TESTIMONY TO STATE BOARD HEARING ON REVISIONS TO
STATE CODE
By Maria Teresa Abinader
Sadly, for
Latino people educational attainment and achievement remains low. According to
the 1997-98 American Council on Education report, “Minorities in Higher
Education,” Latino high school completion rates are terribly low.
Imagine for a moment what it’s
like for a Latino parent who probably doesn’t speak English and is asking a
family member or a friend to read materials on special education.
Parents of special education
children need better access to special education services and they need to be
able to understand their legal rights under anti-discrimination laws.
As a Latina and a parent of a
child who receives special education, I remain concerned that while we are the
fastest growing population in the United States (by 2025 Latinos will be largest
minority population), we continue to have some of the highest dropout rates at
all levels, from middle school to high school and college.
There is an urgent need for informational materials on special education to be
in a format that is understandable by parents, caregivers and interpreters.
As parents and community
members, we need to be asking, how parents can help their children if they
cannot understand information themselves.
I think it’s time to reevaluate
programs and literature that were developed in the 1960s in order that we may
better meet the needs of today’s students and create a future to which they can
and will contribute greatly to society.
As a parent and a Latina, I feel
that I have not been given an opportunity to see or understand the changes
taking place in education laws. I really do not know how these changes will
affect my child. I am not aware of how the officials who intend to make these
changes in education laws were chosen, but I can clearly see that parents were
not involved.
This public hearing today is not
just about Parents disagreeing with what you are doing or literature for Spanish
speaking parents, this is about systemic change.
Thank you for your time.
Maria Teresa
Abinader
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Better IDEA Laws for Special Education
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