March 28, 2012 Special Ed. Sub Meeting

Agenda

Quincy School Committee
Special Education Subcommittee
Wednesday, March 28, 7:00 pm
Quincy High School

  1. Collaborative Goals

    Special Education Procedural Guidelines (aka Parent Guide) Review Timeline and Planning: QPAC Review

    Parent Brochure for Initial Evaluation Draft copy to be shared - Ms. Todd

    Substitute Information – Update Status - Ms. Todd

    Transitions (Adulthood) – Update Status - Ms. Todd

  2. Communication/Information Sharing

    Updates - Mrs. Roberts
    * Curriculum Newsletters (Elementary/Middle School)
    * Instant Alert

    504 Legislation – Update on February 3 Conference - Ms. Todd

  3. Progress Reports

  4. Adjournment/Next Meeting: Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Minutes

Special Education Subcommittee Meeting

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A meeting of the Special Education Subcommittee was held on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 7:00 pm at Quincy High School. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. David McCarthy, and Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Chair. Also attending were Assistant Superintendent Roberts, Ms. Judy Todd, Ms. Donna Cunningham, Mr. Richard Kelly, QPAC Board members, interested parents, and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mrs. Mahoney.

The first item on the agenda was a review of progress towards the collaborative goals. The Special Education Procedural Guidelines (aka Parent Guide) was discussed at the last QPAC meeting. The outline was reviewed and a group formed to create a draft for Ms. Todd’s review by May 3, 2012; the target for completion of the guide is June 15, 2012. There is also a Teacher Resource Guide planned and the development will follow the same process, but on a different timeline. The draft is due to Ms. Todd on July 12, 2013 with a target completion date of August 23, 2012.

A draft of the Parent Brochure for Initial Evaluation was presented by Ms. Todd for QPAC’s review. The brochure will be distributed with the evaluation consent form and also posted on the Quincy Public Schools website. QPAC will give feedback as soon as possible; Ms. Todd will present a final version at the May 23, 2012 Special Education Subcommittee meeting.

For the Substitute Information item on the agenda, Ms. Todd spoke with principals and teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels about using the Student Accommodations Chart as a tool for substitutes. After some initial concerns about privacy were allayed, principals agreed that this is something they could make work. Ms. Todd said this is something we could share with the South Shore Educational Collaborative and Ms. Gichuhi said it could also be shared with MassPAC. Mrs. Roberts agreed to present this at the Principal’s meeting and request teachers who are willing to pilot the use of the form. It was suggested that the form should have the teacher’s name, the school name, and possibly other information. Feedback will be shared at the May 23, 2012 Special Education Subcommittee meeting, with the goal of implementing this across QPS for the start of school in September 2012.

For Transitions to Adulthood, Ms. Todd reviewed that the laws changed a few years ago to indicate that when a student on an IEP is 14, the transition plan must be drafted and reviewed every year thereafter. Ms. Todd shared the QHS Procedural Manual on Transition Planning (created by a TEAM) as a resource. QPAC has another booklet that has some materials that can be integrated as well. Ms. Perry mentioned that through her position on the Workforce Investment Board Youth Board, the state law may change so that teenagers must remain in school until 18 (current law is 16). There may be funding available through Youth Build to create programs for this change; currently there is Quincy Evening High School but new/different programs will need to be created. Mrs. Mahoney noted that this will be a long-term agenda item, lots of work needed to understand this evolving process. Ms. Gichuhi inquired about measuring transition services and Ms. Todd spoke of the difficulties since transition goals are widely variable. Mrs. Roberts spoke about NAVIANCE, which will be presented at the May 14 Teaching and Learning subcommittee as a possible way to follow transition outcomes.

For Communication/Information Sharing, Mrs. Roberts updated the group on the two issues from the previous meeting. Principals were asked to share information about QPAC meeting dates on their newsletters and calendars; this will be reiterated at next week’s Principals’ Meeting. For Instant Alerts, the issue with the parents not receiving the Special Education announcements has been resolved.

The next item on the agenda was 504 Legislation. Ms. Todd attended a conference on February 3, 2012 with the South Shore Educational Collaborative, but no new information was presented. There was an off-agenda discussion about IEP goals and what to do when goals are not acceptable as written and all agreed that working with the team to clarify the goals is the option.

The last item on the agenda was Progress Reports. Ms. Todd reported that the SPED Team monitored the current middle school marking period and determined that specialist reports were completed with very few exceptions. Parent concerns seem focused on notification that progress reports were being distributed and consistent practice at all middle schools. (Some require signed reports be returned to school; others do not.) Ms. Todd will report on the High School progress report process at the May 23 Special Education Subcommittee meeting.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Linda Perry urged all parents to attend the QPAC meeting on May 8; board elections for next year are being held, so it is important to have a quorum.

The next Special Education Subcommittee meeting is Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 7:00 pm at Quincy High School. Suggested agenda items include:

  • What is the process for how teachers learn about their obligations under IEPs?

  • Department of Elementary and Secondary Education SPED Indicators: results available from last year?

  • SPED translators: Quincy Asian Resources training translators to understand SPED and IEPs.

  • Transportation: issues/complaints reported in 2011-2012 school year

  • Choosing meeting dates for the 2012-2013 school year.

At 8:50 pm, Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to adjourn the Special Education Subcommittee meeting. Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.