Dear Senators,
I wanted to write to you to let you know how deeply
concerned I am with the Education Secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos. First
of all, I do not feel she has the experience needed for this position. She hasn’t been in charge of a large
organization, she has never been an educator, she has no personal experience
with the public school system and she seems to have a personal agenda.
The most concerning reason I am personally against Betsy DeVos;
however, is her apparent lack of knowledge or expertise in special education
services in public school settings. She
didn’t even seem aware of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) at her confirmation hearing. IDEA
is a crucial and highly important federal law that protects students with
disabilities. I do not feel that civil
rights matters such as those protected in IDEA should be left up to the states
as she indicated. I believe all children
with special needs no matter where they live should have the “opportunity to
receive a free appropriate public education.”
Let me share why this is of such personal importance to
me. My six-year-old son, Parker, was
born with an extremely rare genetic condition called a 6q12-16.1 deletion. This means he is missing some of the genetic
material on his 6th chromosome.
His specific diagnosis is so rare that we know of no one in the entire
world with his exact deletion. This
diagnosis has caused numerous medical issues (he has a trach and is tube fed
and is followed by over a dozen doctors) and he has significant developmental
delays. He can’t walk independently or
talk and he gets sick often.
Before the implementation of laws like IDEA, my son would
not have been able to go to school due to his needs. However, because of IDEA and the resources
and supports provided to special ed students like him, he is able to attend
school with his peers and set and achieve goals. And the wonderful part is, due to the
services he gets in school, Parker is making progress and gaining new skill
sets and abilities. I believe all
children deserve an opportunity to achieve their highest potential and I think
that will be extremely difficult if some of Betsy DeVos’ ideas move
forward.
Besty DeVos is a proponent of vouchers
and charter schools. My fear is that if
healthy children use vouchers to go to charter schools or private
schools and the funding follows those children (as she has advocated for), then
public schools will be left more as institutions for children with disabilities
and low income students who are not able to make up the cost differences to
attend the other schools. Public schools
will be left with the neediest children but with limited funding and resources. This will lead to less support and services
and lower outcomes which will impact society as a whole.
Please carefully consider the
negative impact Betsy DeVos could have in the position as Education
Secretary. Children like my son deserve
a chance at a great education to help them be the best they can be. I do not feel comfortable leaving my son’s
future in the hands of Betsy DeVos.
Best Regards,
Sara Ladd
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