ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A new law is going to help even the playing field for Central Florida children on the Autism spectrum.

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In 2019, Investigative Reporter Karla Ray discovered the amount of behavioral therapy students can receive in school varies from district to district.  That’s because of the way state law was written.

At that time, Osceola and Orange County school leaders both told 9 Investigates though they could allow Registered Behavior Technicians in classrooms, they chose not to.  Now, they’ll be considered the same as speech pathologists, occupational or physical therapists, and every district across the state will have to accommodate families who use these private services.

The issue first came to light when we met Andrew Pogar, whose family was fighting Brevard Public Schools for the non-verbal, then-seven-year-old to be assisted by a privately paid RBT in class.  Shortly after our stories aired, BPS changed its rules to allow RBTs, but not every district followed suit.

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“School districts opposed it,” Rene Plasencia said.  “At the end of the day, good policy was able to prevail in spite of a bad opposition.”

Just-retired State Representative Rene Plasencia introduced legislation first in 2020, and again in 2021, to change the portion of state law that gave districts discretion on whether to allow RBTs to assist students.  The third time would be the charm this session, as the Governor just signed HB 255, adding Registered Behavior Technicians who have a nationally recognized certification to the list of private instructional personnel allowed in public schools.

“We’re grateful that throughout the state now there is no such a ban or barrier for individuals to be able to receive the services, so that they can flourish,” Tiki Fiol said.  Fiol is the President of the Florida Association for Behavioral Analysis, and has advocated for families like the Pogars in pursuing access to this type of therapy in districts across the state.

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Fiol says this type of assistance is different from occupational or physical therapy, and there might be a learning curve as more RBTs enter classrooms.

“FABA would like to come up with some trainings and assist with the Florida Department of Education to work on different ways to make sure that it’s good ABA that’s being provided, plans for transition, our understanding that we’re not there to supplant educationally relevant services, we are there to assist and fine tune,” Fiol said.

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Concerns of catching COVID pushed now-9-year-old Andrew into the Hospital/Homebound school system temporarily, but he’s been working with an RBT each da while learning from home.  The family is now in discussion with a public school principal on how much of that help he’ll be able to continue to receive in class in the fall.

“It’s life changing for the kids and for their families. It gives a lot of children the ability to live have a semblance of independence as they age, it takes a huge weight off of parents shoulders,” Plasencia said.

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