Parent Email: "These children are victims of bureaucratic policies that would prefer to see kids wait"

Dear Representative Nelson,

Thank you... thank you... thank you

I have now seen firsthand exactly what your campaign for HB 3393 is all about. …

I was never aware of how serious these issues are for our delayed or special needs child until we had a son born with mild cerebral palsy. Since then I've sought out families across Oklahoma to learn more about their struggles with assistance for their children. What I've heard has been very sad.

At three and a half years of age now, our son … has only attended public school here … for the past 6 months. It has truly been a disappointment and a very sad state of affairs to see how these children are victims of bureaucratic policies that would prefer to see kids wait until a "later date" to really address problems. Please believe me when I say that I could go on and one about what really happens in the public school setting at IEP meetings, and what does not happen in the classroom that should. The same people that claim how critical it is to get these therapies (OT, PT, and speech therapy) at the earliest stages of brain development are some of the same people that want to deny the children many of these "life" critical foundation therapies. My eyes have only been opened by parents of other children who are already years down the road in this process...it's very sad.

It seems that the only way to get the school systems attention frequently is to mention due process... very unfortunate and wrong. …

We're much too smart and educated in this country to let our children wither this way.

Thanks so much and may God continue to bless you sir.

Sincerely,
BB

(I received this email from a parent within the last week. I've posted it because I want to share with others what I'm hearing from parents about the importance of House Bill 3393. This Parent Email is a representative sample of the dozens of emails I've received because of HB3393.)