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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05 SEAC 30 January Report 2Public ;i -E REPORT NO. 2 SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO: The Committee of the Whole (Public) DATE: 30 January 2013 A meeting of the Special Education Advisory Committee was held this evening in the Trustees' Committee Room, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, commencing at 7:05 p.m. with Rob Kirwan in the Chair and the following in attendance: TRUSTEE MEMBERS: Pam FitzGerald (electronic communication) ASSOCIATION Joyce Mortimer, Ontario Association for Families of Children with REPRESENTATIVES: Communication Disorders Teresa Hedly, Autism Ontario, Ottawa Chapter Mark Wylie, Down Syndrome Association Bob Fraser, Learning Disabilities Association of Ottawa - Carleton Beth Doubt, Learning Disabilities Association of Ottawa - Carleton Bruce Wallace, Association for Bright Children Terry Warner, VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES: Chris Ellis, Miriam Fry and Eileen Rose NON - VOTING REPRESENTATIVES: Jean Trant, OSSTF (Support Staff) Wanda Mills- Boone, OCEOC Christine Kessler, OCSSAN STAFF: Jill Bennett, Superintendent of Learning Support Services Linda Yan, System Principal of Learning Support Services Kelly Sullivan, Board /Committee Coordinator 1. Call to Order Chair Kirwan called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda Moved by Bruce Wallace, THAT the agenda be approved. - Carried — 3. Delegations and Public Question Period There were no public questions or delegations. 4. Members' Information Chair Kirwan noted that he had heard about new research linking Autism to the digestive tract. Teresa Hedley advised that she would investigate this information further with Autism Ontario and report to SEAC. Special Education Advisory Committee - 1 - 30 January 2013 Report No. 2 Bruce Wallace advised that ABC's most recent `Parents Helping Parents' night was successful. He added that he will circulate a synopsis of the meeting to committee members. Terry Warner informed the committee about the Capital City Condors, a local hockey team for children with special needs. Mark Wylie advised he would provide the committee with further information regarding the team. Ms. Hedley distributed a pamphlet advertising the Autism Awareness Centre Inc.'s Ottawa Conference. She added that she would circulate an electronic copy of the pamphlet so members could share the information with their associations. 5. Proposed Consultation Plan on Policv on Accessibilit Superintendent Bennett provided a brief overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and how the Customer Service Standard and the Integrated Accessibility Standards affected public sector organizations in Ontario, including the OCDSB. She advised that this report referred to approval of the consultation plan. The consultation process will be from 04 February to 04 March 2013, and the final version of the policy will be presented at the 02 April 2013 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. Superintendent Bennett advised that Superintendent McCoy had requested SEAC's input and provided three questions for discussion; is there anything critical missing that should be added, is there anything that is not relevant and should be deleted, and suggestions to clarify wording to make the policy more understandable. During discussion, the following points were noted: • Is there anything critical missing that should be added: • Clarification regarding accessibility during the interview /hiring process, not just when an employee is working for the OCDSB; • Regarding Attachment 1, lack of knowledge /awareness /strategies for exceptionality /disability category should be added, or clarified in section b or e; • ADHD should be included in list of disabilities; and • Mental disorder should be referred to as mental health. • Is there anything that is not relevant and should be deleted: o There were no questions or comments specific to this section. Suggestions to clarify wording to make the policy more understandable: • Clear definitions for accommodations, accessibility, reasonable effort etc. that are consistent with other OCDSB and Ministry definitions; • Explicit mention of who is included in this policy; • The use of the word `customer' is confusing; • Examine the appropriateness of the use of `reasonable effort' versus `undue hardship'; and • Consistency with regard to the use of `shall' versus `should'. Speaking to the comment regarding awareness strategies for disabilities, System Principal Yan advised that teachers are offered support with respect to developing strategies, including access to the Learning Resource Teacher, mentoring, coaching, and professional development. Special Education Advisory Committee - 2 - 30 January 2013 Report No. 2 In response to a query regarding accessibility and school emergency procedures, Superintendent