Update on TIPS and Early Intervention Changes in TN- More Help Needed

Dear Concerned Friends,

Because of your efforts, Nashville has "reconsidered" it's decision to fire all of the TIPS full-time teachers. Commissioner Seivers met with TIPS Regional Lead Teachers on April 9th and heard their concerns. Representative Doug Overbey was there. So was Rick Nicholson from Finance Ways & Means Committee, TEA, and a representative from the Governor's office. About 2 weeks later, the RLTs, state secretaries and business manager got letters saying that they would have jobs in the "new" program. Thank you for making the calls, e-mails, etc. We're glad Commissioner Seivers changed her mind about the RLTs.

We don't know what the RLTs will be doing, though, because they may be assigned different job duties. We contacted Don Thompson and asked him if everyone was being kept. He said that TIPS contracts for some staff through the Center on Deafness at UT. These people may get to keep their jobs until the end of September, but they don't know that for sure. When we asked about the numbers of people involved, he said there are 3 RLTs, 2 computer people and 7.5 secretaries currently employed who are paid by UT but work for TIPS. Don Thompson still has a RIF letter, too.

Nashville is still planning on taking away the "special school" title from TIPS School, but they are moving the TIPS program under the Tennessee School for the Blind so the TIPS teachers can still be teachers. Posted on this site (in the next comment) is a letter written by Sarah Willis. She is the lady who started TEIS, helped to get TIPS set up as a special school and worked very hard to get Tennessee's early intervention program going well. She retired several years ago and moved to Washington to work for the US Office of Special Education Programs. Ms. Willis KNOWS Tennessee's program, and she knows federal law. In her letter, she tells Commissioner Seivers that our state needs to put all of this change on hold and fix the problems within the current system, not try to reinvent the airplane while it is flying. As a parent with a child in our state's program, I encourage you to let your legislators know these things:

1) you appreciate their help in saving the jobs of TIPS RLTs
2) our state needs to stop trying to implement a new program and just fix the problems in the current program
3) give people who KNOW early intervention a chance to help plan the future.