it would send a clear message that our thoughts and opinions are not welcomed, nor necessary in determining what is best for our children. The very act would form a hostile environment. These people are the most essential part of the childs IEP Team. These people have the most intimate knowledge of the children the IEP represents. These people are the ones who are best able to make recommendations on behalf of our children.
Support mid-year progress reports - Such reporting is an opportunity to be responsive to changing needs as well as being another measure of accountability that is essential toward the appropriate education of our children.
We call upon You, to keep the current standards regarding a behavior as a manifestation of the student's disability.
The stay-put provisions in matters of dispute concerning placement in interim alternative educational settings must be maintained. The stay-put provision gives parents recourse to prevent the district from removing children from their much needed placement.
Oppose the lengthening of the time for which a student with disabilities can be removed to an interim alternative educational setting from 30 days to 45 school days Students with disabilities need to be protected from unreasonably long disruption to their free, least restrictive and appropriate public education.
Oppose any reduction in the frequency of notification of parents of their rights and safeguards. Regulations are ever changing and parents need to have an up to date point of reference whenever new educational plan negotiations are occurring.
Oppose the implementation of a statute of limitations on the rights of parents to hold a district legally accountable. The effects of the actions of school districts with regard to children with disabilities last a lifetime. Limits on accountability could encourage disregard for the best interests of our children.
Oppose increasing the age of transition from 14 to 16 as many students with disabilities require several years to achieve the independent life and occupational skills needed once they move beyond the public education system.
I am calling upon you to protect our special education children! To allow NJ to be the example to the rest of our nation on how IDEA is to be kept...a valuable and necessary protection for all our children with disabilities. NJ is to be a leader in the special education as it has always been. Don’t allow our very special children to fall between the cracks of our educational system.
It is up to you...YOU have the opportunity to decide what is expected of our state educational laws, what protections our children have. Our weakest citizens of society need your strength in saying "NO...we will not tolerate weakening your rights in order to save a few dollars...you are worth more than that".
I thank you again for your time and this opportunity you have given to me.
Most sincerely,
Mrs. Susan Fiordland
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