PTA plans to hold forum on special education
SMMUSD HDQTRS Following a tumultuous period for special education, the new academic year could bring a time of growth.
Moving past a damaging few years for its reputation, the school district is hoping to make good on its promise of improving a department plagued with controversies, planning a series of changes intended to turn around the way business is conducted.
In the latest of actions addressing parental concerns about the problems, which include an alleged culture of secrecy and intimidation, the Board of Education on Thursday hired a Northern California-based firm to devise a long-range strategic plan to drive the future.
The Claros Group will spend the next few months evaluating the department to determine which practices and policies are working well and which need to be dismissed. With the help of a group of parents, teachers and administrators, the consultant will eventually draft a set of recommendations, which is expected to happen sometime in January. The superintendent will review it once the document is completed.
The study is estimated to cost approximately $13,000.
The district has undertaken a number of similar studies in the past, including an independent report by Fred Weintraub in 2000 and most recently, the Lou Barber independent audit that was released last spring. A separate Special Education Strategic Plan was also adopted several years ago.
Tricia Crane, a special education activist, said while she appreciates the effort, there should be more focus on taking immediate action by elected leaders and staff.
Specifically, Crane said that the changes in the Lou Barber report, which cost nearly $80,000 and came at the request of the City Council as a condition to release half a million dollars in school funding, should be acted upon.
“Our school district spent $80,000 on that audit and I know of nothing in it that has been implemented,” Crane said. “It appears that it has been shelved alongside many other ‘studies’ of special education in SMMUSD.”
Interim Superintendent Tim Cuneo, who was hired in July, said the new long-range plan will not see a similar fate. Cuneo said he understood that there might be skepticism by the public and added that the distrust is one of the things that must be corrected.
“I hope what we’re doing right now shows the Lou Barber report generated this discussion around special ed,” he said. “I hope people know we are not letting this drag on and we’re addressing it now.”
The district has taken some steps since the report was released, such as imposing an outright ban on confidentiality clauses in individualized education plans, which outline the services that special education students receive during the school year.
It was the clauses that first sparked outrage among parents and caused the council to step in during the summer of 2007, voting to withhold the approximately $500,000 increase in funding until changes are made.
Several short-term measures are also being put into place, including educating staff on legal obligations regarding special education and training staff on conflict resolution.
The district also plans to evaluate IEP negotiation meetings for “customer satisfaction,” both on part of the parents and staff, Cuneo said.
The council has yet to release the school funds. Cuneo said he doesn’t plan to address the council until he is sure the district is moving in a positive way.
“I want to assure the council that as a school system, we are being responsive and taking charge here,” he said.
Meanwhile parental complaints are still being reported to city officials.
“I think it’s imperative the district comes and tell us what they have done, but I want to hear from the public, too,” Mayor Herb Katz said. “I’m at the point where if we can solve and move ahead, fine, then we should release [the money], but not if there are still things going on, which — what I heard — still does.”
The Santa Monica-Malibu PTA Council is also planning ways in which it can help resolve some of the issues, forming a special education committee during the summer. The group has since split into two subcommittees, one that will host a forum in November which will provide information on special education, and a second that will establish a network of veteran parents that will provide expert opinion on how to navigate through the district.
The network will have at least one parent at each school to serve as the point person, according to Rebecca Kennerly, the PTA president.
“This was established to address some of the urgent needs that had been identified by parents and by other members of the community and focus on this from a parent point of view,” she said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 6, 2008. Read the original PDF.