By Kristine Stolakis, KALW Crosscurrents
For the past two months, KALW has spoken to families making their way through the special education system in the Bay Area. A similar thread between all the families has surfaced: having advocates helping you navigate the system makes the special education waters a little less rough.
Just getting access to services can be tough. A lawsuit is currently making its way to the California courts saying that school districts aren’t giving special needs kids what the federal government guarantees them – access to a free and appropriate education. While not all parents are bringing the district to court, many involved in special education admit that just making this system work is a lot of work.
JT Werth is a ninth-grader at Mission High School. He is full of surprises.
When I ask him how he feels about his learning disability, he replies, “I love it because it makes me creative. It makes me different. I get to meet cool, nice people. And I just think in the long run, it’s going to be a great help for me.”
JT is a really confident kid. But when he was younger, he struggled with his learning differences.
Read the complete story at KALW Crosscurrents.