Community Advisory Committee, For Special Education advising the Board of Education for San Diego Unified School District

SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSION REGARDING SPECIAL EDUCATION CHANGES: COST, CRITERIA, SAVINGS, ENCROACHMENT

HOW THE SPECIAL EDUCTION CHANGES SHOULD BE DONE: FROM THE HEHIR REPORT

HOW SHOULD THE CHANGES BE MADE AND HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE IF THE DISTRICT CHOSE TO ACCEPT AND IMPLEMENT THE HEHIR REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

I never endorse anyone or anything. Opinions expressed in what I send out, may not be shared by me. Everything is for informational purposes only.

People who "advertise" through this newsletter have never been checked out by me. This includes professionals and even people who are interested in babysitting, etc.

Please take the time to thoroughly check out anyone and everyone that will be working with or caring for your child. We are all sadly aware, through news stories and word of mouth, of people who pray upon special needs children because of their extra vulnerability.

Thank you,
Valerie Dodd-Saraf
My enewsletters are archived on my website:
www.ValeriesList.com

SPRING 2008
YOU MUST BE AWARE: THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES TO STUDENTS STARTING IN THE FALL 2008

1.)Effective September 2008, there will be three options for instruction, as determined for state definitions: Specialized Academic Instruction (SAI) will be the primary service provided to all students who qualify for special education and will be available at all SDUSD sites. Intensive individual instruction: IEP Team determination that student requires additional support for all or part of the day to meet his or her IEP goals. Individual and small group instruction:
Instruction delivered one-to-one or in a small group as specified in an IEP enabling the individual(s) to participate effectively in the total school program. A complete list of all statewide Special Education service descriptions can be found at www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/ds/documents/asp01a.xls Throughout the District these changes will be implemented in Middle and High Schools. There are proposed trial areas to implement these changes in Point Loma and Pacific Beach Elementary schools only.
2.)There will no longer be designations such as ILS, PACE, Non-severe, etc., as the primary service. The IEP will now have the child's primary Federal Handicapping Condition (FHC) listed along with the amount of time the student will receive service.
3.)Additional related services (i.e. speech and language) will continue to be listed separately. Specialized Academic Instruction can be provided in either the general education or special education setting. Based on the amount to time and location of SAI, individual schedules will be developed for each student. These changes will be implemented in Encore during the summer. Appropriate LRE consideration must be part of all IEP decisions.
4.)Further, staffing allocations are being made to schools based on enrollment projections for the 08- 09 school years.
5.)Special Education Classrooms will be known as "support rooms" and students who cannot "fit in regular classrooms" will be instructed here.
6.)There is no maximum/minimum identified for the number of students assigned to the "support rooms".
7.)Teachers are being assigned based on their credential, such as Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe, a change from allocating an ED teacher or Non-severe Special Day Class, ILS or PACE.
8.)Teachers with Mild to Moderate Credentials are eligible to teach students who are currently in Resource Specialist Program, Non-Severe Day Class, and students with Emotional Disturbance.
9.)Teachers with Moderate to Severe Credentials are eligible to teach students who are currently in ILS, PACE, and ED classes.
10.)Para Educators will be allocated to the school based on projected enrollment needs, not to the teacher or program.
11.)It will be the Principal's responsibility to ensure student needs are met for all students, including 1:1.
12.)It will be the Principal's responsibility to ensure that their school has the capacity to meet the needs of students with disabilities attending their school. This means that a continuum of options should be available at every school based on individual needs and schedules. The continuum includes supports in general education and in separate classroom(s).
13.)Principals will receive 5 days of training during the summer of 2008.
14.)It will be more difficult to fit in the General Education teacher Professional Development which is a huge concern, there is so little of the traditional school year remaining.

What Parents MUST DO and Know
*Ensure that in the IEP there specifically is written how the child's curriculum will be individually accommodated;
*Ensure that the IEP defines the methodology to be used;
*Realize that not all General Educators know how to accommodate the needs of students receiving Special Education Services;
*Realize that for Students Receiving Special Education Services and Supports, Principals are not accountable on their evaluations for them, do not necessarily know what students receiving Special Education Services need to be successful and many Principals currently deny "ownership" of students receiving Special Education Services.

