Fight for what's right

I don't know what it is like to have a special needs child, nor do I even know what it is like to have a child. However, this does not mean I do not care for all the children and want the best for them. I am a teacher in a rural Missouri school. I would have to say our school does a great job for most of our students, but sadly, I cannot say all of our students. There are a few students that seem to slip through the cracks and unfortunately, there is little I can do for them. Our school is great, however, we cannot properly service those children with special needs. I have one child in my classroom that has an IEP and we try to work with that. However, I would be the first to admit she would be better served at another school. Unfortunately, her parents cannot afford the private school here that could do a better job, and they definitely could not afford to transport her to the large Autism school which is over 50 miles away unless they moved.

The problem is that my school is not able to provide every part of this child's IEP and that puts her at an extreme disadvantage. I know there are great parts to the IEP program, but this does not always equate to everything happening the way it should. Not every school can handle it.

Because of my experiences, I am in complete support of the Scholarship Tax Credit Program for Special Needs children. Unfortunately, I cannot say that the teacher unions agree with me on this; but they are not witnessing everything first hand. Bottom line is, it should not be about what big organizations or unions think of the program, it should be about what the program could do for these kids.

I know, if it were to pass, this one little girl in my class would have access to the private school that would give her what she needs. As sad as I would be to let her go, I have to think of what is best for her, not what is best for me! Support SB 993 and HB 1886!!!