CFPC Guest Chat Transcript - October 17, 2007

 

Topic:  “Conflict Resolution” 

 

Guest Speakers: Ms. Kathy Burton, Program Specialist,

Florida Department of Education

Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services

and Ms. Patricia Howell, Dispute Resolution Program Director 
Florida Department of Education

and ESE Program Administration and Quality Assurance 

 

 

When Central Florida Parent Center offers a guest chat, our protocol is to send a copy of the chat transcript to the guest speaker for approval before the chat is posted on our website.   The guest speaker then has an opportunity to make slight changes or add additional information.  The changes or additional information provided by the guest speaker is posted in red. 

We also send any remaining questions that were not posted (because time was up) to the guest speaker, and those questions and answers are provided at the end of the chat transcript – also in red.

 

 

Eileen Gilley (CFPC Director):  I will be typing for our guests, Patricia Howell & Kathy Burton, so I will be putting their name first so you all can tell who is talking.  I have them on the phone right now -- we'd like to begin by letting each of them introduce themselves and say a few words about the topic for today, "Conflict Resolution.”

 

Kathy Burton:  I am the Program Specialist here at BEESS (Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services).  My primary focus is Parent Liaison, Private Schools, Charter Schools and McKay Scholarships.  I have a long history in the field both as a family member and advocate.

 

Patricia Howell:  I am the Dispute Resolution Program Director, which is basically the same as Conflict Resolution.  We deal with informal resolution as in calls from parents, as well as the administrative remedies of mediation, complaints, and due process hearing requests.  Like Kathy, I have worked for many years in the area of Special Education.  I have been a classroom teacher, guidance counselor, ESE Staffing Specialist, and a Complaint Investigator as well as being the parent of a special needs child.

 

We can open it up now to questions.  If there are specific and detailed questions, we may need to speak with participants individually after the call so that everyone can get answers to their questions.

 

 

Question: If a parent puts in writing a request for evaluation and it is denied and we ask for refusal letter and they deny giving us a refusal letter and the evaluation what is our next step?

 

PH:  It would be appropriate to call our Bureau 850-245-0476, or you could email Patricia.Howell@fldoe.org.  We would initially talk with the district to try to resolve the issue...but would also facilitate the administrative remedies if the parent decided (like mediation, complaint, or due process requests).

 

KB:  An option that parents have is to have a private evaluation done at their own expense for consideration by the school district. However, it would be important for the parent to be certain that the evaluator meets the criteria acceptable by the school... for example, for a psychologist to be Florida-certified.

 

 

Question:  Can a school legally make it so a parent is only allowed to talk or meet privately with the teacher, therapists, etc. only when the whole team is present?  How is that allowing a parent to participate in the child's education?

  

PH:  That is a very difficult situation that evolves over time as the relationship with the district deteriorates.  There are no federal specific requirements that prevent a district from doing that, but again, the Bureau would accept the calls from a parent who has that concern to try to work with both parties (parent and district) to try to rebuild the relationship.

 

KB:  As parents, we need to be careful when we're meeting or making requests that we're not taking an inordinate amount of time away from the time to teach the children.

 

 

Question:  I thought if a parent puts a letter requesting evaluation then the IDEA law says either do evaluation or give notice of refusal – Procedural Safeguards?

 

PH:  Yes, that is right.  You can file a complaint over that, but what would the corrective action be?  It would be to provide the notice of refusal -- so sometimes it's more helpful if the team can resolve the underlying concern rather than dealing with just the procedural safeguards to deal with and get into the substance of what is needed (i.e.,  what kind of assistance does the child need in school.)

 

KB: That is why you see the state moving more and more to the Response to Intervention mode.  (Response to Intervention represents a systematic method for evaluating the needs of all students and for fostering positive student outcomes through carefully selected and implemented interventions. It also may be used to assist schools in identifying students who may require more intensive instructional services and/or be eligible for an exceptional student education program)

 

Question:  What if the school refuses to accept the IEE?

 

PH:  There again, the parent would have to decide whether to allege a violation of IDEA which could be by filing a state complaint or requesting a due process hearing. Other than that, a time period can pass, after which the parent can request another evaluation.

 

KB: That gets back to making sure the person doing the evaluation is qualified under Florida Rule and it's helpful to ask why they (the school district) are refusing to accept the IEE.

 

PH: I was answering from the standpoint that the district accepted the evaluation but didn't agree the child was eligible for services, so I may have misunderstood the question.

 

PH: The requirement is that they consider it. Accepting it could imply that if the report recommends eligibility, they accept that recommendation. That may be what is meant by the school refusing to accept the IEE.

 

KB:  The label that a child ends up with is more a product of funding... what's more important than the label is what services the child needs.  Once your child is found eligible, then the focus should be on what they need to succeed. (Remember, sometimes having an identified disability still does not mean the child needs exceptional student education services. They may need support, but not through ESE. Maybe they need an accommodation via a 504 plan.)

 

 

Question: What if a parent received approval for IEE and did the IEE how long to they have to wait to be reimbursed?

 

PH:  There are no specific requirements about that...A determination would have to be made about "reasonable."

