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<DIV><SPAN class=778360319-19012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>As
long as the sports are extra-curricular and not part of the regular gym class
during school, fees are paid by non-disabled students and we want our disabled
kids to be part of the real world. Plus, if the funding helps keep the schools
open and these kids get services such as o&M and speech without fees, then
we have to look at the fact that the government isn't doing that great a job
with finances. So far, it sounds like in the article that kids are not denied
participation based on the parents lack of ability to pay. I have seen in my own
personal experiences that people are more willing to help fund something like a
scholarship than they are at giving to just general funds.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=778360319-19012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=778360319-19012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>I am
really curious to hear what others think.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=778360319-19012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=778360319-19012012><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>Cindy
Sheets</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left><FONT size=2
face=Tahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> nfbk-bounces@nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfbk-bounces@nfbnet.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Kevin
Pearl<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, January 18, 2012 7:37 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
NFBK<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Nfbk] {Disarmed} fees for non-academic
services<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<H1 class="featured_headline entry-title"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM><A
href="http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/news/state_news/x255293249/ISD-ISVI-to-charge-fees-for-non-academic-services">ISD,
ISVI, to charge fees for non-academic services</A>.</EM></FONT></H1>
<DIV class="author vcard"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN class=fn><B>By
CHRIS WETTERICH</B></SPAN> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV class="source-org vcard"><A class="url org fn"
href="http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com"><FONT face="Times New Roman">GateHouse
News Service</FONT></A><FONT face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV class="tease_timestamp published" title=2012-01-18T18:00:14Z><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Posted Jan 18, 2012 @ 06:00 PM</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=entry-content>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Pat Quinn has signed a
bill that allows the </FONT><A href="http://morgan.k12.il.us/isd/"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Illinois School for the Deaf</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> and the </FONT><A href="http://www.isvi.net/"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Illinois School for the Visually
Impaired</FONT></A><FONT face="Times New Roman"> to charge fees for
non-academic services, such as sports, that in some cases used to be
free.</FONT></P>
<P><A
href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=274&GAID=11&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=55061&SessionID=84&GA=97"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Senate Bill 274</FONT></A><FONT face="Times New Roman">
revises earlier legislation that required a financial analysis for each
student attending the schools, both of which are in Jacksonville, and an
analysis of the cost of non-education-related services.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Each parent of a student would have had to
disclose his or her income to the state and prove it. Parents of children who
live at one of the schools were to have been charged for room and board based
upon a sliding scale determined by income. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">That legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Sara
Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, and Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, was determined to
run afoul of federal law. Feigenholtz has been a staunch opponent of state
institutions, instead of community-based entities, for children with special
needs.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">There was also talk in the Quinn
administration in 2011 of closing the two schools, a discussion described by
officials as "just a budget exercise."</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Federal law guarantees students in special
education a free and appropriate education, said Mary Lauderdale, the
superintendent of both schools.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">“As the Department of Human Services looked at
the bill, it didn’t comply with the individuals with disabilities act,” she
said. “This puts that bill in compliance and calls for basic registration and
fees.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">The School for the Deaf has traditionally
imposed certain fees. An athletic fee is being added. Fees have not been
charged at the School for the Visually Impaired.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">The new fees vary, depending on the student’s
participation in activities, and would max out at around $200 for athletes,
Lauderdale said.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, the House
sponsor, said DHS initiated the bill.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">“They found there are limits to what they can
charge people based on federal law,” he said. “That was an initiative of the
agency.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Parents have not complained about the cost,
Lauderdale said, adding that families below the poverty line do not have to
pay any fees.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">“They see the importance of the school,”
Lauderdale said. “They’ve gotten a pretty good bargain up until now. We are
having no problem collecting those fees.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">The fees also allow the schools to make the
case that families are paying something for the services they are getting.
There is no estimate of how much money will be raised by the fees, Lauderdale
said.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">“Something is better than nothing,” she said.
“We want to be as much like a regular school as possible.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM>Chris Wetterich can be reached at (217)
788-1523.</EM><BR> </FONT></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><A
title="Copyright 2012 McDonough County The Voice. Some rights reserved"
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