PWCS Misleading Public about Aquatic Therapy and Special Needs Students

I want to thank all of the parents of special education students for notifying me about the discrepancy between what PWCS is promising and what they’ll actually deliver regarding aquatic therapy for SPED students.  I don’t have any children in SPED programs and don’t understand what things mean to SPED students, like what it means when services are or are not on IEPs.

My profound lack of understanding arose as an issue regarding the pool in the 12th high school aquatics complex in the 12th high school.

At the school board meeting on June 5, 2013 there were several discussions about the aquatics complex regarding aquatic therapy for special needs students.  One point stood out, even though I didn’t know what it meant at the time, the point that aquatic therapy could be provided to SPED students, but would not be included in their IEPs.

What this means, in my not a SPED parent language, is that SPED students can get aquatic therapy if they need it or would benefit from it, but it would be provided after school hours by therapists contracted privately and paid for by the student’s parents.  If it isn’t on their IEP, then the school division will not provide for it.  Sure, they’ll make sure there’s a facility for it to be provided, but PWCS will not provide aquatic therapy to special needs students.

One Mom rather bluntly told me that PWCS is making this claim about providing aquatic therapy to convince special needs parents to support the pool, even though they know full well that aquatic therapy will not be provided by the school division. She believes that PWCS is deliberately misleading the public and special needs parents in an effort to drum up support for the aquatics complex.

Based on what I’ve learned versus what I’ve heard from PWCS, she has a point.