For discussion purposes only

Discipline Task Force Minutes

Friday, October 3, 1997

10:00-1:00 p.m.

West Lake Jr. High

 

Attendance: Margaret Lubke, Ann Miller, Ken Reavis, Holly Dixon, Deb Cheney, Tom VanGorder, Nan Gray, Mae Taylor-Sweeten, Diane Dykman, Dan Morgan, Sharon Neyme, Rob O'Neill, Sam Ray

Action Steps:

Scheduled Meetings:

 

Next Scheduled Meeting Thursday, October 23, 1997

9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

(OSEP Week)

Utah State Office of Education

Room 241

500 South 250 East

Salt Lake City

(801) 538-7700

Future Scheduled Meetings Wednesday, November 12, 1997

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Utah State Office of Education

Room 241

500 South 250 East

Salt Lake City

(801) 538-7700

 

Tuesday, November 25, 1997

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Weber School District Office

5320 South Adams Ave

Ogden

(801) 476-7884 (Ann Miller)

 

Tuesday, December 9, 1997

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Jordan School District Office

9361 South 300 East

Sandy

(801) 567-8363 (Cal Evans)

 

Reference Materials used during this meeting:

 

Discussion

A. General Issues:

 

  1. Several changes to the minutes from the 9-23-97 meeting. (Please see the changes in the revised version of these minutes.)
  2. Draft regulations were postponed and are expected to be out in a couple of weeks.
  3. One member asked if an in-school suspension program counted as part of the 10 suspension days? The group responded by saying that it depends on whether the program or services were changed. For example, sending a student to another building for an in-school suspension would probably be considered as part of the 10 days.

 

  1. Protections for Children Not Yet Eligible for Special Education and Related Services. Sec 615(k)(8)(B)

 

(B) BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE- A local educational agency shall be deemed to have knowledge that a child is a child with a disability if--

 

(i) the parent of the child has expressed concern in writing (unless the parent is illiterate or has a disability that prevents compliance with the requirements contained in this clause) to personnel of the appropriate educational agency that the child is in need of special education and related services;

 

(ii) the behavior or performance of the child demonstrates the need for such services;

 
    1. the parent of the child has requested an evaluation of the child pursuant to section 614; or

      2.  

    2. the teacher of the child, or other personnel of the local educational agency, has expressed concern about the behavior or performance of the child to the director of special education of such agency or to other personnel of the agency.

 

  1. The items in (ii) and (iv) could be defined in many different ways. We need to have parameters for these two items. We will bring up this discussion with OSEP in our next meeting.
  2. One person on the task force suggested that school districts may wish to develop a best practice policy and procedure that indicate what steps a district can take to ensure they have addressed the issue of whether the district should have had "knowledge that a child is a child with a disability".
  3. It would be helpful to develop flags or indicators such as number of referrals to the principal's office. Frequency, magnitude, and patterns of behavior should be considered in establishing indicators.
  4. Another question we have about (iii) is whether the request has to be in writing or only presented orally.

 

  1. Manifestation Determination
  1. Much discussion was held (without conclusion) in respect to the selection of Hearing Officer in cases where parents appeal a manifestation determination.
  2. Additional discussion was held regarding the documentation needed if the team agrees that the behavior is a manifestation of the student's disability.
  3. The Flowchart and accompanying narrative developed by Cal Evans was discussed.
  4. The senate language was reviewed in an attempt to determine the purpose of the language in the statute.

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