Children with disabilities and their families in Athens often have had to endure inadequate special education services. Local school administrators make a heroic effort, but the astonishing lack of state funding for special education often negates their efforts. Antiquated facilities add further problems.
As a disability advocate, I have seen children and families suffer. My almost 19-year-old son could not go to any of the local schools and now attends a facility in Columbus while living in a group home. We miss him. I do not want other families to lose their children to far away schools.
Funding, services, and facilities definitely need to improve. Issue 3, the Athens City Schools facilities levy, offers hope for special education for many reasons:
1. New facilities will allow more efficient delivery of services, including speech and physical therapies.
2. New facilities can have better equipped, purpose-built therapy rooms. Therapies have improved greatly recently. Therapy rooms function much better if built for that purpose originally rather than retrofitted.
3. Current buildings, except The Plains, were built before the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Athens facilities do not meet current requirements but are considered compliant simply because they are old. For example, a student in a wheelchair must use an elevator to go to an accessible bathroom and would need a staff member’s help.
4. New facilities can have Multiple Disabilities (MD) classrooms located close to other classrooms so students of all abilities can interact, which improves learning more about each other for the benefit of all students.
5. Currently, the placement for MD classrooms is decided by the needs, and many students must go to a different school from their neighbors. West Elementary doesn’t even have a MD classroom; any student who lives in West attendance area and needs a MD classroom must go elsewhere. This violates the Least Restrictive Environment requirement of IDEA, which mandates that students with disabilities should be able go to same school as peers without disabilities.
I encourage all Athens voters to listen to their neighbors who have children with disabilities. Their voices must be heard. Special education services will improve with new facilities.
Please vote yes on Issue 3.
Noriko Kantake is a resident of Athens.