Bennett advised that every school has a detailed procedure to follow in case of emergency. Principal Mills -Boone added that the procedure is practiced regularly and is reviewed and revised annually, or as required. She added that the plan is very detailed and includes staff assignments for specific students who may require assistance. A discussion ensued regarding the scope of this policy, specifically, whether concerns with respect to special education should be addressed within the accessibility policy or the special education policy. Superintendent Bennett confirmed that the policy is a result of a ministry regulation and has a broader scope than special education concerns. She added that accessibility provisions in the special education policy will be aligned with this policy. Superintendent Bennett advised she would bring these questions to Superintendent McCoy and provide SEAC with any follow up responses. 6. Department Update a. Standard 2: The OCDSB Model for Special Education System Principal Yan described Standard 2 as providing the Ministry and the public with information on the Board's philosophy and service delivery model for the provision of special education programs and services. b. Standard 9: Special Education Placements Provided by the OCDSB System Principal Yan explained that Standard 9 is to provide the Ministry and the public with details of the range of placements provided by the Board, and to inform the public that placement of a student in a regular class is the first option considered by an IPRC. Speaking to the tables describing each program, System Principal Yan advised that some of the information is provided by the Ministry and some is OCDSB specific. She added that the location of programs is not included in these tables, which can affect the staff to student ratio. Mr. Wallace requested clarification as to why the admission criteria was defined in all categories but gifted. System Principal Yan advised that the document was large but staff could investigate a way to include the information. Ms. Mortimer suggested adding speech and language pathologists to the language impairment section, in addition to the speech impairment section. She suggested adding Senior Kindergarten Language Intervention to this standard, in addition to the Staff and Programming Standard. Ms. Mortimer requested clarification regarding the provision of therapy, as it was her understanding that therapy was outside staff's purview. System Principal Yan advised that she would investigate this point further. System Principal Yan clarified that Autism and Asperger's appear as the same exceptionality as Asperger's is only categorized at the secondary level. She added that Special Education Advisory Committee - 3 - 30 January 2013 Report No. 2 the Ministry provides the standards and students with Asperger's are placed in Autism classes. Chair Kirwan reiterated the importance of consistent definitions. System Principal Yan advised that SEAC has fulfilled its requirement to review six standards per year. As there are members new to the committee this year, she suggested continuing to review standards, adding that Standard 8: Categories and Definitions of Exceptional ities, and Standard 15: Accessibility of School Buildings, would be appropriate given the conversations at the meeting. C. Labour Relations Uodate Superintendent Bennett advised that, due to the implementation of contracts, all staff is expected to resume their professional responsibilities. She added that principals are reporting that schools are attempting to return to business as usual but there are still some unresolved issues around what is considered voluntary as opposed to what are regular duties of a teacher. d. Section J Update Superintendent Bennett provided the committee with a summary of the data collected under Section J from the last five years. A discussion ensued and the following points were noted: • There is an overall increase in IEPs but a decrease in IPRCs; • There is a legal obligation to follow the directives of an IEP, regardless of whether there has been an IPRC; • Multiple members lacked confidence with respect to teachers fulfilling IEPs if a student is without an IPRC to the same standard as those with an IPRC; • If parents feel their child's needs are not being met, the IPRC can be used as a legal tool; • IPRCs do not determine funding; • Continued professional development is integral to the success of implementing IEPs and IPRCs; and • Work continues to provide students with high level of services required, regardless of whether they have an IPRC. e. Special Education Policy Update Superintendent Bennett reported that special education policy working meetings are on -going and she will present a draft for SEAC's review as soon as it is available. Speaking to the Near West Accommodation Review, Superintendent Bennett advised that Learning Support Services staff will be attending meetings in March, as