SEAC Chair Report October 4, 2017

Dr. Carol Williams-Nickelson

2017 Annual Survey

Development of Priorities

and Concerns

Annual Parent Survey• Updated in May, disseminated June 8-30th, 2017 • Start next year’s process earlier for more input (March 2018)• 2017: N = 65 (Last year, 2016: N = 115)• SWOT Analysis and themes posted on SEAC webpage

Reviewed and Studied Other Sources of Data:• Public comment• Subcommittee and focus group reports• Discussion generated at SEAC panel presentations• Informational meetings with staff

PRIORIES AND CONCERNS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED TO REFLECT THE ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY OUR COMMUNITY.

Input welcome, especially for specific recommendations to include in this year’s annual report (preparing draft for November).

Six Priorities#1

Not in a prioritized order. All are equally

important.

NEW PRIORITY:

1. Mental Health Awareness and Integrative Supports.

Create policies and implement consistent practices to recognize, monitor and support students at risk for experiencing mental health concerns and provide appropriate staff training, resources and in-school programs that enable inclusion and eliminate discipline disproportionality while utilizing appropriately trained and licensed mental health professionals to integrate services for the whole student.

Establish new MENTAL HEALTH FOCUS GROUP to study the issues and implications for SPED students at risk for mental health concerns and make recommendations.**CHAIR NEEDED

Six Priorities#2

LAST YEAR’S TOP 5 PRIORITIES –Continue to be areas of need with newly identified

additional important focus areas included:

2. Consistency in Programs and Services.

Provide clear, consistent, and understood practices and policies to ensure that students are receiving services that are available, appropriate and delivered in a timely manner.

Six Priorities#3

3. Quality Inclusion.

Provide an inclusive educational, social and extracurricular experience at each LCPS school.

Six Priorities#4

4. Transition Services.

Continue efforts to provide effective transition services and programs that prepare LCPS students with disabilities for life after high school. Implement consistent practices and procedures that provide for a smooth and effective transition from elementary school to middle school and middle school to high school.

**CHAIR NEEDED for the Transition Subcommittee. For SEAC purposes, transitions across levels has been identified as an area of need and added to the scope of this subcommittee’s work.

Six Priorities#5

5. Dyslexia Services and Supports.

Provide early identification, appropriate teacher training, supports and services for students with the Specific Learning Disability of Dyslexia.

Six Priorities#6

6. Autism Programs and Supports.

Enhance efforts to provide effective autism programs and services and implement current and long-term planning to address the growing population and changing needs of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and similar education needs.

Five Concerns#1

AREAS OF CONCERN –Necessitate further monitoring and study to determine

possible identification and prevalence of unmet SPED needs.

1. Budget.

Maintain funding for existing SPED Services and Supports, and allocate additional funds to address the priorities for meeting the unmet needs of SPED students.

Dr. Williams is scheduled present his recommended budget Jan. 9, and the School Board is expected to adopt the budget Feb. 1.

Five Concerns#2

2. Discipline.

Eliminate the discipline disproportionality gap for students with disabilities, African-American students and Hispanic/Latino students, including day-to-day in-school disciplinary practices, exclusionary discipline (including those with law enforcement), as well as suspension rates.

Five Concerns#3

3. Differentiated Resources and Supports.

Deliver effective and efficient individualized support and resources to close the achievement gap for students with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and English language learners.

Five Concerns#4

4. Speech Language Pathology Services (NEW).

Provide appropriate screenings, assessments, supports and services to identify and remediate SLP issues through coordinated participation and communication with Speech/Language Pathologists to integrate services for the whole student.

Five Concerns#5

5. SPED Expertise (New).

Ensure all SPED-related staff have the appropriate training and expertise that is relevant to all major areas of SPED disability classifications to properly recognize, execute, monitor, modify, report and/or supervise/direct SPED programs, supports, services and staff.

Monthly Programs

SEAC PRESENTATION TOPICS EXPLICITLY RELATE TO PRIORITIES AND CONCERNS

Program Goals:

• Share progress and updates related to SEAC’s priorities and concerns

• Panel to provide information to stimulate participant discussion

• Help identify unmet special education needs

Subcommittees, Focus Group,

andAwards

Subcommittees: All SEAC members must participate on at least one subcommittee.

1. Dyslexia (Chair: Jackie Baker)2. Autism (Chair: Deana Czaban)3. Transition (Chair needed)4. Speech Language Pathology (Chair: Billy Jo Bevan)

Focus Group:1. Mental Health (Chair needed)

Awards:1. SEAC Excellence in Special Education Awards Committee (Chair: Jodi Folta, Committee members needed to start planning now.)

Committee Work

Groups are Charged with Further Exploring Issues Related to Unmet Needs Identified by the SPED Community:

1. Discuss and study issues (new & expanded) described for each.

2. Develop specific recommendations for inclusion in the annual report:

a) For this year (based on last year’s work 2016-2017) and

b) In anticipation of next year (based on this year’s work 2017-2018)

November 2017Subcommittees: Please submit review of issues from last

school year and specific recommendations for inclusion in the annual report (preparing in November; report covers

the 2016-2017 period).

Highlights and

Collaboration

Met with Parent Resource Services• Welcomed Leanne Kidwell• Reviewed respective programming

LCPS Specialized Reading Instruction Stakeholder Advisory Group• Group met in August• SEAC Past Chair and Chair will be on distribution list for future

meetings

LEAP and MSAAC: Collaboration on Mutual Areas of Interest• Discipline disproportionality• Mental Health Supports and Services• Student re-entry process after mental-health-related leave of

absence

Hunt District PTA Meeting• Overview of SEAC

Panel Presentation: An Update on Dyslexia

Interventions and Next StepsDr. Suzanne Jimenez, Director, Office of Special Education

Jennifer M. Sassano, M.S.Ed., Supervisor of Instructional Facilitators for Specialized Reading

Annie Owen, Lead Diagnostician , Office of Diagnostic and Prevention Services

Resource Persons:

Beth Cipriano, Dyslexia Advisor

Specialized Instructional Facilitators, Reading