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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEAC 27 February 2013 Report 3Public Education iT'T'AWA C:ARLFTON Doing W . 7.,TrlCrI CARD Wtl -Berne Engagement Leadership Learning REPORT NO. 3 SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO: The Committee of the Whole (Public) DATE: 06 March 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: Donna Blackburn, Pam FitzGerald, and Bronwyn Funiciello ASSOCIATION Joyce Mortimer, Ontario Association for Families of Children with REPRESENTATIVES: Communication Disorders Teresa Hedly, Autism Ontario, Ottawa Chapter Mark Wylie, Down Syndrome Association Beth Doubt, Learning Disabilities Association of Ottawa - Carleton Rossana DiMito, Association for Bright Children Bruce Wallace, Association for Bright Children Terry Warner, VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children Rob Kirwan, Ottawa - Carleton Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES: Chris Ellis NON - VOTING REPRESENTATIVES: Jean Trant, OSSTF (Support Staff) Wanda Mills- Boone, OCEOC Christine Kessler, OCSSAN Janet Fraser, ETFO Larry Gauthier, PSSP STAFF: Jill Bennett, Superintendent of Learning Support Services Janice McCoy, Superintendent of Human Resources Linda Yan, System Principal of Learning Support Services Jennifer Borrel- Benoit, System Vice - Principal of Learning Support Services Stacey Kay, Supervisor of Speech Language Pathology 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 Beth Doubt, THAT the agenda be approved. - Carried — Special Education Advisory Committee - 1 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3 3. Delegations and Public Question Period a. Sarah Croll, Parent, Cambridge Street Public School Speaking on behalf of parents of grade six students in the Language Learning Disability (LLD) Program at Cambridge Street Public School, Ms. Croll advised the committee that there is no specialized LLD class after grade six. She expressed the view that an LLD for intermediate and senior students would be beneficial. Ms. Croll advised the committee of the pathways currently in place for students in the LLD program and why she felt they were insufficient to meet the needs of these students. Superintendent Bennett thanked Ms. Croll and the other parents in attendance for bringing their issue forward. She emphasized that communication between parents and district staff was a valuable tool to ensure students' success. During discussion, staff provided clarification on the following points: • The LLD program, which is unique to the District, has nine primary classes and two junior classes; • When students in the LLD program leave grade six they continue to a variety of pathways; • It was suggested that statistics to track the pathways of these students and the historical trends of LLD programming and SLP support would be helpful when considering future programming; • At the intermediate and high school level there continues to be supports in place for students in the form of two Speech Language Pathologists (SLP), divided geographically by the East and West areas of the city; • The services provided by these SLPs are separate from services provided to specific program classes, such as an autism class; • Schools that are kindergarten to grade eight and dual track have an SLP assigned and service is based on prioritized need; • Students who have a speech and language concern are identified by school staff who request a referral of service from the SLP for their region; • An IPRC is not required to apply for specialized programs, as described in the Special Education Report; • A student's Individual Education Plans (IEP) describes strategies for transitions between grades and /or schools; • IEPs are developed within 30 days of beginning a program and parents are involved in this process in a variety of ways; • When students transition from junior to intermediate programming they should have an updated speech and language assessment that would serve as a template for the new education team to best serve that student; and • Assessments can also be included in the Ontario School Record (OSR). The committee expressed strong support for continued speech and language support for students after grade six. 4. Members' Information Due to time constraints, members' information was distributed electronically by the committee coordinator after the meeting. Special Education Advisory Committee - 2 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3 5. Review of Special Education Advisory Committee Report a. Report 2, 30 January 2013 Moved by Chris Ellis, THAT Report 2, Special Education Advisory Committee dated 30 January 2013, be received. - Carried — Superintendent McCoy provided the following information in response to questions regarding Report 12 -218, Proposed consultation plan on Policy on Accessibility: • Revisions to the policy were made to meet the obligations described in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA); • In terms of employment practices, these standards apply to prospective employees in the application process and continue on throughout employment; • All definitions are consistent with the legislation and meet the requirements of the Act; • There will be procedures developed to accompany the policy, including specific safety requirements; • Using the term `reasonable effort' instead of `undue hardship' is to be consistent with the legislation, not to lower the standard of service; and The use of `shall' versus `should' throughout the policy is being reviewed by the District's policy analyst. Mr. Ellis expressed the view that the Board should hold itself to the highest standard and use the term `undue hardship'. Chair Kirwan requested SEAC be updated as changes are made to the policy and procedures are established. 