Here is different letter that our friend Sheri Farinha helped drafted that you guys can use: RE: OPPPOSE- SB 1393 Dear House Representative: As a taxpayer, parent, and voting resident of Arizona, we strongly urge you to Oppose S.B. 1393! This bill was introduced without the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blinds approval. No stakeholders were involved throughout the process, and when we testified opposing the bill at the House of Education Committee hearing last March 17, 2014, some of you had requested Mr. Mike Williams, the president of Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) to have a meeting with the community members to review the bill and offer amendments. To date, Mr. Williams never called for any such meeting. He has not make any effort in reaching out to the parents of ASDB nor the Deaf Community of Arizona community members. This was not an honest process and should have been cited out of order especially since there are ethical questions surrounding Mike Williams involvement as a registered lobbyist introducing a bill acting as President of ASDB but without ASDB Board, parents, and community knowledge and approval. We wish for the existing law, which lists specific qualifications with expertise serving deaf and hard of hearing children to remain intact. A superintendent overseeing a specialized population of a school for students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and deafblind, must come with qualifications with the background and expertise needed in order to make sound educational and administrative decisions. This is more than just taking care of busses, cafeteria, landscaping and building maintenance, etc. A superintendent must care for all students, whether deaf, blind, multi – disabled, not just the one physical characteristic of vision or hearing loss. A qualified superintendent with the education and experience in specialized education must take preference over those with simple business management backgrounds. Last but not least, It will triple the costs to this state if there is not a Superintendent with background knowledge and expertise to be able to directly communicate with the students, parents, and community using American Sign Language. Please OPPOSE 1393 Sincerely, Lisa Furr, President, Arizona Association of the Deaf and David Bailey, Phoenix Day School for the Deaf, Parent and Staff Organization
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:00:11 +0000
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