Laura Delima

My name is Laura Delima. I am a New Hampshire parent to a child with significant disabilities. HB 1221 asks the state to study moving students with higher support needs out of their home schools and into centralized locations. For families like mine, that feels like a quiet step backward. When disabled children are removed from their neighborhood schools, disability stops being part of everyday school life. Inclusion becomes optional. Belonging becomes conditional. And schools lose responsibility to build classrooms that work for all students. My child deserves to grow up in his community, alongside his peers. Not separated because it is cheaper or easier for the system. Separate schools may be framed as efficiency, but they come at the cost of connection, visibility, and equity. Disabled children are not a budget problem to be grouped elsewhere. They are part of our communities. Lets not turn back time on inclusion when we should be moving forward to more inclusion.