Five Puget Sound school districts, including Edmonds, have to be feeling good right now. At a time when state legislatures have no extra money to pass around, the federal government is doling out nearly half a million dollars to improve special education instruction in the area.
The trick is how best to use that money. And educators seem to be on the right track by focusing on the need to reduce or eliminate those distractions that make for a long and tedious system for helping children in need.
Those who choose to work with special needs kids are to be commended. They deserve a system that coordinates their efforts while reducing the amount of paperwork it takes to put one special needs youth through the system. Caseworkers deserve lighter caseloads, while teachers need easy access to organized information and agencies that can point them in the right direction to help a child.
The current system is so overloaded it can take part of the school year to figure out where to send a child. Finding solutions to such problems should be a priority for educators and political leaders. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who supported the grant effort, is one official who has begun to face the issue.
Troubled youth often turn into troubled adults who cost taxpayers much more money later on. With the extra federal help, educators have the chance to help all sorts of special needs kids right now while creating a system or program worthy of continued funding at the local level in years to come.
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