NPR ran a story this morning entitled, “Florida Charter Schools Failing Disabled Students.” From the headline, you might guess that disabled students in charter schools were showing poor test results, perhaps as a result of neglect. You might also draw the conclusion–one favored by the teachers’ unions at the core of the Democrat political machine, whose interests NPR promotes–that public schools are doing a better job.

NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya visits a Florida charter school for children with special needs (Source: jpmontoya.com)

In fact, the story is not about “failing” performance, but about access. The vast majority of charter schools in Florida do not have disabled students–and that’s no surprise, given the fact that charter schools are still a new phenomenon, opposed by teachers’ unions and Democrat politicians at almost every turn. The NPR story, produced in cooperation with a hostile Miami Herald investigation, admits that the primary problem is funding, and that many traditional public schools do not enroll students with disabilities:

Even in the traditional public schools, not every school is expected to provide every service. About half don’t serve a single child with a severe disability. Instead, they’re sent to neighboring schools with specialized programs.

That does not stop NPR from accusing the Florida charter schools of “segregation,” which the story explicitly–and erroneously–compares to racial and gender segregation. (more…)

During his recent State of the Union speech, the President issued a call for civility in America. Forget the fact that he once made a joke about Special Olympics kids and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently even called his fellow liberals “f-ing retards.” The President sounded good when he scolded America for its negative tone.  Oh, he also attacked Las Vegas again:

You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don’t go blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.

As a long-time Las Vegan and a parent of a special-needs child, I sometimes wonder if the President of the United States of America is out to get me.  I’m not the paranoid type, but I’m fitting all the profiles that he likes to attack.  Thank God Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman gave the president what for over his most recent attack on my city:

He’s not our friend. I don’t know about Nevada, but Las Vegas, he’s sure not our friend.  He has a real psychological hang-up about the entertainment capital of the world.

Everybody says I shouldn’t say it, but I’ve got to tell you the way it is. This president is a real slow learner. (more…)