HomeMy WebLinkAboutP 117 SES - Special Education Appeal Board
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POLICY P.117.SES
TITLE: SPECIAL EDUCATION APPEAL BOARD
Date issued: November 2007
Revised: 13 June 2012
Authorization: Board: 27 November 2007
1.0 OBJECTIVE
To establish a Special Education Appeal Board (SEAB) process as required by the Education
Act under Regulation 181-Part VI.
2.0 DEFINITIONS
In this policy,
2.1 Days for the purpose of this policy shall mean calendar days. Where time is limited and
the expiry date falls on a school holiday, the time limit shall be extended to the next day
following that is not a school holiday. During summer holidays, which are defined as
periods of time that school is not in session, matters for appeals will be deferred to the
day following the summer holiday.
2.2 Director refers to the Director of Education or designate.
2.3 District refers to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB).
2.4 Mediation is a cooperative dispute resolution process in which an impartial third party
(the mediator) assists parents/guardians and school board personnel to achieve a
solution that they jointly believe best meets the needs of the student.
2.5 Receipt for the purpose of this policy is deemed to be five days from the date of the
written notice, unless specified otherwise.
3.0 RESPONSIBILITY
3.1 Director of Education/Secretary of the Board or designate, Superintendent of Learning
Support Services or designate.
4.0 POLICY
IPRC Decision and Right to Appeal:
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4.1 The school principal and the school superintendent shall make every effort to work with
parent/guardian to resolve concerns regarding the identification and/or placement of the
pupil during the Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process
including mediation or other alternative means of resolving disputes.
4.2 Should the parent/guardian not agree with the identification and/or placement decision
made by the IPRC, the parent/guardian may:
a) appeal the decision;
b) within 15 days of receipt of the IPRC decision, request that the IPRC hold a
second meeting to discuss the parent/guardians identification and/or placement
concerns. Following the second meeting, the Chair of the IPRC must send
written notice to each stating whether any changes in its decisions were made as
a result of the meeting. If changes were made in the IPRC decision as a result of
the second meeting, the written notice shall be accompanied by a revised
statement of decision, together with the written reasons for the changes.
4.3 The written notice of appeal must be submitted to the Director:
a) within 30 calendar days of receipt of the notice of the IPRC’s written statement of
decision; or
b) Within 15 calendar days of receipt of the of the notice of the IPRC’s written
notice to uphold or amend the statement of decision following a second meeting
requested by the parent/guardian.
4.4 The parent/guardian shall state in the written notice of appeal the decision referred to in
subsection 4.2 indicating which of the decision(s) the parent/guardian disagrees with
and shall include a statement that describes the nature of the disagreement.
a) The SEAB shall not reject or refuse to deal with an appeal by reason of any
actual or alleged deficiency of the statement referred to in this section or by
reason of the failure of the parent, in the opinion of the SEAB, to accurately
indicate in the notice of appeal the subject of the disagreement.
4.5 The parent/guardian will be offered mediation prior to the appeal process and may
request mediation at any time during the appeal process prior to a hearing before the
Ontario Special Education Tribunal.
4.6 The student shall remain in the current placement until the appeal is resolved or if the
student no longer meets entry criteria for the placement, then the program and support
will remain consistent with the current placement pending the appeal process.
Establishment and Mandate of SEAB:
4.7 Upon receipt of the written notice of appeal from the parent/guardian , the Director shall
arrange for the establishment of a SEAB. The Director shall immediately acknowledge
the receipt of appeal by contacting the parent/guardian in writing, outline the SEAB
process and timelines and requesting the name of the SEAB member to be selected by
the parent/guardian of the pupil.
4.8 The mandate of the SEAB is to hold a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the IPRC’s
decision regarding the identification and/or placement of a student.
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Selection of SEAB Members:
4.9 The SEAB shall be composed of:
a) one member selected by the (District);
b) one member selected by the parent/guardian of the pupil; and
c) a Chair, selected jointly by the members of the SEAB, or where those members
cannot agree, by the Regional Manager of the Ministry of Education (the
Ministry).
4.10 Members of the SEAB may not include the following:
a) members of the Board of Trustees or employees of the District,
b) members of a Board of Trustees or employees of a District which purchases
special education services from the OCDSB;
c) employees of the Ministry of Education; and
d) persons with any prior involvement with the matter under appeal.
4.11 The members of the SEAB other than the Chair shall be named within 15 calendar days
of the receipt of the written notice of the appeal by the Director. The Chair shall be
selected within 15 days of the selection of the last member other than the Chair.
4.12 The Chair of the SEAB shall arrange for a meeting with the members of the SEAB no
more than 30 calendar days after the day the Chair is selected. If necessary, the
meeting may be scheduled for a time more than 30 days after the Chair of SEAB is
selected with the written consent of the parent/guardian of the pupil and the design ated
representative of the District.
4.13 Written notice of the meeting date, time and location must be provided at least ten days
prior to the meeting. Notice shall be provided to the parent/guardian of the pupil, and/or
to the pupil, where s/he is 16 years of age or older. The Director must also inform the
parent/guardian of their right, and the student’s right if the student is 16 years of age or
older, to have a representative present at the meeting.
4.14 The SEAB Chair shall be provided with the following information:
a) the record of committee proceeding;
b) the statement of decision; and
c) any reports, assessments; or other documents considered by the committee.
4.15 Any person who, in the opinion of the Chair of the SEAB, may be able to contribute
information with respect to the matters under appeal shall be invited to the meeting.