6. Budget Committee Report Ms. Doubt and Trustee FitzGerald provided the committee with the following update from the budget committee: • The Grants for Student Needs (GSN) have not yet been provided by the province; • The province has advised that, in an attempt to decrease the provincial deficit, the education sector should not expect more than a one percent increase in funding; • It is anticipated that full day kindergarten (FDK) funding will be included in the one percent increase; • The FDK grants will have a special education component to facilitate early learning teams and early learning education assistants (EA), among other services; • Staff will discuss the FDK intake program with respect to special education programming with SEAC at a future meeting; • The OCDSB deficit has increased from 6.7 million to 12.1 million dollars, namely due to the change in the collective agreements, and will be recovered with the use of reserves; • There are no anticipated changes in special education funding; • There have been suggestions for additional social workers, education assistants, psychologists, and special education support for the French Immersion program; and Special Education Advisory Committee - 3 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3 • There has been a proposal for funding for a `reach in reach out' programs to provide students with strategies to self - regulate. 7. Report 13 -020, Academic Staffing for 2013 -2014 Superintendent McCoy advised that the academic staffing portion of the budget has a different timeline than the remainder of the budget decisions, due to provisions in the collective agreement. Staff is seeking approval of the recommendations, as approved at the 05 March 2013 Committee of the Whole meeting, at the 26 March 2013 Board meeting. Superintendent McCoy provided a brief overview of the academic staffing positions, highlighting the funds that are required to be used for special education are subject to Board approval. During discussion, staff clarified the following points: • Academic staffing does not include many special education positions, including EAs, SLPs, and social workers, etcetera; • Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Carson is attending the next SEAC meeting to discuss the details of the special education allotment funds; • There are four elementary and seven secondary principals in central positions; • The reduction in instructional coach positions is due to the reduction in schools classified as Ontario Focused Intervention Program (OFIP) schools; • It was determined that a reduction of the instructional coach positions would not adversely affect student achievement; • Instructional coaches focus on a variety of assignments, including literacy and numeracy programs; • Congregated classes populations are based on class allocations determined by Learning Support Services and the Planning department, they often have smaller ratios, therefore generating fewer teachers, which is why they are classified as `subject to board approval'; and • There is a contingency position for Goulbourn Middle School's gifted program to support the transition to the geographic placements model of specialized programming. 8. Report 13 -022. Role of the Specialized Proaram Committee Superintendent Bennett provided information on the role of the Central Committee, also known as the Specialized Program Committee. She highlighted the legislative requirements related to special education programs and services, the status of specialized program classes across the District, the role of parents in the specialized program committee process, and the role of each of the twelve specialized program committees. Ms. Borrel- Benoit further explained that each committee is comprised of specialists in the exceptionality, including social workers, psychologists, and principals, among others, and the positions are reviewed on a yearly basis. A number of members expressed concern regarding the order of the IPRC and the Centralized Committee. Specifically, there was concern regarding the timing of identification of a student, as it happens as the Centralized Committee is determining if there is room in the program. Special Education Advisory Committee - 4 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3 Superintendent Bennett advised that the application, created in consultation with the parents, is brought to the Centralized Committee and an identification is made. The decision is brought to the IPRC for parents to decide whether or not to accept the placement. Superintendent Bennett clarified that, if the IPRC was before the Centralized Committee decision, the IPRC would recommend `specialized program placement' without being able to provide specific recommendations. System Principal Yan advised that parental consent is required at every stage of the process and parents are consulted often. Superintendent