Sept 30, 2018, Council Bluffs (IA) Daily Nonpareil: CBCSD seeks spending authority for special education deficit https://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/education/cbcsd-seeks-spending-authorityfor-special-education-deficit/article_7612756d-4dcd-56a4-a933-6710dfd619a9.html The Council Bluffs Community School District Board of Education voted Tuesday to ask the state for spending authority to cover a $2.3 million funding shortfall for special education for the 2017-18 school year. The shortfall partly resulted from the need to hire more than 40 para-educators to satisfy Individual Education Plan requirements, according to board materials. School districts receive extra funding for each student served in special education, according to Dean Wilson, chief financial officer. However, over time, the funding to meet the needs of students has not kept pace with the cost of providing the necessary services.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.