In fifth grade we were told my high-functioning autistic son would never be able to go to college, never graduate from high school and never hold a job.
He started volunteering at 14. He graduated from Bucks County Technical High School having been on the honor roll, student of the month and senior of the year in his shop. He will start college in the fall.
He was able to achieve these goals because of the tremendous amount of support he got in school. I know from speaking with other parents of autistic children that my son’s experience is not typical.
For this reason, I was thrilled with Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer’s ruling that the manner in which the state of Pennsylvania funds its schools is unconstitutional.
If every child is supported in a way that enables them to succeed, it benefits not on the student but the whole community.
Instead of being unable to work and needing government support, my son will be building and fixing trains. He will provide skilled labor that is desperately in demand.
Good schools raise property values; good workers add to the tax base; and people who are valued as children learn to value others, ending cycles of violence and hate.
I call on our legislature to support all our kids and make sure every child has a meaningful opportunity to succeed.
Rosa David, Falls Township
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