[nfbwatlk] H.B. 2834: Closing the Door on the Future of Blind Children

[T. Joseph Carter]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Art Stevenson,
President
National Federation of the Blind of Oregon
1616 5th St. NE
Salem, Oregon 97301
(503) 585-4318

H.B. 2834: Closing the Door on the Future of Blind Children
May 24, 2009

The State Does Not Have Clear Title to the 
Property It Plans to Sell: The Oregon School for 
the Blind is located on property given to the 
state specifically for the purpose of operating a 
school for blind children.  The deed is 
restricted and the property may not be sold and 
the proceeds used for other purposes. The 
legislature is well aware of this limitation. 
Nevertheless the legislature plans to close the 
school, assuring parents and others that funds 
from the sale of the property will be available 
to support educational services to blind children 
in their local schools. This is a clear "bait and 
switch." Once the school is closed and the blind 
children moved to their local schools, and it is 
found that the property may not be sold, there 
will be no funds to backup the legislature's 
promises. Why then would the legislature move 
forward with a plan to close the school without 
knowing whether the property can be sold? Could 
it be about money? Denying Blind Children an 
appropriate Education: The legislature persists 
in saying that local schools will provide the 
educational and related services needed by the 
students currently enrolled at the School for the 
Blind, yet they have no answer as to how.  There 
is already a shortage of trained teachers in the 
state.  Still the legislature continues to say 
that cost-saving is not behind the closure of the 
school. At the same time, the legislature has 
made no promise regarding helping the local 
districts meet the cost of educating these 
children beyond the hoped for proceeds from the 
sale of the school. In other words once the 
school is closed and the students moved to local 
schools, and it is found that the property may 
not be sold, the local schools will be on the 
hook, and blind children will be left high and 
dry. The only winner will be the legislature 
since funds will no longer need to be 
appropriated to run the school. It's All About 
Money: On Thursday, May 21, in a meeting of the 
Ways and Means Education Subcommittee, the 
chairman made reference to "virtually unlimited 
funds" being available to provide needed services 
from the sale of the property, yet when a 
question was raised about whether children at the 
Oregon school would have the option of being 
educated at the nearby Washington School for the 
Blind, the subcommittee members were told that 
placement decisions would have to be made on a 
case-by-case basis.  Why? It has already been 
determined that the students at the School for 
the Blind require the array of services available 
at the Oregon School for the Blind.  Why would 
placement at the Washington School for the Blind 
not be an automatic option afforded students who 
will be displaced by the closure of the Oregon 
School for the Blind.  Could it be the cost? 
Placement at the Washington School for the Blind 
is expensive so no promises are made about 
placing displaced blind children at the 
Washington school, but remember "it's not about 
money." Or is it? Parents whose children attend 
the Oregon School for the Blind should be given 
the immediate option of enrolling their children 
at the Washington School for the Blind--a 
well-regarded, comprehensive program.  Instead, 
they are told that local districts that have 
never before been able to meet their children's 
educational needs will somehow be ready to 
provide the full complement of needed services by 
the first day of school in September. No Serious 
Input Allowed: Two years ago, the Oregon 
Legislature created the Oregon School for the 
Blind Board of Directors.  The board was charged 
with developing a blueprint to serve as a Master 
Plan for the school. In developing the Master 
Plan, the board consulted with blind and visually 
impaired K-12 students, parents, teachers, and 
district and regional staff. Yet despite the work 
of the board and the involvement of stakeholders, 
the Oregon legislature has set aside the plan and 
is moving forward with plans to close the school. 
At the May 21 meeting of the Ways and Means 
Education Subcommittee, no public testimony was 
allowed, not even from the statutorily created 
Oregon School for the Blind Board of Directors. 
In fact the subcommittee refused to allow written 
testimony to be submitted for the record. 
Oregon’s Blind Stand Together: The National 
Federation of the Blind of Oregon, the American 
Council of the Blind of Oregon, and everyone else 
involved, knew there were many problems with the 
educational system for the blind students of our 
state.  The Department of Education and the 
Oregon Legislature have been provided an 
opportunity to create a system that all 
Oregonians could be proud of.  Our 
recommendations would have accomplished this goal 
by producing a better working relationship with 
the regional programs and the Oregon School for 
the Blind.   If any one believes that given the 
current economic outlook for all schools in 
Oregon, that the educational environment for all 
blind students is going to get better, they just 
don’t live in the real world.  House bill 2834 
is a tragedy waiting to happen if it becomes law.