District talks about culture of inclusion
SMMUSD HDQTRS In a school district entangled in controversy over the special education program, its reputation taking a hit from claims of secrecy and intimidation, administrators and parents were shown a light at the end of the tunnel, the possibility of healing for the divided community.
The light comes in the form of the special education program at the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, a proud educational institution that is also undergoing its own healing process and so far has seen positive results, families and administrators once considered each other as adversaries now partners.
Some key figures in those changes that have taken place at the Northern California district shared their experiences with the Santa Monica and Malibu school community during a special Board of Education meeting on Tuesday. The meeting, which addressed the need to create a culture of inclusion with the special education department, was held with the Special Education District Advisory Committee and the Santa Monica-Malibu PTA Council.
San Ramon Valley experienced a similar level of turmoil in its special education program, parents distrusting the district, the underlying cause attributed to the lack of sufficient state funding, which is plaguing all school districts, according to Nancy Vandell, the immediate past president for the San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs.
The PTA formed a Special Needs Committee in the fall of 2002 to provide support to parents and serve as an informational resource for both families and district staff. The district eventually formed a Special Education Design Team to work on improving existing policies and hired a special needs liaison.
The committee met about 10 times during the 2006-07 school year, among its key concerns being staff retention.
“We were able to break down some barriers,”Vandell said.“We developed a vision for special education.”
Todd Gary, a former attorney and father of a special needs child, was hired as the district liaison last summer. He outlined a change in mindset that took place in the district during the negotiation process for the Individualized Education Plan, which outlines the services that special needs students receive during the school year.
It was the proceedings for the IEP that first sparked controversy in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, parents speaking in disdain of the practice of settlement agreements and confidentiality clauses that are brokered once negotiations in the IEP breakdown. A moratorium is in place for confidentiality clauses unless requested by the parent.
Gary said that the key is collaboration and a winning negotiation mentality, resulting in a satisfying deal for both parties.
“Most people think of it as adversarial,” Gary said. “I don’t want people to think of negotiation as adversarial because it doesn’t need to be.”
The winning negotiation process includes establishing boundaries and defining the services that lie outside, mutually agreeing from the beginning that they’re off the table.
Vandell said she believes the SMMUSD is in the same place that San Ramon Valley was when the Special Education Design Team was formed. She likened the work of the Special Needs Committee and the information it gathered to the audit that was conducted by Lou Barber & Associates last month about the special education program in Santa Monica and Malibu.
The school board expressed support for forming a design committee to further explore policy changes for special education. Superintendent Dianne Talarico, who also introduced several measures to improve the program last month, suggested the same group of stakeholders who chose Lou Barber as the consultant also serve as the design committee. The group, which was comprised of district staff and parents, was charged with the task of hiring a consultant to conduct the audit, which was mandated by the Santa Monica City Council last summer.
“We have to clean the slate and start over,” Talarico said. “There has to be reciprocity in this process and it has to be everyone, from the inside out and the outside in.”
School board member Kelly Pye said the experiences in the San Ramon Valley district show that change can be done in a responsible manner.
“I think we have amazing building blocks from which to move forward,” Pye said.
Some parents agreed. Lee Jones, the co-chair of the Special Education District Advisory Committee, said the meeting was a step in the right direction.
“I think that this gives us a model that can help us develop one of the many areas that will allow us to make change in the culture,” Jones said. It’s one of the pieces.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 16, 2008. Read the original PDF.