4.16 Where the appeal involves a pupil from a board that purchases special education
services from the OCDSB, the SEAB chair shall invite the purchasing board to select a
representative to attend the meeting. The representative may be present and participate
in all discussions about the pupil.
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4.17 The District shall provide SEAB with secretarial and administrative support, as required.
4.18 Members of the SEAB are entitled to reimbursement by the District for travel and other
expenses incurred while engaged in their d uties in accordance with the District policies
and practices.
4.19 The members of the SEAB shall respect and protect all personal information in
accordance with the Board’s policies and procedures and the Municipal Freedom of
Information/Protection of Privacy Act.
The SEAB Meeting Process:
4.20 The SEAB chair shall prepare an agenda and shall distribute the agenda to the parties
at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. The scheduled proceedings for the meeting
may include:
a) A call to order;
b) An introductory statement by the Chair of the SEAB including:
c) introduction of the SEAB members;
d) introduction of meeting participants;
e) a statement of the purpose of the meeting; and
f) a description of the procedures to be followed.
g) The presentations, including:
(i) an opening statement by the parent/guardian(s);
(ii) an opening statement by the Superintendent of Learning Support Services
or designate;
(iii) presentation of information by representative(s) invited by
parent/guardian;
(iv) presentation of information by representative(s) invited by the school
District;
(v) presentation of written information, if any, by the parent/guardian and the
school District;
(vi) a summary by the parent/guardian; and
(vii) a summary by the school District.
h) A closing statement by the Chair of the SEAB. This statement should provide
information about:
(i) the decision date;
(ii) the powers of the SEAB; and
(iii) the role of the Board of Trustees following the SEAB decision.
Following the SEAB Meeting:
4.21 Within three days of the end of the SEAB meeting, the SEAB shall:
a) agree with the decision made by IPRC, and recommend that its decision be
implemented; or
b) disagree with the IPRC, make a new recommendation(s) to the Board of
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Trustees about the pupil’s identification, placement, or both.
4.22 The written statement prepared by the SEAB Chair will include a brief description of the
student, age, identification, placement (if any), strengths and needs, and the reasons for
the recommendation(s).
4.23 If consensus was not reached a minority report may be included with the
recommendation(s).
4.24 The Chair of the SEAB shall send a written statement of its the recommendation(s) to:
a) the parent/guardian of the pupil;
b) the pupil where s/he is 16 years of age or older;
c) the Chair of the IPRC;
d) the principal of the school in which the pupil is placed;
e) the Director;
f) to Learning Support Service; and
g) Board of Trustees.
Recommendation of SEAB to the Board of Trustees:
4.25 Within in 30 days of receiving the SEAB written statement, the Board of Trustees shall
meet to consider the SEAB’s recommendations. The Director of Education shall prepare
a letter of transmittal to the Board of Trustees which includes the written
recommendations of the SEAB and may include an update regarding the current status
of the appeal. Such update shall be restricted to factual information and shall not seek
to advance any position on the appeal.
4.26 The Director shall notify the parent/guardian of the date of the meeting where the SEAB
recommendation(s) will be presented to the Board of Trustees. Such notice shall
include an explanation of the right to appeal under section 57 of the Education Act.
4.27 The parent/guardian may be present for the meeting where the Board of Trustees
reviews the recommendations, including the vote on the decision, but may not enter into
a dialogue or debate at any time.
4.28 The right of the parent/guardian to be present for the Board of Trustees meeting may
extend to an advocate for the purposes of observation and/or interpretation for the
parent/guardian. The advocate shall not enter into dialogue or debate at any time
4.29 At the meeting of the Board:
a) The Director may provide an oral or written update regarding the status of the
appeal. Such update shall be restricted to factual information and shall not seek
to advance any position on the appeal.
b) The Chair of the SEAB will present the recommendation(s) of the SEAB to the
Board of Trustees. The Board may ask questions of clarification and questions of
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process to the SEAB chair and/or Director of Education
4.30 The Board of Trustees shall consider the recommendation(s) of the SEAB and in so
doing, may ask questions of clarification of the SEAB chair and/or the Director. The
Board shall render its decision on what action to take with respect to the pupil based on
the information provided.
4.31 In rendering its decision, the Board of Trustees is not limited to the actions
recommended by the SEAB.
4.32 The Board shall, within 30 days of receipt of the SEAB recommendation(s) provide
written notice of its decision to each of the following people:
a) the parent/guardian of the pupil;
b) the pupil where s/he is 16 years of age or older;
c) the Chair of the IPRC;
d) the principal of the school in which the pupil is placed;
e) the Superintendent of Learning Support Services or a designate; and
f) notice shall include an explanation of the further right to appeal under section 57
of the Education Act.
4.33 The Director shall ensure implementation of the decision of the Board of Trustees under
subsection 4.29 upon:
a) written consent from the parent/guardian of the pupil; or
b) 30 days following the receipt of written notice where no appeal under section 57
of the Education Act has been commenced; or
c) the dismissal or abandonment of an appeal under section 57 of the Education
Act.
4.34 A parent/guardian may appeal to the Special Education Tribunal (SET) under section 57
of the Education Act.
4.35 Where a parent/guardian does not consent to implementation of the Board decision or
while an appeal under Section 57 is pending; the Director and the parent/guardian may,
in the best interests of the pupil, enter into an agreement about the identification and/or
placement of a student.
4.36 Written notice of this change of decision must be provided to each of the people
identified in subsection 4.33 of the SEAB policy.
5.0 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
The Education Act
Ontario Regulation 181/98
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The Municipal Freedom of Information/Protection of Privacy Act
Board Procedure PR.654.SES: Special Education Appeal Board