specialized class placements will be part of the review process this year. Superintendent Bennett added that there has been some confusion from parents with respect to class placements, and acknowledged that the Learning Support Services department will work to build trust with regard to decision making with the community. Special Education Advisory Committee - 4 - 30 January 2013 Report No. 2 Mr. Wallace advised that when parents ask him questions he does not have the rationale to support and explain the decisions made by staff to parents. Superintendent Bennett advised that this information is given to trustees in a report and could be provided to SEAC members to assist with communicating with parents. Other Superintendent Bennett provided the following update: • She visited the improved Snoezelen Room at Clifford Bowey Public School, developed in partnerships with Telus; • She spoke with the Clifford Bowey school council where a majority of the discussion centered on Post 21 resources; • Director Adams presented the Mental Health Framework to Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE); • The crown wardship tri- ministerial work group presented to the Quest Conference and the Ministry Information Systems Group (MISA); • The Ministry of Education has announced funding for projects ensuring that students who are under crown wardship have a successful educational journey; and • Staffing for Learning Support Services has begun for the next school year. 7. SEAC Committee Reports a. Advisory Committee on Eauitv (ACE Mr. Ellis advised that the ACE Membership Sub - committee is developing the process on how to determine the official membership for the committee. b. Communications Sub - Committee Ms. Mortimer advised that the sub - committee is developing a SEAC newsletter that will be distributed three times per year. The sample newsletter will be provided at the next meeting and will include the profile of one member organization, fast facts, a list of acronyms, and upcoming events. Ms. Mortimer added that suggestions or contributions from SEAC are encouraged. C. Committee of the Whole (COW) 22 January 2013 There was no report from the 22 January 2013 COW meeting. d. Board meeting 29 January 2013 Chair Kirwan advised that the Board meeting did not include any discussion that was substantive to SEAC. He advised that there were some public questions regarding the status of extra - curricular activities. Special Education Advisory Committee - 5 - 30 January 2013 Report No. 2 8. Review of Special Education Advisory Committee Report a. Report 1, 19 December 2012 Moved by Bruce Wallace, THAT Report 1, Special Education Advisory Committee dated 19 December 2012 be received. It was noted that on folio 61 Standard 14 was referred to as Standard 12 and that autism was referred to as a `neural mental disorder' instead of a `neural developmental disorder'. It was confirmed that these changes would be made for the official record. Moved by Bruce Wallace, THAT Report 1, Special Education Advisory Committee dated 19 December 2012 be received, as amended. - Carried — 9. Review of the Long Range Agenda In response to a question regarding the suspension report being removed from the long range agenda, Chair Kirwan advised that, before the report was brought to SEAC, he would facilitate a discussion with Associate Director Piovesan, Superintendent Bennett, and a small group of SEAC members to discuss SEAC's issues with regard to the suspension report, specifically the rate of recidivism and the `students with an IEP' category, to ensure the document is relevant for SEAC. Superintendent Bennett added that Associate Director Piovesan has a committee that is working to revise the content of the suspension report. System Principal Yan advised that the Ministry requests an IEP Review annually, and she could provide in June, as the content would be of interest to SEAC. 10. New Business Chair Kirwan advised that he would be discussing the governance structure of OSTA with Trustee Campbell and would report the details to SEAC. He added that a SEAC Chair's Working Group was scheduled for 11 February 2013. Trustee FitzGerald informed the committee that she is the chair of the Budget Committee this year and advised that the first meeting would be 04 February 2013. She acknowledged that there are SEAC representatives on the committee, but noted that others may want to remain involved. She added that although the Ministry has not released the 2013- 2014 budget, staff has developed a forecast based on current information. Chair Kirwan informed the committee that he had information regarding Camp Kirk, a residential summer camp for children with learning disabilities. He advised members to contact him if they are interested in further details. 11. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Rob Kirwan Chair, Special Education Advisory Committee Special Education Advisory Committee - 6 - 30 January 2013 Report No. 2