Feb 8, 2019, Chalkbeat: Mayor de Blasio proposes $300 million for special education staff, beefing up programs https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2019/02/08/de-blasio-proposing-300-million-to-hire-more-special-education-staff-beef-up-programs/ Even with a backdrop of economic uncertainty, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed to pump another $300 million for New York City special education services into next year’s budget. Most of this money will be used for more teachers and paraprofessionals to “implement individualized education programs,” a City Hall spokesman said Friday. A portion of it, he said, would go toward programs in bilingual special education and autism spectrum disorder. De Blasio mentioned the $300 million boost on Thursday as he released his preliminary budget proposal. And he mentioned it Friday on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer show without offering specifics; details were only just starting to emerge about how the money will be spent Friday afternoon. … The city has historically struggled to provide special education services to all of the 224,000 students who have disabilities, a population larger than Houston’s entire school system. The city has acknowledged that roughly a quarter of those students don’t receive all of the services listed on their individual learning plans. …
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.
Loss of Brain Trust features over 9,000 news stories published worldwide since January, 2017
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