 

KB:  One thing a parent might do, once they receive the approval, is to ask the district what they expect the time frame for reimbursement to be.  This will help the parent with budgeting and it will help them if they have to go forward with a complaint (try to get it in writing).

 

 

Question:  I thought the IEE has to be the criteria of testing from District?

 

PH:  That is correct; that is what Kathy was saying.

 

KB:  Yes, that's (Florida licensed or certified is) part of the criteria.

 

 

Question:  What about when a parent requests an IEE and the district agrees to pay for it but then refuses to approve the evaluator the parent chooses?

 

PH:  This would be a "case-by-case" area I don't know that a general answer would help here.

 

KB:  What I did in my own situation was to go to the district first and make sure that the person I had chosen was going to be acceptable.  It was a lot of money out of my pocket!!

 

Question:   What can we do when all children with an IEP are summarily excluded from a standardized test solely because they have an IEP?

 

PH:  That is not allowed either - if indeed that is happening, that is grounds for a complaint.

 

KB:  When you file a state complaint, you have to be very clear about the violation.  Parents who are looking at whether their child should be excluded from standardized testing – FCAT, I would recommend reading The IEP Team's Guide to FCAT Accommodations.  The guidelines (for excluding a child from the FCAT) are in this guidebook.  There are questions that you'd have to answer (aka criteria that must be met) to determine if the child would be excluded.  It is in the Clearinghouse Information Center documents on the Department of Education’s website. http://www.fldoe.org/ese/pub-home.asp.

 

 

Question:  Assuming we file for due process and lose, what is our next step?

 

PH:  There can be an appeal, but it's to a different court. There is also, at the end of the final order, there is a time period referenced for making that appeal.  Typically an attorney is involved with an appeal.  Before making a complaint feel free to call our office and Bureau staff will work with the district and the parent to try to resolve it in a more informal basis if the parent is in agreement to try that.

 

 

Question:  I am aware that in other states we can appeal to the State Board before going to a court.  Can we do that in Florida?

 

PH:   No.  That is true that some states have that step, but here in Florida we do not have that at this time.  Kathy brought up a good point, though.  If you disagree with the outcome of a complaint investigation you can make a due process hearing request about the same issues.  However, the reverse is not true. If you disagree with the due process hearing order, you cannot take those issues back to the State Complaint process.

 

 

Question:  How much training on IDEA 2004 changes and the law in general are required by the state for districts to have done for those involved in ESE.  Many at our school don't seem to have a clue what the law says.  They use phrases that are no longer appropriate with the changes in 2004.  I know it is bad to quote law, but what do you do when they don't know the law?

 

PH:  I think that in fairness to the district, that would be good information for the parent to give to the district, to the Superintendent, and ESE Director.  The parent needs to be aware that in some cases, until we change the Florida statutes, the Florida rules prevail.  So in some cases federal law/regulation is ruling, in other cases, Florida statute/rule prevails.  It can cause confusion between the two parties.  All our current rule changes / draft rule changes are being posted on the DOE website and the general public has the opportunity to provide comment through the end of this month [October 2007]. 

 

KB:  This is also why parent involvement and ongoing training for parents is so important, so they do know their rights.  FDLRS (Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resource Services) provide training to parents like Central Florida Parent Center does. (Additional information about FDLRS can be found at the website: www.fdlrs.com)

 

 

Question:  As a trainer I hear from parents:  "Why did they not tell me this? Why is it so hard to find information? If it is written in the law why do we have to fight so hard?  What answer would you give if you were asked those questions?

 

KB:  I've been there.  My feeling is that a lot of it has to do with local control issues and that parents really do have a lot of power.  The example I'll give:  with my child I got with a group of parents and formed a parent group around an issue.  When we got enough parents and enough clarity on the issues, we met with the superintendent - a small group of us (three) so we weren't overwhelming.  The superintendent joined forces with us and we got leadership; we got change from the top down. (It was collaborative and I think a win-win situation)

 

KB:  School people can get caught up in their jargon and forget to explain the pieces the parent doesn't know the question to ask, and school people often don't know or forget to give explanations or some information because they live it day in and day out.

 

PH:  The invitations always include "If you need more information, contact ---" call that person for follow up information.

 

KB:  This is kind of my soap-box thing, care-giving is hard and working the system which is so complex makes it more difficult. So I think it's very important for parents to find support so they don't feel so isolated.  I did work and school issues around my children and then there was home. It was exhausting!!  There were times, even as a professional in this field, I felt isolated, and so you have to be able to ask for help.

 

 

At this time, we have just 10 minutes left, and we do have more questions in the queue, so we will email those questions to Kathy and Patricia and then post their answers in the transcript which will be available on the CFPC website.  So for this last 10 minutes, I will open the floor to Kathy and Patricia.

 

KB:   I would highly recommend that you take advantage of our website and scroll through the different publications that are available including the TAPS (Technical Assistance Papers) and remember that it's local control and to really bond together at the local level to try to work through the issues and build relationships but we are here!

