This is in response to your article published on May 20, titled, “RB senior creates student self-advocacy survey”:
Aubrey Kaczmarek deserves tremendous recognition for her courage, compassion, and leadership. Instead of quietly accepting years of frustration, she created a thoughtful tool that will help students safely communicate their learning needs and accommodations. That is remarkable advocacy from a graduating senior.
But while her story is inspiring, it is also deeply troubling.
No student with an IEP or 504 Plan should have to repeatedly remind teachers about accommodations they are legally entitled to receive. These supports are not favors, suggestions, or “extras.” They are federal law. What is most concerning is the reason Aubrey felt compelled to create this tool in the first place: teachers not knowing about IEPs, forgetting accommodations, or making students feel uncomfortable advocating for themselves. That reflects a much larger systemic problem.
The failure to implement IEPs with fidelity is widespread and, honestly, it is an issue Landmark could devote an entire investigative series to exploring further. Parents of children with disabilities are exhausted from constantly fighting districts for basic compliance, compassion, and inclusiveness — all while hearing endless excuses about budget cuts and special education staffing shortages, while the administrative staffs, and salaries, continue to grow.
Aubrey should be incredibly proud of what she created. But the adults responsible for educating students with disabilities should also see this article as a wake-up call. Students should not have to build solutions for failures the educational system is legally and ethically obligated to address.
Mary Ann McNulty