An op-ed in the New York Times calls for more oversight of private special education schools. A new report found that certain private contractors were ripping off the state. 

Over the last few months, the comptroller’s office has cited several private contractors who stole or misspent millions of dollars, including billing the program for no-show employees and for services that were never delivered. The brazen overbilling suggests that many of them had been at it for years, getting bolder as time went on.

Yesterday, I spent an hour in Ian's class. I'm allowed one observation per month, but I haven't taken advantage of that opportunity enough. With a new teacher right out of college, I'm a bit nervous, so I'm keeping a close eye on his class this year. 

After an hour of sitting in a tiny chair, my biggest concern wasn't with the teacher, but the practice of breaking the kids into small groups and having an aide provide direct instruction. The aides don't have teaching certificates. In fact, many of them don't even have college degrees. They are paid minimum wage. Legally, they really should not be providing direct instruction to kids at all.

Ian is at a fifth grade level for math. His state standardized tests were quite good. But when I saw him in his group with one other little girl, he looked bored out of his mind. The aide read from a teachers' manual a lesson on intervals. She didn't have a good enough grasp of the material herself to deviate from a word for word reading from the manual. 

Aides have to do so much of the instruction, because the teacher is busy with scheduling and IEP paperwork. 

 The classroom had too many adults in the room and was set up to make life convenient for the adults. It wasn't a happy, vibrant, learning environment for the kids. 

In the old days, I would have gotten on my soap box, held meetings with administrators, and demanded change for all kids. These days, I know better. I'm instead holding Ian back a year and insisting that he gets mainstreamed for all his classes. The aides can supplement what he's learning from a real teacher. I'll hire a tutor to plug in the gaps. 

Special education does need a lot more oversight. However, if I was doing the oversight, it would probably end up as a more expensive program rather than a cheaper one.