Bennett added that the transition to the geographic placement model will assist with issues of space and waitlists. Superintendent Bennett advised that a team from Learning Support Services will be discussing this process with other districts across the province and she would provide the committee with an update after those meetings. A number of members expressed concern with the transparency of the process, as parents are not allowed to participate in the discussions or decisions of the Centralized Committee. There was discussion regarding the intention of Regulation 181, which states that a parent may be present when the committee's identification and placement are made. Ms. DiMito expressed the view that, as the identification of a student is done by the Centralized Committee and not at the IPRC meeting, parents should be able to participate in the discussions and decisions of the Centralized Committee. The Chair advised that this discussion will be continued at a later meeting due to time constraints. 9. Department Update Superintendent Bennett presented Chair Kirwan with a gift and certificate of thanks for assisting people in the parking lot who were snowed in the previous week. Superintendent Bennett provided the committee with the following update: • The Assessment and Achievement in Alternative Areas (A4) team has been invited to present in Banff, Alberta; • Capacity building continues across the District; • There will be a group meeting with parents of gifted students at Goulbourn Middle School who are affected by the changes in the Kanata Accommodation Review Committee (ARC); • Geographic model transition planning continues and SEAC will be continually updated; and • A number of memorandums from the Ministry of Education were distributed for members' information. 10. Special Education Report a. Standard 8 System Principal Yan advised that the definitions in the standard are provided by the Ministry of Education. She added that teams of centralized staff and principals will be reviewing sixty redacted IEPs. These documents are randomly selected from a pool of one IEP per school, and are used as a professional development tool for staff use. Special Education Advisory Committee - 5 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3 b. Standard 15 System Principal Yan advised that Superintendent McCoy had provided information regarding this standard in Report 12 -218, Proposed consultation plan on Policy on Accessibility. 11. SEAC Committee Reports a. Advisory Committee on Equity (ACE) Mr. Ellis advised that the membership sub - committee has appointed the members of ACE. b. Communications Sub - Committee Mr. Ellis distributed the SEAC newsletter for members' information. He advised that the sub - committee had requested staff assistance with distribution. Superintendent Bennett advised she had discussed this with the Communications and Information Services Department Manager and it was recommended that the newsletter be distributed electronically via emails to principals, the school council weekly update, posting to the website, and posting to social media. Mr. Ellis advised that he would provide staff with hard copies to be sent to schools via the internal mail system. C. Committee of the Whole. 05 and 19 February 2013 There was no report from the 05 and 19 February 2013 Committee of the Whole meetings. d. Board meeting, 26 February 2013 There was no report from the 26 February 2013 Board meeting. 12. Review of SEAC Long Range Agenda and Action Items The following items were added to the long range agenda: • Discussion regarding special education support for students in French immersion programs; • Kindergarten intake programming; and • Further discussion regarding parent involvement in the IPRC process. 13. New Business In response to the delegation, the committee discussed the following points to be included in a motion to the board: • Language learning disabilities are a lifelong challenge; • There are currently no specialized LLD classes after grade six; • There is not a clear pathway for students in the LLD class after grade six; Special Education Advisory Committee - 6 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3 More investigation as to the best way to provide supports for these students after grade six is required; These supports may be provided to students in the form of continued LLD classes after grade six or an increase in SLPs throughout the District, or a combination of services; and Academic staffing positions are time sensitive. Moved by Joyce Mortimer, THAT SEAC advises that the Board direct staff to: A. Investigate alternative supports in areas of language learning disabilities for intermediate and senior students; and B. A budget contingency for academic staffing be established in the event that it is decided that the best interest would be to create one or more language learning disabilities classes with speech and language pathologist support. - Carried — In response to a query, Trustee FitzGerald confirmed that a trustee would be required to move the motion at the committee of the whole meeting. Trustee Blackburn volunteered to move the motion on behalf of the committee. 14. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:33 p.m. Rob Kirwan Chair, Special Education Advisory Committee Special Education Advisory Committee - 7 - 06 March 2013 Report No. 3