May 30, 2012 Special Ed. Sub Meeting

Agenda

Quincy School Committee
Special Education Subcommittee
Wednesday, May 30, 7:00 pm
Quincy High School

  1. IEP Process

  2. Student Record/Observation Requests

  3. QARI/Special Education Translators

  4. Meeting Dates and Goals for 2012-2013

  5. Adjournment/Thank You!

Minutes

Special Education Subcommittee Meeting

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A meeting of the Special Education Subcommittee was held on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 at 7:00 pm at Quincy High School. Present were Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Mr. David McCarthy, and Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent DeCristofaro, Ms. Judy Todd, Ms. Erin Perkins, Mr. Richard Kelly, QPAC Board members Ms. Jill Gichuhi and Ms. Linda Perry, 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 discussion of the IEP Process. Ms. Gichuhi requested a review of the process of fall implementation for Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and accommodations, especially to regular education teachers. Ms. Todd reviewed that the Special Education department goal is for IEPs to be shared the first week of school. In the elementary and middle schools, plans are discussed as part of the end of the year ILT meetings. Mr. McCarthy asked if there was an audit process to check that teachers are implementing IEPs in high school. Ms. Todd replied that there is a liaison for each student who monitors this and any staffing changes; department heads supervise liaisons. Mrs. Mahoney asked what the process is if a parent feels IEP not being followed. Ms. Todd replied that parents should contact the SPED chairs at the Elementary and Middle school levels and department heads at high school. Mr. McCarthy asked how many liaisons there are and Ms. Todd replied that every SPED teacher at the high school level is a liaison. The liaisons also monitor the regular education teachers’ use of the IEPs and correct and suggest alterations as needed.

With the agreement of the Subcommittee, Mrs. Mahoney took the agenda out of order and moved to the third item Quincy Asian Resources/Special Education Translation. Ms. Todd met with John Brothers, David Wu, and Melissa Mei from QARI to review their goal to train translators in August. At a second meeting, Ms. Todd reviewed the IEP process and provided a dictionary of terms to be translated. The SPED department will be part of the training process. The training is offered to anyone in QPS who speaks Mandarin or Cantonese and is willing to take on the training. Ms. Perry asked about other Asian languages, but QARI will not be able to provide those services at this time. (QPS has other for-fee translation resources to utilize.) Mrs. Mahoney complimented QARI on this initiative.

The next item on the agenda was Meeting Dates and Goals for 2012-2013. Ms. Todd proposed a goal: The Special Education Subcommittee will facilitate communication about the implementation of the Special Education Program Improvement Plan by further developing the website to include updated information; monitoring and reporting on progress report distribution; and updating the Special Education Program Booklet.

Mr. McCarthy suggested adding a goal for monitoring IEP implementation. Mrs. Mahoney suggested monitoring the adoption of the substitute checklist, the rollout of the new parent guide, and the SPED handbook. Ms. Gichuhi shared QPAC goals, along with draft timelines for completion. Some of this year’s QPAC goals are ongoing and will be followed next year as well.

Ms. Todd proposed the following SPED Subcommittee meeting dates for 2012-2013: October 17, 2012; January 16, 2013; March 27, 2013; and May 15, 2013. Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to accept the meeting dates as proposed, Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion and, on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

The brochure explaining the evaluation process is almost final. This brochure will be sent to parents along with the consent to evaluate form. Ms. Perry asked if this brochure or something similar should be shared with Head Start, Early Intervention, Learning Links, and other agencies as an education tool for parents at the beginning of the process. Ms. Gichuhi asked if QPAC representatives could attend some of the networking events with these agencies; all agreed this was appropriate. Mrs. Mahoney suggested it should be a goal that the brochure is ready to be approved at first SPED Subcommittee meeting in October.

Mrs. Mahoney then returned to the order of the agenda and introduced the second agenda item, Student Record/Observation Requests. Ms. Gichuhi asked about how Principals are made aware of the School Committee policy. Ms. Todd answered that the request for student record review and observation would be made to the team chair (guidance at elementary and middle schools; department heads at high school). Ms. Todd said that the policy was updated in 2009 and while the team chairs are aware of the details of the process, this can be reviewed with the principals at one of the upcoming Principal Meetings. Ms. Todd stressed the formal nature of the observations; observers are always accompanied by the team chair.

Mrs. Mahoney made a motion to adopt the collaborative goals and Ms. Todd’s goal, as well as continuing to monitor the goals from 2011-12. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.

Mrs. Mahoney requested that the new technology that Ms. Gichuhi mentioned be investigated by the Special Education Department. Ms. Gichuhi will share the information with Ms. Todd.

Ms. Gichuhi announced the new QPAC board; Linda Perry has returned to the Board to manage Publicity.

At 7:45 pm, Mr. Bregoli made a motion to adjourn the Special Education Subcommittee meeting. Mr. McCarthy seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.