[blindlaw] Update on Florida School for the Deaf and Blind

Wed Feb 25 03:54:39 UTC 2009

I likewise am sorry to hear about this situation Philip.

On Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 5:30 PM, <rjs059 at peoplepc.com> wrote:

> You made the best decision for your son. Sincerely, RJ Sandefur
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Philip Breeze" <pebreeze at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 7:23 PM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Update on Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
>
>
>   Hi Patrick, I appreciate your understanding and support.  We have
>> contacted
>> the Governors office and we were referred back to the Florida Department
>> of
>> Education.  This sytem is full of nepotism, the current Chair of the Board
>> of Directors is the secretary for Florida State Representative Bill
>> Proctor
>> .  Mr. Proctor resided on this board for 15 plus years.  They appointment
>> friends and family to keep things running smoothly and quietly.  They
>> recently replaced the president of the school with the vice president.
>>
>> The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind has a written policy to not
>> accept
>> children with extreme learning delays, it is published and known.  We have
>> a
>> file over 2 inches thick that we have compiled with correspondence.  Each
>> person passes the buck.  The school has been challenged by other parents
>> in
>> the past and when they in, the schoolw appeals and the case continues for
>> years while the child pays the price.  My understanding is that the school
>> wins 70 percent of the time, parents win 11 percent and then it goes to
>> appeal.  They have very deep tax payers pockets.
>>
>> The question lies in what is extreme and what is the cause.  They use the
>> term "trainable mentally handicapped" as a catch all phrase.  My 6 year
>> old
>> son taught himself to echo locate, to count to 100 by 2's he can easily
>> spell over 100 words and can memorize children's books verbatim front to
>> back.  His kindergarten teacher is amazed at his memorization ability.
>> However, he does lack in conceptual development and that is the thing I
>> feel
>> FSDB can teach him best.  But, this developmental delay makes him seem
>> retarded on paper.
>>
>> We recently brought up a psychologist with 50 years of experience in
>> evaluating children with varying visual impairment.  My son is lacking in
>> conceptual development and I felt FSDB would be best suited for teaching
>> him
>> this.  After speaking with various professionals that have close dealings
>> with the school I have learned differently.  A University of Florida
>> Psychiatrist's son attended the school and said psychiatrist felt the
>> school
>> os sub standard in caring for children.  The psycholigist that evaluated
>> my
>> son feels the same, as does an attorney that works with deaf children and
>> has worked with the school in the past.  With that information we have
>> decided to stay local and put our money toward private education.
>>
>> This is truely as sad waste of tax payers money and most people have no
>> clue.  I now consider the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, "Florida
>> Token School".  Their conscience is relieved in thinking that they are
>> serving their community.
>>
>> If only Oprah could publish this story.  Feel free to pass the
>> information,
>> we have documented the whole journey.
>>
>> Philip
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 4:03 PM, Patrick H. Stiehm <stiehm.law at juno.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>>  Philip,
>>>
>>> What you have related is on its face appalling and inexcusable. As long
>>> as you have done everything that they have asked you to do, I think it's
>>> time to contact the  Governor's  office directly. This is not the type of
>>> story that any government official wants the press to get a hold of.
>>> (Remember the foster children that got lost in the state system under the
>>> Bush administration? I'm sure the current governor would not want a
>>> similar story that will raise the specter of  that incident.)
>>>
>>> In addition to the Governor's office  you should contact your state
>>> legislators. Government employees are susceptible to the pressure that
>>> can be brought on them by the chief executive of the state as well as
>>> members of the legislature. He should not hesitate to pursue such a
>>> course of action.
>>>
>>> Patrick H. Stiehm
>>> Stiehm Law Office
>>> Alexandria, VA 22309
>>> 703-360-1089 (Voice)
>>> 703-935-8266 (Fax)
>>>
>>> On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:31:25 -0600 Philip Breeze <pebreeze at gmail.com>
>>> writes:
>>> > Hello everyone, a few months back I posted an entry concerning my 6
>>> > year old
>>> > sons application to The Florida School for the Blind.  I have an
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > something severely wrong with an organization whose primary mission
>>> > is to
>>> > educate blind children and they refuse to do so.
>>> >
>>> > My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you that continue to suffer
>>> > this
>>> > sort of discrimination in our society.
>>> >
>>> > Philip Breeze
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>>> >
>>> >
>>>
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