Hello Parents and Guardians!
Thank you for reading my blog.
I am no longer involved with the Detroit School District since my family member aged out of the system. However, I occasionally speak to parents about current things happening with K-12 up to Age 26 for Special Education in Michigan and will post information that I think parents should be aware of.
Also, since I have been teaching at a university, I have found that some students with special needs and their parents are not aware of services that are available, whether the student had an IEP or not.
Here is a resource for students with Dyslexia from the University of Michigan. When you click on this link it will redirect you to a page where you can click on the link with the information: http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/tools/informational-websites
Parents can find the latest information related to assistance for Michigan K-12 students with disabilities and transition centers at the links below:
https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/special-education/parent-resources
https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/special-education/evaluations-ieps/ieps
I spoke with a parent today about school personnel at her school that attempted to get her and other parents to disclose Medicare information or sign a form during the IEP meetings related to Medicare that essentially allows Medicare to bill for special education school services for various therapies like speech therapy, that are free of charge according to the Federal government through IDEA, ADA, and Civil Rights. Again, special ed services in a school are free of charge.
So this raises two things:
Problem: Schools are supposed to have enough therapists to provide the student with therapies listed on the IEP because the services are paid for in each school district by grants from the Federal government and millages that are connected to your property taxes and are voted on in elections that support specialized schools, programs, and services for students with disabilities.
Problem : Medicare should not be billing for free special education services that are supposed to be provided by the schools.
I feel parents should look into and discuss this matter with other parents of students with special needs or under the term "Gifted and Talented," and parent groups such as PTA, etc, as parents have the right to refuse for Medicare to bill for special education services that are supposed to be free of charge. If anyone has additional info please feel free to send it to me via the comment box in this blog. Thank you!
Here is the link on how the State of Michigan pays for Special Education:
Autism Spectrum Disorder: In Michigan, there were efforts towards an ASD State Plan. This link has the reports up to 2018. "The Michigan Autism Spectrum Disorder State Plan was developed to build the state infrastructure for comprehensive, lifespan supports to individuals with ASD and their families through access to information and resources, coordination of services, and implementation of evidence based practices." https://www.michigan.gov/autism/stateasdplan#:~:text=The%20Michigan%20Autism%20Spectrum%20Disorder,implementation%20of%20evidence%20based%20practices.
The Michigan Advocacy and Protection Services that provided the Advocacy Guide Manual is now under the Disability Rights Michigan website. Parents are able to download the Advocacy Guide. Here is the link: https://www.drmich.org/resources/special-education/
In the past, other parent advocates and I utilized this Advocacy Guide to teach parents in the Detroit School District how to advocate for their child or children with special needs. The office no longer mails out hard copies of the manual.
If you are a parent or guardian who is not in Michigan, from my past research and communication with parents in other states, each state has their own department or office for Protecton and Advocacy that may have similar Advocacy Guide Manuals.
Parents should do an internet search under the name of your state. Examples are "California Disabiltity Protection and Advocacy Guide", "Ohio Disability Protection and Advocacy Guide", "State of Washington Disability Protection and Advocacy Guide"etc.m or "Advocacy Guide."
The Detroit Office of the ARC of Michigan on Hancock Street appears to be closed. As of today, 7/10/2023, the office number 313 831-0202 is disconnected and the number on their website 888-929-9444 is also disconnected. I tried calling the 888 number with 1-888-929-9444 and received a disconnected number recording "no longer in service".
Thank you!
Aurora Harris
