Now who's causing the drama???

           Sigh.....   So now there may be some more drama at school.  This time it's all my fault.   Don't misunderstand me.   I am right in what I am doing.  I just wish people were not so busy playing cya and/or defendng their turf to just get things done.   But I get ahead of myself.  

                You see, the problem is this.  The school bus picks Feisty Pants up from school half an hour early.  Which is reprehensible.   Not to mention illegal.  New York State mandates a six hours per day of instruction.  (At FP's school even lunch counts as intruction- they incorporate therapy into lunch so that's fair.) Her day is scheduled to run from 8:30 to 2:30.  She is usually home by 2:20.    That's NOT fair. That's awful.  This kind of playing fast and loose with the what the kids get vs what the kids are supposed to get is common in Special Ed.   And always always ALWAYS terrible.   But we parents tolerate it a lot because: we are not sure of our rights, we always ask for a million exceptions to the rules so it seems like we should "play ball", they just don't listen when we bitch anyway.  But this is making me crazy.   Feisty Pants is starting to do really well in school.  I don't want anything- especially nonsense like this detracting from what progress she can make.   And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, my daughter has a shot at a real life.  You see by eliminating pre-existing conditions, eventually she will be able to buy her own insurance.  That means she doesn't have to live in poverty in order to be eligible for insurance.  Insurance that, make no mistake, she would die without having. 

                 Education is the key to this life.  It will mean the difference between a life of poverty and life of tax paying.   Between dependence and independence.  Between surviving and thriving.  But- and this is a huge terrible awful no good but, people tend to dismiss the disabled as unable.  There is this horrible passive aggressive bigotry that drives me right up the effing wall. ("Poor thing, what's wrong with her?")  And pervades so much of any disabled person's life.  This attitude is to not expect anything from the disabled.  To not worry about their wishes and desires.  To never ever think they might have aspirations or ambitions.  I mean, it's not like they are real thinking people with wishes and desires of their own.  They are not really like US, the poor things.  Honestly, every special needs child should come with a automatic bail fund for the parents.  When this attitude pervades the school system, I will grow fangs and howl at the moon.  I will even pat myself on the back whilst doing it.

                    And ever since Feisty Pants started regular school (as opposed to preschool), there has been this fast and loose play with her bus schedule.  At first, I didn't say much. I had bigger fish to fry.  But now, we have a good placement that is working.  Now's the time to fry this fish.  I have bitched and bitched until I am blue in the face.  Everyone I have spoken to has been polite.  And ineffective.  Now, I get LOUDER (metaphorically, yelling helps nobody, yet) and more creative.  Local bus company doesn't listen? I will write to the national hq for said company.  People call? I will not talk in response but only email so I have a paper trail.  And I cc everyone I can think of, so a) no one can hide in the shadows and b) I become an equal opportunity pain in the ass.  If necessary, I will go to the state.  This is illegal, after all. 

                   The only thing is, everyone seems to want play "It's not my fault. It's theirs".  Or protect their turf from the interloper who seems to have an opinion on how they do their job.  But I don't really care who's fault it is. I don't want a pound of flesh.  I want a successful education for my kid.  And I don't want to intrude on someone's turf.  I got enough territory of my own thanks.  I'm not doing this because I'm bored or just want to throw my weight around.  I am too busy and too tired.  Just do right by my kid and we'll get along swimmingly.  I know you are not trying to screw over little kids.  You are suffering from institutional thinking.  You think the job (of getting the kids home safe and sound) is simply being done efficiently.  But you are short changing the kids from getting all the instruction and therapy time. And that's just wrong. Morally, physically, and legally wrong.