Special ed priorities open to debate

When it all boils down to cutting services for our most needy students, something is wrong ["High-cost special ed needs an efficiency check," Opinion, Dec. 14].

New York takes its place as a beacon of education quite seriously, including by going beyond the minimum federal special education standards. We rightly seek to make sure that our disabled kids are given every opportunity to learn what they need to survive and thrive in the competitive world that is the 21st century.

Certainly, we can give thanks that some special ed students do not have a "severe mental or physical challenge." However, to suggest that disabilities related to reading, math and speech are insufficient to warrant special ed services indicates a complete failure to acknowledge and comprehend the critical importance of those skills.

No parent would accept a special ed designation for his or her child unless it were absolutely necessary.

Steven A. Meyerowitz

Northport

Editor's note: The writer is a former member of the Northport-East Northport school board.

Every aspect of special education needs to be scrutinized. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act should be sent back to Congress for a definition of the word education. Learning how to wash your hands and brush your teeth is not education. Teachers should not be paid for teaching such self-help skills.

I taught a student who aged out at 21 years old, with a mental age equal to that of a toddler. He was never educated in school. He was given another totally different service that should never have been funded and labeled as education.

Jane Goldblatt

East Northport

Editor's note: The writer is a retired public school teacher.