Parents of disabled kids fear Dist. 25 budget isn't enough

The Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 board voted 5-0 Thursday to adopt the 2010-11 budget as it was presented, but not without hearing concerns from parents that there is not money set aside for updates to Individual Education Plans.

The IEP is the primary tool used to identify and guide the support and services that children with disabilities are required to have so that they can be provided the same opportunities to participate in the general education curriculum, PTA volunteer Bonnie Graham said to the board Thursday.

Graham said that for at least six years that she knows of, "our disabled students have been directed by a noncompliant process that lacks key pieces of their education entitlement," including addressing the functional capabilities of disabled students.

The board and staff members disagreed that the form is noncompliant. "We do recognize that the form itself had inconsistencies which have been corrected by our attorney," Superintendent Dr. Sarah Jerome said, adding that they do not agree that they have been in noncompliance.

"Our attorney is presenting at the IAASE conference on the topic of legally defensible IEPs," Director of Student Services Dennis Joyce said of the group Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education.

Graham asked, "If we have not been compliant in providing the appropriate individual education plans, in what other special education areas are we potentially noncompliant, and what are the budgetary implications once we do become compliant?"

The resources are there and appropriately assigned, Jerome said.

"There is money; we spend $16,000 per child, which has been an increase over years, even though the number of special education students have decreased," Jerome said. "Many of the parents are very happy. In fact people move to this district for this service."

Contract negotiations continue for teachers, with both sides reporting Thursday that they are heading toward a final agreement and that things are going great.

The district's budget shows no increase in salaries, which was one of the issues presented to the board - the other issue being class size, according to the teachers union website.

There was no indication from either side when they would come to an agreement.