 

PH:   Some of you may have been at the Family Cafe for my presentation there, which was about communication.  When we're communicating with other people and they are communicating with us, sometimes we tend to put on armor and protect ourselves because whether we're the school district or the parent we can be offended or hurt and when we start putting those protections or that armor on, then we're limiting the open free flow and there are more barriers which get in the way.  So I suggest that parents and districts think about where they are with a certain person or relationship and if the barriers are already there, then have realistic expectations of the time it may take to rebuild, to gradually decrease those barriers, and to rebuild the trust.

 

KB:  Some of my stress came from trying to make my child fit into the school mode...and looking back I think I spent more time supporting his differences than his strengths...and we need to be careful about folding to the peer pressure created by the school, and spend more time supporting the child's strengths and self-esteem.

 

PH:  I agree with that, I think I made that same mistake with my child.

 

KB:  When you do that (get caught up in what the school demands rather than your child’s strength and uniqueness) it's harder to relax and enjoy your child.  It adds to the exhaustion.

 

PH:  Because the child is much more than school and your relationship is much more than school!

 

PH:  Thank you to the participants for coming today.

 

KB:  We hope it was helpful!

 

PH:  I always learn from the questions, too, so it was good for me too.

 

KB:  One more time, my phone number 850-245-0478.

 

Moderator:  It's 2:00.  The chat really sped by!   We will send unanswered questions to our guest speakers, and add the answers to the end of the chat transcript.

 

 

Leftover Chat Questions and Answers

 

 

Q:  Have you heard of Facilitated IEP’s?  How do we get one done?

 

Yes, we have heard of facilitated IEP meetings.   In the document, Facilitated IEP Meetings  An Emerging Practice, put out by ALLIANCE and CADRE organization, it is noted that

 

“IEP teams have a number of options in terms of who facilitates the meeting.  Typically, a member of the team facilitates the meeting but sometimes, a district representative with expert facilitation skills may be called in to help the team complete the IEP process.  In some cases, a parent, trained parent advocate, or support person may facilitate the meeting.  Some students may lead their own IEP meetings.  When IEP teams reach an impasse or meetings are expected to be contentious, an independent, trained facilitator not affiliated with the team or school district may help guide the process…No Federal regulations related to IEP facilitation exist…considerable variability exists related to this practice and those who serve as external IEP facilitators.”

 

Some of the districts have trained facilitators for Facilitated IEP meetings; however, at this time our Bureau does not provide trained facilitators for this process.

 

Q:  Why doesn’t the school district send more information home to parents?

 

This question is unclear to us.  What information is the parent looking for?  Many school districts send volumes of information home. In particular, at the beginning of the school year numerous documents are sent home for parents to review and sometimes sign. If you need more frequent or detailed information about your child or the school, you may schedule a meeting with your child’s teacher or IEP team to discuss appropriate communication needs. In section 6A-6.03028(7) (g) Florida Administrative Code, it states the content of an IEP must include

 

“a statement of how the student’s progress toward the annual goals will be measured and how the student’s parents will be regularly informed (at least as often as parents are informed of their non-disabled children’s progress) of the student’s progress toward the annual goals and the extent to which that progress is sufficient to enable the student to achieve the goals by the end of the year;”

 

The Clearinghouse Information Center (CIC) here at the Bureau has multiple informative documents available for parents at no charge. A list of publications in available on the Bureau Web site: http://www.fldoe.org/ese/, or you may contact the CIC at (850) 245-0477.

 

Q:  When will the rules that are currently being proposed take effect?

 

The public comments period for the current proposed rules closed on October 31, 2007.  Once the period for public comments has closed, the Department of Education takes the comments under consideration and makes changes to the proposed rules as needed.  The next step is to submit the proposed rules to the State Board of Education for approval.  The Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Proposed Administrative Rules are available on the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services Website at:  www.fldoe.org/ese Topics of Special Interest. Comments may be sent to: Kim Komisar, Program Director at Kim.Komisar@fldoe.org.

 

Q:  Sometimes it seems like I know more about IDEA than the people at the IEP table.  Is everyone that participates in IEP meetings provided with information about what IDEA says?

 

Although it is important that the state and local school districts do their part relative to education, the importance of parents educating themselves concerning their children’s need and rights cannot be overstated. Over 35 years of research has consistently documented that families are a major influence on the success of children in school and throughout their lives. Therefore, we encourage all parents and caregivers to be well-informed about IDEA requirements and best practices. To assist parents and caregivers of children with disabilities to be more effectively involved with their children’s education, many school districts have a parent liaison on staff and the FDLRS centers have parent services specialists who offer valuable training and consultations.  The FDLRS centers also have Human Resource Development personnel to assist with training for instructional and non-instructional personnel about the laws and best practices concerning students with disabilities. Additional information about the FDLRS centers can be found at http://www.fdlrs.com/. 

 

Q:  I have asked my district for a copy of the SP&P and I have been told that it is not available to me.  Is that true?

 

Copies of SP&P are open for public review.  Most districts place the SP&P on their website for public review.  You may write a letter to your district ESE director requesting a copy of the current SP&P with amendments.  The district may charge a small fee for providing a copy.

 

 

Our heartfelt thanks to both Kathy and Patricia for their

participation in our chat!

  

 

 

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