New state report details failures of SPS special education

"The evidence is clear that disabilities do not cause disparate outcomes, but that the system itself perpetuates limitations in expectations and false belief systems about who children with disabilities can be and how much they can achieve in their lifetime."

In 2013, only 54.4% of students with disabilities graduated from high school on time; and only 62.4% within 5 years.
 Only 1.5% of districts met the state’s Annual Measurable Objectives under NCLB for students with IEPs.
 In several large districts, LIKE SEATTLE students with IEPs are between 2 and 3 times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their peers.1

 Graduates with disabilities continue onto higher education at less than half the rate of their peers.2
 Over 1/3 of students who had IEPs are “not engaged” in employment, post-secondary education or training one year after graduating from high school.3
 The U.S. Department of Education has determined that Washington state is in “need of assistance” to meet new federal results-driven outcome measures for students with disabilities.4

The evidence is clear that disabilities do not cause disparate outcomes, but that the system itself perpetuates limitations in expectations and false belief systems about who children with disabilities can be and how much they can achieve in their lifetime.

There is a need for statewide coordination and leadership to identify best practices and scalable models that will connect education as a whole to other systems that support the welfare of children in our state, and improve educational outcomes for all students with disabilities.



http://www.governor.wa.gov/oeo/reports/SpecialEdTaskForce%20Report_Nov2014.pdf

Thousands of FERPA violations- SPS legal consultant releases vast amounts of SPED student information.

A legal firm used by Seattle Public Schools to fight against parents who advocate for their children has illegally emailed out :

Multiple lists that name every student in special education in the district, their date of birth, what school they go to and their district disability designation (SM1a, SM2, medically fragile, etc) among other things

Sp-Ed transportation lists with student names, addresses, pick up locations and disability

Copies of 173 consent for reevaluation forms with student and parent names and addresses for various students throughout the district

Complete IEPs for 38 Roosevelt High students, these appear to be the entire case load of one IEP manager at RHS

Several different lists of RHS students that had disciplinary action taken against them, these lists included the students names, date of and type of infractions, disciplinary measures taken and the race of the students

Multiple lists of the entire RHS student roster with their end of course exam scores, AP scores and other test scores.

300.572 Safeguards.
(a) Each participating agency shall protect the confidentiality of personally identifiable information at collection, storage, disclosure, and destruction stages.
(b) One official at each participating agency shall assume responsibility for ensuring the confidentiality of any personally identifiable information.
(c) All persons collecting or using personally identifiable information must receive training or instruction regarding the State's policies and procedures under ¤300.127 and 34 CFR part 99.
(d) Each participating agency shall maintain, for public inspection, a current listing of the names and positions of those employees within the agency who may have access to personally identifiable information.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(8), 1417(c))

¤300.577 Department use of personally identifiable information.
If the Department or its authorized representatives collect anypersonally identifiable information regarding children with disabilities that is not subject to 5 U.S.C. 552a (the Privacy Act of 1974), the Secretary applies the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 552a (b)(1)-(2), (4)-(11); (c); (d); (e)(1), (2), (3)(A), (B), and (D), (5)-(10); (h); (m); and (n); and the regulations implementing those provisions in 34 CFR part 5b.

So who calls the shots at SPS when it comes to choosing outside legal consultants?

Maybe this is a clue?

 

From: English, Ron
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 4:31 PM
To: Banda, Jose L
Cc: SchoolBoard
Subject: Re: Conflict of interest in the legal dept.
I have forwarded this to the City Ethics Office for their action. I will note that we have spent
about $1 million annually on outside legal fees of all kinds and that I made the decision to
hire the Curran firm.
I welcome a review of our litigation management practices.
Ron English
General Counsel

Below is taken from SPS web site, it describes the legal dept areas of responsibility 

Office of General Counsel

Overview

---

The General Counsel’s Office provides legal services to the Seattle Public Schools, including the School Board, Superintendent, and District Administrators, to ensure legal compliance across all District operations and reduce potential liability. 

Staff attorneys represent and counsel clients on a variety of practice areas:

• Ethics Policy Compliance ... WOOPS
• School Board Operations
• Open Public Meetings Act Compliance ....WOOPS
• Litigation Management and Tort Claims ...WOOPS
• Facilities and Capital Projects
• Contracting and Procurement
• District and School Operations
• Policy and Procedure Development and Compliance ...WOOPS
• Property Management & Property Sales
• Legislative Analysis
• Labor and Employment Issues
• Educational Operations Issues
• Student 504 Accommodation ...WOOPS
• Special Education ...WOOPS
• Student Issues
• Public Records and Student Records Compliance  ... WOOPS
• Risk Management (Risk and Loss Prevention)
• District Safety and Security
• Constitutional Issues

Here's the SPS response to the FERPA violations.