On February 12, 2008, the Board of Education (BOE), agenda item 7.b.2 was to vote on acceptance of the Thomas Hehir report and recommendations. During discussions

• BOE member Sheila Jackson called this "extensive report" "Landmark". Ms Jackson further expressed concerns regarding the Response to Intervention (RTI) component, that the BOE was being asked to approve RTI sight unseen, without having seen a plan. She said that the "who, what and where" were unknown. She stated that the BOE should have a preview of what Special Education was planning to do and not accept blindly.
• BOE member Mitz Lee wanted the word "accept" defined and wanted to know budget implications, expressed concern regarding who would be in the workgroups, and what would be their functions (criteria) and how long would the process take.
• BOE President Katherine Nakamura wanted to know budget implications. She wanted to go forward with an abundance of caution regarding budget. She didn't want the BOE to operate with an open checkbook, as there is already "a huge encroachment in this area" (sic: special education)
• BOE member Luis Acle recommended that the report be accepted. However, the report wasn't prepared by the Superintendent or Acting Superintendent, and that what is recommended by a consultant (sic and approved by the BOE) doesn't have to be implemented. He further stated that the Consultant may not know all in SDUSD, that SDUSD could use its own management, and not be responsible for all that is in the report. He continued that "our own expert staff can decide". He also stated that change is not necessary
• Superintendent Grier stated that it was not necessary to follow every recommendation of a consultation, there was no need to wait three years to implement some of the recommendations of the report. He thought that a good cross section of general education, special education, and principals timelines. He again stated the need for a budget for three year funding and a timeline. He stated that if the (sic RTI) interventions were done up front, there could be a savings of millions now and more down the road if a more thorough job was done of identifying kids and intervening and not placing them in Special Education.
• Bill Kowba, Finance, said that this would be a major shift in neighborhood schools and supports, instruction and transportation needed to be looked at.
• Geno Flores, Deputy Superintendent, asked that the BOE accept the Report and Recommendations and the formation of an Executive Committee and three workgroups. The Executive Committee would look at the complete process, using information from the work groups. The compilation of the information would be presented to the BOE with cost implications. Regarding the concern about RTI, the BOE was told that Dr. Hehir thought the SDUSD was moving in the right direction and that there would be an internal presentation at the end of the month
• Roxie Jackson, Executive Director of Special Education said that Dr. Hehir recommended that the Executive Committee be composed of "high level district people who can make things happen." And that the workgroups be composed of teachers and parents with no agenda. She requested that the BOE give approval to move forward and put the workgroups in place. She furthered that there would be a big change in service. The BOE was told, In regard to the budget implication concerns of Ms. Nakamura, that the information would be available in a month. The RTI model is already developed and the BOE will see it.
• From the Public Input of the BOE meeting, a question came up as to who was on the Executive Committee and it appeared that the CAC had at least one member. It was further stated, that perhaps the lead on the Executive level should be from the General Education side, as the committee was heavy with Special Education, including the Executive Director as the lead. It was mentioned that this was like fixing the problems where they were created.

"Effective school change is slow and dependent upon focus, resources, and organizational competency. Many of the recommendations overlap and advise the district focus their efforts to improve special education in three specific directions. These directions were selected on the basis that: (1) they will yield the most powerful results, (2) that the district has the resources to accomplish them, (3) the district has the professional competency to implement them.

(1) IMPROVE THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
SDUSD student performance on the California Standards Test (CST) has been relatively flat for students with disabilities, compared to the achievement of students in general education. Large numbers of students with disabilities are falling below basic and are in danger of not being able to qualify for a diploma and of leaving school with low academic levels.

• Provide training on accommodations to improve access to general education. This training should be a priority for special educators and eventually be offered to leaders and teachers in general education.
• Consider an increase in time devoted to learning
• Grade retention must be avoided
• Expand efforts towards integrated literacy instruction across all content areas, K-12