[blindkid] Testimony Against Putting the Washington State Schoolfor the Blind Under Washington's Education Department

[Heather]

Ok, I preface all of this with the fact that I am not a business or 
acounting major and with the fact that I have some questions, but, I don't 
believe in schools for the blind.  Now, outreach services are another thing 
entirely, but I believe that sending children and teens to a school for the 
blind full time, instead of to ordinary schools is socially stunting, even 
socially retarding, and highly detremental.  One question that I have, 
because I freely admit that I don't know a lot about the state education 
system in Washington State or about this particular school for the blind, 
is, are the students at this school for the blind being held to state 
standards, taking standardized state tests, the SATs the ACTs, having AP and 
Honors courses offered and being mandated to uphold the state wide teaching 
standards for course content, etc?  That makes a lot of difference in my 
opinions.  Now, while I don't agree with solely educating blind children at 
such schools, I would hate to see some of the outreach services be 
negatively effected by the preposed changes.  Another question, aside from 
potential finantial difficulties, would this change over of management 
result in a higher level of acountability for the actual accademic 
achievement of the blind children attending the school?  I personally, see 
no reason for blind children, with out other compounding disabilities to 
attend such a school, but the parents should have the right to such an 
option, if they feel that this is best for their children, and so, I 
wouldn't want to see this school close.  I am just wondering how the 
change-over, if it was to be passed, would effect the ciriculum and 
accademic expectations and implementation at the school?  I am not 
critisizing, I am just looking for more information.  I want to stay well 
informed on such issues as the blind parent of a blind child and as a 
student of education.  Thanks so much for making us all aware of this.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List,(for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>; "NFB of Oregon mailing list" <nfb-or at nfbnet.org>; 
<nfb-idaho at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2010 12:39 AM
Subject: [blindkid] Testimony Against Putting the Washington State Schoolfor 
the Blind Under Washington's Education Department


