Is college still worth the cost?

 Is college still worth the cost?

In many instances taxpayers are helping to finance the cost of higher education.  The US Department of Education thinks that assistance should only go to students in programs where the degree will lead to a higher salary otherwise the degree is not worth the investment.  Under proposed regulations programs that do not meet earnings benchmarks could lose access to federal loan programs.

This proposal would mean that programs in theology, the arts, museum studies and possibly even teacher ed programs would be at risk.   For that matter, some of the liberal arts programs like psychology, criminal justice and mass communication don’t deliver much in the way of dollars upon graduation either.

In the dark ages the common belief was it made no sense to educate women because they were going to marry, have babies and drop out of the workforce.  The more enlightened folks argued that an educated mom would be a better mom for all those babies.  We know how that argument ended up.

In the early years of higher ed, only the wealthy went to college to study and learn, not to earn.   Those who needed to earn went to trade schools or in the field of education “normal” schools.  Some of that notion may be returning because with higher tuitions, many young people are skipping higher ed and going to trade schools.  They too are examining whether the cost of tuition and debt is worth the economic outcome.  Higher education enrollments are declining.

For decades colleges justified themselves by marketing their programs as the pathway to higher incomes.  

The question before us is that the main reason to support young people in higher education.  Is the value of higher ed measured only in dollar return on the investment.  Is economic value the best measure of educational value?  Do we need a well-educated populace to sustain our democracy?   Like those babies of well-educated moms, are we all better off with more well educated folk even if the dollar return on investment is not that great?

Will anyone notice before it's too late?

 Is anybody there? Does anybody care?

The Trump administration his moving full force to dismantle the US Office of Education.  Now Secretary McMahon is telling folks the new plan will be better.  Advocates for people with disabilities aren’t buying the story.

First of all the Office for Civil Rights within the Education Department is being shut down and shifted to the Department of Justice.  The Department has laid off the attorneys in the Office of Civil Rights.  This year over 9000 complaints have been filed.   Well over 7000 of these were resolved by simply dismissing them.  The Department has also closed 7 of the 12 regional offices.  Families can still complain to their state offices but it is usually the state departments of education against whom the complaints are made.

The law that established the Department of Education says that the Department is responsible for overseeing and funding the education of children with disabilities.  The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) also gives that responsibility to the Department of Education. 

Additionally, McMahon, has moved the program and funding issues regarding children with disabilities to Health and Human Services.  It has taken years for advocates to move the education of kids with disabilities to a psychological and instructional model, not a medical one.  Now moving programs to a department focusing on health is a step backward.  

 No one in the Trump administration has consulted Congress on the changes. Even though many see the moves as a violation of the two major laws.  Even Democrats in Congress are barely noticing.  The thing is very few folks, other than institutional advocates will even pay much attention to these changes which explains why McMahon can get away with it. And, of course, as a good sycophant she has Trumps full support.

Is anybody there?  Does anybody care?   Doesn’t seem so and then it will be too late.

How much is it worth for the cure?

 How much is it worth to cure your child of autism?

How about $436 a minute or $30,500 a day?  Chances are your insurance isn’t going to cover it. Families with children on the autism spectrum are looking for help.  Many times, the places or services that can help have long waiting lists.

There are some national organizations that can provide service right away. You might want to take a second or third look before you buy.  The service is costly and the providers will come right into your home.  Usually, the providers offer immediate service and promise that the service will be at no cost to you because your insurance will cover the cost.  These services are almost always out of network so there is no cap or oversight of the costs. 

One such organization is Perfect Child.  It provides in-home service with a promise that your insurance will cover the service.  The therapy is usually offered by people called behavior technicians.  In many states, these people have little more than a high school diploma.  Their wages are low, roughly around $20 an hour.  And, of course, they need to be supervised by someone with an actual license and whose fees are much higher.  The family pays the hourly rate for both.  One example of the service, a behavioral technician spent 70 minutes with a child working on a puzzle and playing with educational toys.  The insurance company was billed $15,200 for the technician and another $15,300 for the supervision.  A total of $436 a minute.  The insurance company denied the claim.  Ultimately the family was billed $911,400 for services denied by their medical insurance provider.   Perfect Child, the company doing the billing, kept encouraging the family to appeal to their insurance company.  

Insurers ask for proof of service.  Providers say they have sent the proof but nothing arrives.  In some instances, families have been sued by the fraudulent providers for bills for the fraudulent services.

Promising families the sky who are looking to provide the very best for their children are ripe for picking. These fraudulent services make promises that are very appealing. The "cure rate" of these organizations is very low and when the insurance isn't paid, no plan of care is offered. How much is it worth to cure your child of autism?

And now for the latest in classroom management

 There are better ways to quiet a class

A federal lawsuit was just filed.  The suit alleges that a teacher of children with significant cognitive disabilities gave her class over-the-counter melatonin.  A whistleblower at Maiden Choice Elementary school in Baltimore County alerted a parent that the teacher and her aides were giving the kids melatonin, an OTC hormone that is designed to promote sleep. Significantly disabled students were noticed with heads down on their desks sleeping!!  At this point no criminal charges have been filed.  Initially, the parent was told that the accused teacher was placed on leave and that “no further actions were taken”.   Since that time, the County has said the teacher no longer works for Baltimore County schools.  It is unclear whether the teacher was terminated by the County or resigned herself.

The suit was first filed in State court but because the basis of the suit is the 14^th amendment to the US Constitution, the case was transferred to federal court.  The lawsuit is against the teacher, the school principal, and Baltimore County Public Schools.  The lawsuit does say that Baltimore County investigated the situation but does not say what the result of that investigation was.  Staff at Maiden Choice are mandated by law to report any suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services.  It is not clear if any staff made such a report.

Baltimore County is arguing that the family has no claim against the principal or the County schools because they never engaged in the behavior for which the teacher is accused.  The other question is whether the teacher’s actions were a crime.  Baltimore County State’s Attorney has indicated he is not sure what charges may apply for any criminal behavior on the part of the teacher based on what he knew about the case.  The police department is also saying it was not aware of the alleged incidents.  Since the alleged behavior on the part of the teacher happened in 2024, the statue of limitation would have expired.  

With all of the concerns, and with no one taking responsibility, the overriding question is “didn’t anyone notice a class of sleeping children in the middle of the day”.  There are better ways to quiet a class.  Is it too much to expect someone noticing?