Thursday, March 22, 2007

Strangeness

It is very strange to relate the same story half a dozen times, and always get the same reaction... "So... have you found a good lawyer yet?"

Relating our meeting on Wednesday, before even mentioning that we were thinking its time for a lawyer, this has been, without exception, the first comment from everyone I have spoken to.

It is very strange.

Why should people need lawyers to get what the law already says is their right? And why should it be so common to need one that whole firms do nothing else but this specific type of law? Are schools really this stupid? For the $200 grand its going to cost for one due process, they could put together a decent in-house autism program, especially in a little system like this one. But instead they pay all that money to lawyers. Or spend all that energy in divide- and-conquer, instead of using it to help kids. What planet is this, anyway?
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3 comments:

Club 166 said...

...Are schools really this stupid? For the $200 grand its going to cost for one due process, they could put together a decent in-house autism program, especially in a little system like this one. ...

I often had the same thought, as I sat week after week in a room with about 20 people in it, including 3 lawyers (1 for our side and 2 for theirs). But the administration has surely crunched the numbers. And they know that

a) they win the vast majority of cases,

b) the vast majority of parents can't afford to keep up the fight against the system,

c) the public schools know that if you have enough money to fight them, you probably have enough money to pay for a private school, and if they prolong the fight long enough, you might withdraw your child and place them privately, and

d) If they provided good services, it would be to their (local financial) detriment, as people from other locales would pick up and move their and suck up their local resources. This is probably one of the reasons behind the increased incidence of autism in New Jersey. It has become known for having better services, and there are multiple reports of people picking up and moving there.

2:27 PM, March 23, 2007
Joeymom said...

Yes, actually, I contract for a company in New Jersey, and the next time they have a full-time opening, we're thinking I'll apply for it.

But it woul dbe nice to win the fight here first.

4:30 PM, March 23, 2007
Club 166 said...

...But it woul dbe nice to win the fight here first.

Yes, VA is a pretty place.

I have a friend who lives out west near Ferrum (in Franklin County). Pretty country.

6:11 PM, March 24, 2007

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