Education’s special problem

Re “It takes a miracle worker,” Column One, May 19

Your article outlined the educational services that severely autistic children need, as early as possible, in order to learn to communicate and function in life. You reported that minority and poor parents frequently do not receive these services because they lack the knowledge, assertiveness and legal resources to force school districts to provide those services.

What your article does not mention is that school districts receive very little additional funding to accommodate the increased needs you describe. Speaking of miracle workers, you made no mention of the teachers who work for ridiculously low pay. All children, including those with extreme special needs, deserve appropriate educational services; however, there is but one pot of district money. Students who are average, gifted or disabled in other ways also deserve a fair share of the pot, but we need a bigger pot. Parents and teachers must band together to force the political system to adequately fund our most important resource -- our children.

CAROL WILLNER

Long Beach

*

The Column One highlights something those of us in education are all too familiar with -- shortchanging minority students. This example is even more egregious because it’s against the most vulnerable of our students. The rules and regulations governing special education are cumbersome to say the least. As school district employees, we often feel conflicted between advocating for the needs of our students and causing a financial burden to our employer.

In the end, though, we need to think what we’d want for our own children. If I were that parent with a special-needs child, wouldn’t I want the best for him or her? Those of us working in schools need to do a better job of empowering parents of special-needs children by providing them with information about their rights and responsibilities.

ENRIQUE SALDANA

Los Angeles