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.
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What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless. John Stone, UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic. They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years. Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
Wareham, MA: >30% of students have IEPs; almost 25% require separate placement
Oct 20, 2024, Wareham Week: Special Education Department demonstrates it meets many of its students needs
A state report has determined special education in Wareham is meeting most of the needs of its students, though the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education did find areas for the school district to improve on.
During the Oct. 17 Wareham School Committee meeting, Director of Student Services for Wareham Public Schools Melissa Fay delivered the findings of the report.
Every three years, the department of elementary and secondary education reviews all school districts and their special education programs across the commonwealth by visiting each school, observing the special education programs and interviewing a variety of faculty and parents. The report is known as the Tiered Focused Monitoring System.
The state came to Wareham during the 2023-2024 school year to conduct the report, which assesses the school district through a variety of criteria based on two different categories, civil rights and special education. From there, the state will decide if their criteria has been fully implemented, partially implemented or not implemented at all. School districts are issued citations for criteria partially or not implemented. . . .
There are 483 students on active IEPs across the school district, totaling over 30% of all Wareham students. According to Wareham Public Schools Superintendent Matt D'Andrea, The state average for a school district is 20.2%.
Based on the state's report, the special education department fully implemented the majority of the state's criteria and received five areas to work on across the report.
Fay explained she is contesting two of these five because the school district was cited for not formally writing down activities that have become second nature to the staff.
One area the school district got cited for is the percentage of students on IEPs who spend time outside the general education classroom.
According to Fay, 24.1% of students on IEPs are in a "substantial separate placement." This means 24.1% of students on IEPs spend at least 60% of their time outside of the general classroom, in a separate classroom or program designed for students with special needs.
The state wants to see that percentage drop to 13.2% of students, but Fay wants to ensure she is giving the children the services they need, she said.
"It is a little bit of a skewed view because if I were to take 12% more of our students who aren't ready to participate more in the general setting, then I would be doing them a disservice," said Fay. . . .