School district says it corrected special education noncompliance
The Iowa City Community School District is seeking to verify its completion of a plan aimed at fixing noncompliance in special education.
In a letter to the Iowa Department of Education dated May 31, Jane Fry, the district's interim special education director, said the district completed all the steps in a corrective action plan the department issued last June.
Fry said in an interview that the district has not heard back from the department but expects to hear back soon.
The Grant Wood Area Education Agency also confirmed in a Feb. 16 letter that the district corrected all noncompliance issues related to education plans that the agency identified.
"While the work has been difficult, and at times frustrating, I know that we are in a much better place. I also know that we are very committed to continuing on this improvement path to enable us to provide the best services possible for our students and families," Fry said in the letter.
The department required the district to correct violations in its handling of special education students' individualized education programs or plans, which are unique to each special education student. The plans address areas including services, activities and supports, as well as decisions on procedures like the usage of seclusion.
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Federal law requires schools and area education agencies to work with parents on creating the plans, but the Grant Wood agency and department of education last year revealed citations in more than 150 plans, including instances when parents were excluded from the process.
Lisa Glenn, the district's incoming special education director, said teachers and principals completed increased training on developing appropriate education plans, focused in part on making sure they include "authentic parental or guardian input."
“I would think that our [education plan] process in this district has been improved," Glenn said.
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She said the district is also providing more support to teachers serving students whose education plans allow placement in seclusion rooms, or roughly 6-by-6-foot isolated rooms with padding.
The district is developing an electronic reporting process for teachers to document seclusion room incidents, Glenn said, adding that the system will automatically generate notification emails to parents. She said the district plans to review this documentation monthly.
Glenn said staff will receive ongoing training on developing education plans and improving special education instruction.
“I think a lot of our work needs to continue to be related to instruction and helping teachers help students," she said.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights also verified in a July 7 letter that the district completed required steps aimed at resolving an overrepresentation of black students in special education.
The letter indicates the district completed the 14 steps spelled out in the agreement to correct the overrepresentation and related procedures.
The agreement called for hiring a consultant, expanding screening procedures, training teachers, implementing team-based intervention strategies, reviewing students' placement decisions and evaluating the effectiveness of programming changes, among other stipulations.
Over the past three years, Fry said, the district bolstered its work identifying students who need extra academic support, and said staff members regularly assess students' reading proficiency to catch trouble spots early. The district also provided training on creating a culture that encourages positive behavior, she said, adding that the work has "just become our way of life now."
Rates of black students in special education from 2009 to 2016 ranged from 30.9 percent at the highest, in 2009-10, to 28.8 percent at the lowest, in 2014-15. The rate of black students in the district overall rose from 16.1 percent in 2009-10 to 20.5 percent in 2015-16.
The district did not immediately provide data for the 2016-17 school year before press time Thursday afternoon.
District administrators will present an update to the school board on the special education milestones at Tuesday's 6 p.m. board meeting at the Educational Services Center, 1725 N. Dodge St.
At the same meeting, the board could take a vote on a new special education service delivery plan developed by a committee of teachers, parents, community partners and other personnel with the district and Grant Wood Area Education Agency.
The corrective action plan called for an update to the delivery plan, which school districts typically update every five years, Glenn said.
Fry said the district posted the plan on its website earlier this year to garner feedback. She said the committee sought to clarify the plan's language and terminology, making it more understandable to parents.
“That was a key part of the work that they did," Fry said.
Reach Holly Hines at hhines2@press-citizen.com or at 319-887-5414 and follow her on Twitter: @HollyJHines.