Review cites weaknesses in TUSD Special Education Program

At the June 27 School Board meeting, Director of Programs Dennis Ferrell presented a Critical Incident Review containing the findings of the State Department of Education, Special Ed Dept. The review was conducted Oct. 24-28, 2016 and the findings finally sent to the district in a May 3, 2017 report. The review team consisted of six members working under Juliana Gaines, Director of Programs for the Special Education Department.

Farrell said that in advance of the review, the district was asked to send 100 files to the department. Of those 100, the department chose 40 files on which to focus that had documentation for the last five years. In the files chosen, the team looked at 138 different criteria. They found 348 incidents of non-compliance for the five year period. An incident of non-compliance could be anything from incorrect documentation of instructional minutes or incorrect signatures to recording when or how services were provided or not notifying parents of meetings.

After interviewing 13 staff members, the team noted that General Education teachers needed more training in Special Education. The district also has a shortage of therapists. There needs to be better reporting to parents. A training was recommended for all educators to be sure services were delivered to the students.

There were also a number of positives noted by the team. They all commented on the collaboration among the Special Ed and General Ed teachers. Also mentioned was that the principals knew the Special Ed students by name and the staff felt supported by the principals. They also took note of the fact that bullying is taken very seriously throughout the district.

In all, the five year report found the district 67.72% compliant, 12.50% non-compliant and 19.78 contained non-applicable findings. The district was given 45 (school) days to correct actions at the student level and will be reviewed again on September 13, 2017. Corrections on the staff level were set at 60 (school) days and a training has been scheduled with Julianna Gaines on October 4, 2017. Superintendent Andreas-Berval said that the district has been in ongoing conversations with the Department of Special Education since October and taking corrective measures.

Brenda Markham, the mother of an autistic student, told the Board that the review was the result of complaints by 93 parents who had asked for an investigation. She assured the Board that "there will be more lawsuits".