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Somewhere, in some publication they give you when your kid qualifies for special ed, it says that your child is entitled to a free and appropriate education, courtesy of the taxpayers. Many many court battles have been waged over what that specifically entails.

Anybody who has registered kids for school lately knows it's not free. School fees can be hundreds of dollars per year.

And now, I'm not sure Duncan is getting an appropriate education either.

He's had an easy transition to high school. It seems a perfect fit for him- no homework, pizza for lunch every day, and a school bus to get him there and back. Minimal effort on his part and mine. Public school seems like it offers everything our charter school lacks.

But after parent teacher conferences tonight, I want my charter school back.

I got the distinct impression that he is basically being warehoused there. His teachers seem more interested in managing him than in teaching him anything. Duncan doesn't really need managing. He needs engaging.

He can't do mainstream classes. I know he would get left in the dust.

But the resource classes aren't a good fit for him either. They require very little effort on his part, and he is happy to only put a little effort into it. And he learns nothing.

In one class he is getting graded on picking up the old newspapers from the office every day and taking them to where they get recycled. This is supposed to teach him job skills. I like to think he is capable of a little more than that.

In English he listens to books on tape then answers questions about them. Day in, day out.

His IEP meeting is coming up next week. I hate IEP's. Even with the best-intentioned administrators and teachers, it always feels like a losing battle. I don't know how much fight I have in me. He doesn't need any major disruptions. And I don't know how much good it would do for me to raise a fuss.

But I don't want to give up on him either.