March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Special needs education bill proposed> Opponents say private agencies better able to serve students

AUGUSTA — Public preschool programs for special needs children won’t be able to meet the children’s highly individualized needs as well as private agencies do, a parent of an autistic child says.

Dan Stevens of Gardiner, whose son has a type of autism, told lawmakers that a bill to encourage public schools to develop such programs “discourages competition and encourages blanket solutions.”

The bill, proposed by the state Department of Education and sponsored by Rep. George Kerr, D-Old Orchard Beach, was one of two heard Wednesday that would restructure the state’s Child Development Services System.

The system now consists of 15 regional sites throughout the state that are charged with coordinating the education of children under age 6 with developmental disabilities, such as autism, serious emotional disturbances and mental retardation.

The state says the bill would improve the lives of about 5,500 children statewide by smoothing the transition from preschool to public school. Program administrator Jaci Holmes said about 23 schools in Maine already operate such preschool programs but the bill encourages more to do so. In other parts of the state, those programs are provided by private, nonprofit agencies that contract with the state.

But the bill met opposition from parents and representatives of the private agencies.

Lesley Steltzer of Hampden said public schools are not equipped to provide the intensive speech, occupational and physical therapies many developmentally disabled children require. She said the state-supported bill would result in a “watered-down version of kindergarten” that would cheat children.

A speech pathologist from Belfast warned the bill would “slam the door on 900 small businesses throughout the state [that provide services for developmentally disabled children].”

He urged legislators to order a study of how well preschool programs work in public schools and also to look at cost-saving ways to make use of private services.


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