> Hello, all.
>
> In the current session of the Washington state legislature, a bill, 
> SB-6491, has been introduced which would place the Washington State School 
> for the Blind (WSSB) and the Washington State School for the Deaf (WSSD) 
> under the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington's 
> education department. (In Washington, there is local control of schools 
> but the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction passes through 
> some Federal education funds to local districts and has some overall 
> function coordinating educational efforts for K-12 education in the 
> state).
>
> Currently, WSSB and WSSD are separate, independent state agencies whose 
> superintendents and boards of trustees are appointed by the Governor with 
> the advice and consent of the state Senate. Hence, the schools can run 
> their programs with maximum efficiency and program innovation and 
> accountability to organizations such as the NFB of Washington and minimum 
> bureaucracy. Hence, we oppose the bills to put the schools under the 
> education department.
>
> My testimony follows.
>
> Mike Freeman, president
> NFB of Washington
>
> *************************
>
> Testimony Opposing SB-6491
>
> Before the Senate Committee on Early Learning and K-12 Education
>
> By Michael Freeman, President
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Washington
>
> January 20, 2010
>
>
>
> Senator McAuliffe, Senator Kauffman, Senator Oemig, Senator King and 
> Members of the Committee:
>
>
>
> I am Michael Freeman, a member of the Board of Directors of the National 
> Federation of the Blind and President of the National Federation of the 
> Blind of Washington, one of the two major organizations of the blind in 
> the state. The National Federation of the Blind of Washington is an 
> affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. My home address is 3101 
> NE 87th Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98662. I thank you for the opportunity to 
> appear before you today.
>
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind of Washington strongly opposes 
> SB-6491 which would place the Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) 
> under the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), thus 
> ending the status of the school as an independent state agency. This 
> legislation will not increase efficiency or reduce costs within state 
> government, will detrimentally affect education of blind children in 
> Washington and will disenfranchise parents of blind children, blind 
> consumers and the state legislature.
>
>
>
> The October, 1996 issue of the Braille Monitor, the monthly magazine of 
> the National Federation of the Blind, carried profiles of four schools for 
> the blind whose programs were considered outstanding by educators of the 
> blind around the United States. They were the Texas School for the Blind, 
> the Indiana School for the Blind, the Washington School for the Blind and 
> the Kentucky School for the Blind. These outstanding schools had one thing 
> in common: they were independent state agencies. This gave them the 
> freedom to design innovative educational and blindness skills programs and 
> to hire and allocate staff as needed to provide outstanding yet efficient 
> service. The Texas, Indiana and Washington schools for the blind are still 
> viewed by the blind as the best schools for the blind in the country. They 
> are still independent state agencies. While the Kentucky School for the 
> Blind is still good, its programs are not as good as they once were. It is 
> significant that this school is no longer an independent state agency.
>
>
>
> It is true that if one merely looks at an organization chart, it would 
> seem that placing the School for the Blind under OSPI (which could be 
> considered a "good fit" for its functions) makes sense. However, actual 
> experience should trump theory. The School for the Blind has actual 
> experience using consolidated business and other services for at one time 
> these were consolidated with those of the School for the Deaf. When the 
> School for the Blind "deconsolidated" these services, acquiring its own 
> business staff, costs went down! There was less bureaucracy and the 
> business staff could concentrate on using budget dollars to best 
> advantage. Yet when asked how SB-6491 would increase state government 
> efficiency and reduce costs, members of Governor Gregoire's staff could 
> only say vaguely that this streamlining might possibly facilitate finding 
> more blind students in local districts and that there might be 
> efficiencies using common business and accounting staff. When pressed, 
> however, they admitted that no immediate cost savings would result from 
> the legislation. Furthermore, it should be noted that the School for the 
> Blind already has the best database of blind and visually impaired 
> students in the state. It is hard for the National Federation of the Blind 
> of Washington to see how placing the School for the Blind under OSPI would 
> improve the situation.
>
>
>
> A recent study (commissioned as a result of a previous incarnation of 
> legislative scrutiny of this issue) found that, next to schools operated 
> by private nonprofit entities, the most efficient arrangement for schools 
> for the blind was as independent state agencies. We can supply copies of 
> this study upon request.
>
>
>
> It is obvious to us that SB-6491 was drafted in haste. It strives 
> valiantly to retain the administrative structure and budget procedures of 
> the School for the Blind while placing it under OSPI. However, as Abraham 
> Lincoln said after delivering the Gettysburg Address: "It won't scour!"
>
>
>
> Consider the process of determining the School for the Blind's budget. At 
> present, the school drafts both an operational and capital budget for 
> consideration by the legislature just as other state agencies do. But if 
> the school is placed under OSPI, the mechanics of this process are, at 
> best, unclear, if not muddled. OSPI is not set up to handle administration 
> or financing of agencies such as the School for the Blind. Under this 
> legislation, what would be the process for approving the operations 
> budget? And how would ongoing capital expenditures to maintain and improve 
> campus facilities be handled? Presumably, the "Assistant Superintendent" 
> in charge of the School for the Blind would draft these budgets but would 
> they then become part of OSPI's budget, presumably subject to approval by 
> the Superintendent of Public Instruction? And what would be the appeals 
> process were parents of blind children or blind consumers dissatisfied 
> with the budgetary allocation to the School for the Blind by OSPI? It is 
> difficult for us to see how the amended process fosters increased 
> accountability of the School for the Blind to its constituents.
>
>
>
> Before continuing, let me hasten to say that this testimony should not be 
> viewed as criticizing the Office of the Superintendent of Public 
> Instruction. It is only that the number of blind students is so small 
> compared to the total number of students (the School for the Blind has 
> records of some fourteen hundred blind and visually impaired students in 
> Washington) that it is all-too-easy for their needs to get lost in the 
> continuing struggle to educate all of Washington's students. It is the 
> experience of affiliates of the national Federation of the Blind around 
> the country that when schools for the blind are part of departments of 
> education or, for that matter, other agencies such as state departments of 
> human services, the needs of those receiving services from the schools are 
> all-too-often forgotten and even upkeep of the physical plant and 
> buildings is given a low priority until the neglect catches up with state 
> governments and schools for the blind are either abolished or absorbed by 
> entities not primarily dealing with blindness. The case of the Oregon 
> School for the Blind is emblematic of this process. While I am sure that 
> the Superintendent of Public Instruction would do his best to guard 
> against such neglect, it is hard to fight the tendency to marginalize 
> education of the blind when blindness services are provided as part of 
> conglomerate agencies.
>
>
>
> Consider the process of vetting members of the Board of Trustees and the 
> Superintendent of the School for the Blind. Current law provides that each 
> voting member of the Board of Trustees is appointed by the Governor with 
> the advice and consent of the Senate. The Superintendent of the School for 
> the Blind is also subject to this process. Under SB-6491, the 
> Superintendent of Public Instruction would appoint members of the School 
> for the Blind's Board of Trustees and the "Assistant Superintendent" in 
> charge of the School for the blind without legislative oversight or public 
> hearings. In other words, these would be administrative appointments with 
> little or no opportunity for legislators, parents of blind children, blind 
> consumers or the general citizenry of Washington to have meaningful input. 
> Surely this is not the sort of accountability Governor Gregoire and state 
> government say they wish to encourage!
>
>
>
> Moreover, when contemplating introduction of this legislation, neither 
> parents of blind children (either of those attending the School for the 
> Blind or of those benefiting from its services) nor blind consumers 
> (either members of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington or 
> the Washington Council of the Blind) were consulted. We only heard of this 
> legislation a few weeks ago when it was presented to us as a fait 
> accomplis: the train was a-comin' and we'd best jump on board or get 
> crushed! Whatever else might be said, this is not accountability of 
> government to its citizenry! We, the blind of Washington, are angered and 
> offended at this cavalier treatment. We care very deeply about the 
> education of blind students. We know what works and what does not work for 
> we've been there! We want to help to make the School for the Blind as good 
> as it can be while increasing its efficiency. We cannot help if we are not 
> consulted.
>
>
>
> The Washington State School for the Blind is outstanding! Parents of blind 
> children from other states move to Washington so their children can attend 
> the school. The school serves blind children throughout the state, both in 
> on-campus intensive learning programs and in their local school districts 
> through the Outreach Program and the Washington Instructional Resource 
> Center. In conjunction with the Braille Access Center (operated in 
> partnership with the State Printing Office and the Department of 
> Corrections), textbooks are provided in Braille and large-print to blind 
> students throughout the state and Braille is generated for blind citizens 
> on a fee-for-service basis, resulting in a cost savings for the state. The 
> School for the Blind provides adaptive technology to blind students 
> throughout the state, also resulting in cost savings. Some eighty percent 
> of school graduates over the last few years are employed, tax-paying 
> Washingtonians or are in college or vocational training to become so. I 
> could go on but this is enough to indicate that the School for the Blind 
> is a vibrant, efficient institution. It does not need reorganization; it 
> isn't broken; there is no need to fix it. Please do not approve SB-6491.
>
>
>
> I again thank you for the opportunity to speak before you.
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