Findings Attached Report From L D R E Re Complaint
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Transcript of Findings Attached Report From L D R E Re Complaint
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND FOCUSED MONITORING PROCESS
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT AND ASSISTANCE
OFFICE OF STUDENT AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
DATES OF ON-SITE MONITORING: March 5-8, 2007
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: REVISED REPORT FOR
COMPLAINT TARGETED MONITORING
CADDO PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEM ON-SITE MONITORING TEAM LEADERS
Diana Jones Michele Staggs
ON-SITE MONITORING TEAM MEMBERS
Nanette Olivier Angela Tyrone Dedra Bright
Shawn Fleming
Additional member: Sherlyn Ezell Powell
The following report is a revised report of the Targeted Monitoring Report that was based on the
On-site Targeted Monitoring conducted March 5-8, 2007. A team of 6 monitors conducted the
on-site visit as a component of the Continuous Improvement Focused Monitoring Process
(CIFMP). Caddo Parish School System was monitored due to a complaint filed with the
Louisiana Department of Education. An additional team member was added to the 6 original
team members to further analyze the information gathered during the on-site visit and to gather
additional information as deemed necessary to investigate the complaint issues, especially with
regard to parental input.
Information and findings of this report are based on information, data, document reviews,
observations, and interviews gathered to investigate allegations contained in the complaint made
regarding students with Emotional Disturbances and other students with disabilities who
manifest behavioral issues and are subjected to repeated disciplinary removals totaling more than
10 days (either I-School Suspension or Out-of School Suspensions) and/or students placed in
alternative school settings in Caddo Parish School System.
The focused monitoring process of the state’s CIFMP involves four steps:
1. Develop compliance hypotheses based on available data.
2. Develop investigative methodologies to test the hypotheses.
3. Conduct the on-site investigation.
4. Draw conclusions regarding compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
Demographics and performance information regarding Caddo Parish School System can be
found in the State Special Education Data Profile publication and the school performance
profiles located on the department’s website at:
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/specialp/2115.html.
Monitoring Strategies, Methods and Activities
Review of 54 student records, including random and purposeful reviews of students’ IEPs,
evaluation reports, report cards, class schedules, the Special Education Policies and Procedures
Handbook, and other forms currently used.
Review of disciplinary records at school sites and central office.
Interviews with 44 Caddo Parish School System employees including, psychologists (2) social
workers (2) administrators (12), general educators (10), special educators (14), and central office
personnel (4).
Observations of services provided to students through visits to 7 schools.
Input from 33 parents, including face-to-face and telephone interviews.
Focus Topic:
The issues addressed are:
Denial of FAPE
1. Failure to provide appropriate Related Services.
2. Failure to provide special education services in the Least Restrictive
Environment.
3. Failure to Comply with IDEA’s Disciplinary Regulations.
4. Failure to Provide Educational Benefit.
Systemic non-compliant findings were documented for issues:
Denial of FAPE-
1. Failure to provide appropriate Related Services and Accommodations.
3. Failure to Comply with IDEA’s Disciplinary Regulations.
4. Failure to Provide Educational Benefit.
There was no evidence collected to substantiate a non-compliant finding in the area of:
Denial of FAPE-
2. Failure to provide special education services in the Least Restrictive
Environment in regards to placement decisions.
Comment on LRE:
The evidence reviewed indicated that LRE decisions were made by the IEP team on an
individual basis. Justifications were provided for placements. Students’ IEPs contained
documentation that supports the reasons why their objectives\goals could not be
accomplished in the general education setting with the supports and services provided at the
time of the IEP meeting. The IEPs contained statements addressing how the supports and
services could be provided in the selected placement option, which was more restrictive.
Caddo Parish School System already scheduled to be monitored by a different CIFMP team
during the same week that the targeted monitoring was conducted. During the week of
monitoring the 2 teams did not collaborate and both teams found many of the same
violations. Neither team found systemic LRE violations in regard to LRE placement
decisions.
Caddo Parish is currently placing fewer students with Emotional Disturbances in self-
contained setting and more in general education settings. See data below of placement of
students with Emotional Disturbances from 2004 to 2007.
2004 2005 2006 2007 General education more than 80%
(Regular class settings) 19.19% 29.30% 30.14% 36.84%
General education less than 40%
(Special education self-contained 52.04% 43.26% 44.02% 37.43%
settings)
It should be noted that even though the team did not find evidence to support non-compliance of
FAPE in the LRE in regards to placement decisions, the other 3 non-compliant issues adversely
affect FAPE in the LRE as these issues are inextricably inter-related. For instance, inadequate
supports and services provided to students directly impacts and could deny students access to
their LRE.
It should also be noted that Special Education Student Data are not recorded and/or maintained
accurately for some students with disabilities (regulation §490.) The team noted excessive
white-out on 22 records. Some of these records had ½ to ¾ of a page covered with white-out
substance. The word DRAFT was stamped or written across the front page of 31 records. Eight
records reviewed indicated that the parish records concerning minutes of service, attendance, and
discipline were discrepant. In one instance signatures had been cut from another document and
pasted in place. There seems to be no standard of acceptability for student records. Failure to
record and maintain student data negatively impacted the teams’ ability to make conclusions.
Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System
Reg. Ref. # Description of Finding Supporting Evidence Comments
§401
§444E H
Students are not receiving
effective supports and
services to include
“Related Service
counseling” nor
appropriate
accommodations that
would enable them to
benefit from and make
progress both academically
and behaviorally in the
general curriculum thus
denying students FAPE.
Review of 38 records of students who experiencing repeated disciplinary
infractions as well as academic failures in the general curriculum were
purposefully reviewed to examine the effectiveness of supports and
services, to include the related service counseling as well as
accommodations that were provided for the students. The evidence
indicated that:
• Eighteen of the 38 records reviewed did not address whether the
students needed counseling even though reports indicated that the
students had Emotional Disturbances and/or serious emotional
and behavioral issues.
• Twenty-eight records had no documentation that the students’
academic or behavioral failures had been addressed in any way.
There was no indication that meetings, conferences, written or
oral communications of any kind had been utilized. There was
no documentation that accommodations or modifications were
examined or adjusted to deal with students’ academic or
behavioral failure.
• Seventeen of the records had evidence that there had been
meetings but the only change made to the individual IEPs were
new IEP dates.
Ten of 14 purposefully reviewed records of students who were receiving
counseling as a related service had no documentation that:
• Related Services or accommodations were modified for students
in correlation to the number of disciplinary referrals\suspensions,
etc;
• Feedback from Related Services and accommodations provided
were used to individualize or adjust intensity or frequency of
services needed to facilitate changes in behaviors and a reduction
in disciplinary referrals;
Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System
Reg. Ref. # Description of Finding Supporting Evidence Comments
• Eighteen Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) for students who had
been suspended during the current academic year were reviewed.
Review of the BIPs indicated that the students had not been
provided adequate supports to enable the students to progress
academically and socially. There was no documentation that
positive behavior supports had been implemented. Progress
reports were not maintained to reflect implementation of
identified interventions.
After thorough examination of records and purposeful interviews with 27
school personnel, it was determined that inappropriate behaviors were not
changed as a result of the BIPs written for these students.
Twenty-two of 33 purposeful parent interviews also revealed a lack of
utilization of Related Services and appropriate accommodations to
address students’ academic and behavioral issues.
Purposeful interviews with 11 of 17 special education and 7 of 7 general
education teachers indicated that students’ academic and behavioral issues
had not been efficiently monitored nor had related services or
accommodations been changed to address the problems.
§444B.1.
Effective strategies
including positive
behavioral intervention
strategies and supports to
address behaviors that
impede students’ progress
in the general curriculum
and IEP implementation
are not addressed through
It was determined that effective strategies including positive behavioral
intervention strategies and supports to address behaviors that impede
students learning are not addressed through the students’ instructional
program for all students
Discipline records and IEP records were reviewed for 27 students who
had been suspended from school or placed in an alternative setting during
the past year. Twenty-two of the 27 records reviewed contained no
evidence that positive behavioral supports had been implemented.
There was no
conclusive evidence
found that indicated
that the system
engaged in a
pattern\practice of
conducting Sham
Manifestation
Determination
Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System
Reg. Ref. # Description of Finding Supporting Evidence Comments
the students’ instructional
program.
Inappropriate student behaviors were not changed as a result of the
behavior plans for these students. The records reviewed indicated that the
Behavior Intervention Plans were not effectively revised as students’
inappropriate behavior continued and/or escalated. Seven of the IEPs had
been reconvened; however, there was no evidence of any change in the
Behavior Intervention Plans or the students’ behavior.
Twelve of 14 on-site personnel purposefully interviewed corroborated that
the Behavior Intervention Plans are usually not implemented across
settings. Nine of 14 on-site personnel expressed that suspensions or
removal to alternative settings did not deter infractions as evidenced by
repeat infractions. Ten of 14 interviewees expressed that when students
return to school they will often immediately engage in the inappropriate
behavior that they were suspended for because of lack of effective
positive supports in place through the instructional program.
Sixteen purposeful parent interviews reported that that they felt that the
behavior interventions conducted by the school system were not effective
based on repeat infractions of the children.
Reviews
(MDRs) wherein
students’ behaviors
(i.e. SED Students and
other students with
behavioral related
disabilities) that are
clearly related to
their disabilities are
routinely\illegally
found to be unrelated,
and such
determinations are
subsequently used
to illegally place
students in more
restrictive settings
including
Alternative School
settings.
§519 Discipline procedures and
safeguards were not
followed according to
regulations with regards to
Functional Behavior
Assessments,
Manifestation
Determinations, and
special educations services
to students who have been
The system failed to follow the procedural safeguards and procedures
concerning discipline In 9 of 25 purposeful records reviewed there was
not adequate documentations that Functional Behavior Assessments and
Manifestation Determinations had been conducted for students who had
been removed from school for 10 days. . One Principal reported that he
did not conduct Manifestation Determinations after a student had been
removed for ten (10) days but he continued to suspend students from
school.
Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System
Reg. Ref. # Description of Finding Supporting Evidence Comments
suspended from school for
more than 10 days.
Seven of 25 purposefully reviewed records indicated that the students had
been removed from school for more than 10 days without services.
Six of 10 purposeful interviews with teachers revealed that they were
aware that discipline procedures were not always followed. The 6
teachers expressed that the discipline matters were taken up by
administrators and that they often had no input into the decisions made
about the discipline issues of their students once they were referred to the
office.
§490 Special Education Student
Data are not recorded
and/or maintained
accurately for some
students with disabilities.
The team noted excessive white-out on 22 records. Some of these records
had ½ to ¾ of a page covered with white-out substance. The word
DRAFT was stamped or written across the front page of 31 records. Eight
records reviewed indicated that the parish records concerning minutes of
service, attendance, and discipline were discrepant. In one instance
signatures had been cut from another document and pasted in place.
There seems to be no
standard of
acceptability for
student records.
Student-Specific Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System The information contained on these pages is confidential and should be deleted from the report when copies are made for the general public.
School Student Issue area Hamilton Terrace Alternative Darrell Coleman No FBA in the file. BIP including modifications were inadequate
to provide adequate supports to enable this student to
progress academically and socially.
IEP programming (Pre-GED) is not being followed.
Amount of service minutes on the IEP is not being provided.
Student-Specific Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System The information contained on these pages is confidential and should be deleted from the report when copies are made for the general public.
School Student Issue area Failure to provide adequate academic supports to enable students
to benefit from and make progress in the general curriculum.
Linear Middle School
Failure to provide services as indicated on IEP after 10 days of
removals.
No Manifestation Determination conducted after 10 days of
removals
Southwood High
Failure to provide adequate academic supports to enable students
to benefit from and make progress in the general curriculum.
Failure to provide services as indicated on IEP after 10 days of
removals.
BIP including modifications were inadequate to provide adequate
supports to enable this student to progress academically and
socially.
Oak Terrace
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to maintain and assure accurate student records. White out
used on IEP.
Ray Vailes Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Failure to provide adequate supports to enable students to benefit
Student-Specific Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System The information contained on these pages is confidential and should be deleted from the report when copies are made for the general public.
School Student Issue area from and make progress in the general curriculum; Discipline
Linwood
Failure to provide adequate academic supports to enable
students to benefit from and make progress in the general
curriculum.
Failure to maintain and assure accurate student records;
signatures were cut and pasted onto the IEP.
Failure to provide adequate academic supports to enable students
to benefit from and make progress in the general curriculum.
Failure to maintain and assure accurate student records. . White
out used on IEP.
Student was removed from the classroom for 19 days but was not
provided any related services.
Bethune Middle Academy Failure to provide adequate academic supports including indicated
related services to enable students to benefit from and make
progress in the general curriculum.
No FBA in the file BIP including modifications were inadequate to
provide adequate supports to enable this student to progress
academically and socially.
MDR not conducted within the 10 day timeline
Failure to provide services as indicated on IEP after 10 days of
removals. (17 days)
MDR was incomplete.
Failure to keep adequate discipline records.
Failure to provide adequate academic supports including indicated
related services to enable students to benefit from and make
progress in the general curriculum.
FAPE: Progress & Benefit from General Curriculum; Discipline;
Maintenance of Records
FAPE: Progress & Benefit from General Curriculum; Discipline;
Counseling; Maintenance of Records
FAPE: Progress & Benefit from General Curriculum; Discipline;
Student-Specific Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System The information contained on these pages is confidential and should be deleted from the report when copies are made for the general public.
School Student Issue area Maintenance of Records
FAPE: Progress & Benefit from General Curriculum; Discipline;
Maintenance of Records
FAPE: Progress & Benefit from General Curriculum; Discipline;
Hamilton Terrace Trivensky Odom LD NO MDR found in school files.
No FBA in the file BIP including modifications were inadequate to
provide adequate academic supports to enable this student to
progress academically and socially.
Rodriquez Kennedy MMD Failure to provide adequate related services.
Failure to place student in the Least Restrictive Environment
Failure to provide services as indicated on IEP after 10 days of
removals.
No FBA in the file BIP including modifications were inadequate to
provide adequate supports to enable this student to progress
academically and socially.
Failure to keep accurate attendance records.
Linear Middle
Failure to provide services as indicated on IEP after 10 days of
removals.
Selected placement does not match the information on the direct
service page.
Placement selected does not match direct service page.
BIP including modifications were inadequate to provide adequate
supports to enable this student to progress academically and
socially.
Student is not receiving the services indicated on his IEP.
Southwood
Failure to provide adequate related services.
Failure to provide adequate supports including indicated
related services to enable students to benefit from and make
progress in the general curriculum.
: No FBA conducted.
Student-Specific Findings of Non-Compliance
Caddo Parish School System The information contained on these pages is confidential and should be deleted from the report when copies are made for the general public.
School Student Issue area Failure to provide adequate academic supports including indicated
related services to enable students to benefit from and make
progress in the general curriculum.
BIP including modifications were inadequate to provide adequate
supports to enable this student to progress academically and
socially.