May 14, 2008 | 11:23 PM
Category:
News
I am a concerned parent of a deaf/hard of hearing student in CCISD.The parents have formed a group named P.A.S.S. There are approx. 120 students in the GBCHI COOP. Currently they are attending 4 schools in 3 districts. They start out in Sante Fe, then go to 2 different schools in Clear Creek ISD, then they go out to Alvin for high school. We have been trying to get them into 1 school district but the school board members are refusing to change it. With our children being in 1 district it gives them contiunity on top of saving time and gas for the staff. They all travel daily to get from school to school just to provide services to our children. This does mean that at times our kids go without services because they can't get to that student in time for that day. There is a high school right next to where they are attending intermediate school but they are not allowed to attend that school under the COOP, yet there are children that live in Harris County that are being bussed all the way over there for school. This COOP does consist of 10 school districts. They are Alvin,Clear Creek, Friendswood,Hitchcock,Sante Fe,Dickinson,Galveston,La Margue,Texas City, and Pearland. Our children have a very difficult time adjusting when it comes to the transition to another school when they just lost all their friends then also to another district.We contacted TEA but they said they can't do anything because the TEA only covers the IEP's and they have no power over the GBCHI. We are only asking that our children get a fair and just education like all other children. We want them to be able to make friends and keep them. There are several reasons why we are requesting this change but the biggest reason is our children deserve the best education. The majority of the kids are in CCISD.... this is where we want our children to be at. Most of our children have other disabilites besides being deaf or hard of hearing. This COOP was formed over 30 years ago and not much has changed in those 30+ years as far as the way the COOP is ran. Our children and families have changed though. We have contacted the Office of Civil Rights and they state that there is no discrimination going on. With one population of students being treated differently then all the others and when no prent voice is in the desision making process and setting up the program to have students change ISD's 2 times (3 districts) to recieve services and to graduate is discrimination. The GBCHI Management Board is made up by only paid superintendants and the meetings are held during the day when it is impossible for most parents to attend them. They also don't have a community open forum for people to address the board but you must ask to be placed on the agenda. I was hoping you could help us out with this. We are only wanting our kids to stay in one school district in feeder schools for their schooling. We have thought of all angles on this and the way we have came up with it could work out wonderfully for the students, parents, districts, and the staffing. You can contact me at anytime by phone or email. Please for further information that is needed feel free to ask. I have a lot of more information about what all we have done.You can also check out our website at www.passhi.org. We have became a registered non-profit organization.If you have any helpful advice or information it would be very appreciated. If you or someone you know is an attorney or has knowledge of this type of educational laws please contact me. Thank you for your time.
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