Texas must make amends for betrayal of families
INJuly 2006, eight months pregnant, I drove from California to Texas with my husband and new son. We listened to Chris Rea’s “Texas,” hopeful that our family would thrive back home in Austin. We believed that our little boy, adopted from foster care, and our baby daughter would benefit from proximity to their grandparents, our promising job prospects and a reasonable cost of living. I’d never thought about taking time off from my hard-won career in public health. I was sure our children would do well in public school, as we had.
But our son suffers from a mood disorder and severe post-traumatic stress disorder from early abuse. He needed time to stabilize and feel safe. He needed a nurturing environment in order to learn. In his first classroom, he hadn’t been able to concentrate or comply and was physically bullied. Our neighborhood public school welcomed us, but said they didn’t offer what he needed, even according to their own testing. Private schools and Austin’s elite school districts wouldn’t even talk to us about his special education needs. Soon friends, family and even the school district began hinting that homeschooling was his best option, maybe his only chance. We tried it and discovered it required full time one-on-one care and instruction. Homeschooling was a blessing for him and he thrived. My son had gotten a chance at an education, but my career was over.
Ten years later, I have an incredible support network of special-needs parents. None of us was surprised by the Chronicle’s investigative report, “Denied: How Texas keeps tens of thousands of children out of special education,” (Page A1, Sept. 11). Angry, vindicated and relieved — yes. Surprised — no.
We parents of children with autism, learning disabilities and mental illness have all experienced something similar to the Walkers’ story. While the public debates how this happened and who is to blame, affected families are imagining how our lives would look if our children had received appropriate services from the beginning. We speculate about how much those budget cuts really cost Texas in the long run. We calculate where we would be financially, professionally, and personally if the taxes we pay for public schools had reached our children. We wonder how they would be faring if they had been educated by experienced professionals instead of their untrained and exhausted but devoted parents.
There will surely be federal and civil actions forcing Texas schools to provide special education for students
in urgent need of services. However, the state must also make amends to the other victims of its betrayal: older students who are behind due to years of neglected needs and young adults who underachieved academically because they didn’t receive special education. And it must make amends to families.
Many students dropped out, can’t find jobs, can’t access higher education or were effectively forced into juvenile detention, prison or residential care as a direct result of this betrayal by the Texas Education Agency. These children were treated as expendable. Not only as restitution, but for Texas’ economic and social future, the state must compensate victims for its wrongdoing. These young people need GEDs, vocational training, life skills education, transitional housing, apprenticeships, internships, childcare, prison diversion and our moral support while they finally receive the education that will prepare them for the workforce. Unskilled, uneducated young adults aren’t good for families, communities or Texas.
Families also paid a high price when their children’s rights were denied. Some families weren’t aware that their children should have received special education or they couldn’t afford the necessary legal expertise to obtain it. They may have been unable to provide academic support at home or pay for alternatives. Some found private learning centers for supplemental tutoring. Many of us with the most needy children felt that the only option was one-on-one instruction at home. Unfortunately, the expertise required to educate and prepare some special-needs children for independence is far beyond what any parent is trained for or emotionally capable of. I’ve seen families crumble and parents divorce under the burden of caring for and educating their children. Primary caregivers, mostly mothers, have sacrificed their careers and mental and physical health. Instead of working outside the home, contributing to the state economy and family finances, advancing in their careers and saving for retirement, parents were forced to take education into their own hands. All affected families should be reimbursed for the direct and indirect costs they incurred when the state shirked its responsibility.
Making amends to youth and parents will show that Texas cares about the success of our children and the endurance of families. In exchange for a free and appropriate education, we expect young Texans to become economically independent adults who can provide for their families and contribute to society. Here in Texas, we value the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These promises and our integrity as a state with strong family values were sacrificed for short-term savings. The cost to children, families and Texas will be high and long-lasting unless the state makes amends. Hammer is an Austin resident.
“Here in Texas, we value the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These promises and our integrity as a state with strong family values were sacrificed for short-term savings.”