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# Schools are expected to create special post
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/schools-are-expected-to-create-special-post/
- Published: 2006-04-06T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:30:27.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import

*Board wants to stay in-house*

SMMUSD HDQTRS — Some of the school district’s neediest students are about to get a helping hand.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified school board is expected tonight to create a new position that would be solely responsible for evaluating and designing special education programs for the district’s approximately 1,400 students with disabilities.

The new position is “teacher specialist: assistive technology.”

“When you talk about assistive technology, most people automatically think of computers, but actually assistive technology is anything that helps you to benefit from or access curriculum,” said Tim Walker, assistant superintendent for Identifying which works best for individual students in special education is currently being done by private consultants on a needs-only basis. The new, certificated position will be full time and should provide a cost savings for the district, Walker said.

Salary has not been set and is based on experience, Walker said.

The move is part of the school board’s effort to bring more work in-house, to provide better services for students and to save money. With a permanent staff member to fill the position, the board does not have to hire expensive consultants, who are not subject to the same controls or evaluation process as district employees.

> “Technology could be a colored overlay, a ruler used to keep one’s place while reading, a new pencil grip for writing or a laptop computer with special software or a device that allows someone to communicate.” — special education and student support services

Parent Tricia Crane said the new position is good for students, but criticized the district for waiting almost 10 years to create it.

“The district has been out of compliance for years and has not been meeting the needs of students,” Crane said.

Employing a specialist in assistive technology is required under law as part of the 1997 re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Walker said.

Since the law’s passage, the district has used private contractors to conduct assessments and make recommendations for teachers.

“Usually, the team can make determinations about assistive technology without a specialist, but obviously there are cases that rise to the level of needing a formal assessment and recommendations for consideration, and that is when we sub-contract out,” Walker said.

If the board approves of the position, Walker said the district will begin advertising immediately to fill it, with hopes of having someone in place before the start of the new school year.

The district is looking for candidates who have a minimum of five years full-time teaching experience with severely handicapped students, at least one year’s experience in designing individual education programs, and a masters degree. Candidates who have taught within the district are preferred, as well as those who have basic sign language skills, according to a report from district staff.

In addition to evaluations and assessments, the teacher specialist would be required to design and deliver workshops for teachers and parents, provide routine in-class support, and maintain a detailed list of equipment purchased and their location.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 6, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040606.pdf?ref=smdp.com)