Dear Seattle Public Schools families,

Late Tuesday night Seattle Public Schools learned that a law firm retained by the district to handle a complaint against the district inadvertently sent personally identifiable student information to an individual involved in the case. The district promptly removed the law firm from the case and is working to ensure that all improperly released records are retrieved or destroyed.

Protection of student privacy is of critical importance, and this inadvertent release of student information is unacceptable. Confidential information about several thousand of our students was improperly released. They are primarily Special Education students. Seattle Public Schools is reporting the release of student information to the U.S. Department of Education and is asking for their assistance in investigating how this happened.

Seattle Public Schools is looking into the exact extent of the disclosure and will be sending follow-up communications to affected families.

We appreciate the action of the individual who received these documents in reporting this to the district so that we could quickly move to retrieve the student information and notify families.

Dr. Larry Nyland
Interim Superintendent

Seattle Public Schools letter to parents:

November 14, 2014
Thank you for your email regarding the unauthorized release of student information by an outside law firm contracted by the district. We fully appreciate and acknowledge the concern this has created for you and your family.
We realize our initial communications with families may not contain sufficient information to help alleviate your concerns and that is because we are currently in the process of confirming which students and families are impacted, what type of information was shared, and working to retrieve and destroy these information files. However, we did feel it was important to inform parents of the situation as soon as possible and for them to hear directly from us regarding this important matter.
We do want to confirm a few important facts for you:
1. The student information that was shared by the law firm was given to a family member who is representing the student. At this time, we believe no other individuals have access to this information. We immediately requested that files be returned or destroyed.
2. A large majority of the student information released involves special education student files.
3. We have removed the responsible law firm from this case and have been in contact with the appropriate state and federal agencies to confirm the appropriate course of action.
Families should know that the district takes this incident very seriously and are working quickly to confirm more details in order to communicate directly with our parents and families. Families of impacted students will receive a subsequent communication, and all families will get an update on the districts response to this issue.
We appreciate your support and patience as we carefully investigate and respond to the critically important need to protect student information.
Sincerely,
Dr. Larry Nyland
Superintendent

SPED C-CAP UPDATE from the temporary SPS superintendent

Special Education – We met today with OSPI and US Department of Education staff to review progress on the Corrective Action Plan.

Outcomes included:

1. Need to correct IEPs by November 14th in order to qualify for all the funding for which we are eligible.
2. Concerns about lack of interface between IEP online and PowerSchool causing too much handwork and errors.
3. Putting procedures and organization structures in place to ensure that staff/parents know where to get good information.
4. Stabilize leadership for Special Education and other departments.
5. Provide added supports to assist Wyeth and Michaela to put out fires, oversee the entire special education program and fix compliance issues.
6. Address communications by letting staff know of our corrective action compliance and addressing parent concerns.

As you see there's NOTHING of substance in the plan. Number 5 is code for HIRE MORE CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF. Number 6 WTF is Nyland trying to say?

Needless to say SPS has no chance of making the June 30th deadline with 15 citizen complaints and 19 due process hearings request pending the only thing SPS can do is conspire with OSPI to fraudulently become compliant.  Don't let them do this!

Office of Civil Rights on Bully Guidance

Bullying disproportionately impacts students with disabilities and must be addressed in every single case

Washington, DC – As part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today issued guidance to schools reminding them that bullying is wrong and must not be tolerated – including against America’s 6.5 million students with disabilities. In response COPAA releases the following statement:

“The strong leadership and guidance of The Office of Civil Rights is timely and meaningful.  By acknowledging the disproportionate impact of bullying on students with disabilities the U.S. Department of Education is creating enhanced and heightened awareness as well as putting schools on notice that every vulnerable child – especially those with disabilities as qualifying under The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) – are to be protected by the adults responsible for them.  The Dear Colleague is quite clear in explaining to schools that no time should elapse, nor should a child’s safety and well-being be disregarded when an incident is suspected or may have occurred" said Denise Marshall, Executive Director.

The OCR Letter goes a long way in informing schools of their responsibilities under Section 504 and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act. OCR also articulated what the elements are for proving an administrative complaint for violation of Section 504's Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) requirements.  Selene Almazan, COPAA Legal Director, reminds COPAA members and colleagues: "While very useful tool for advocates and families, the standard for the Courts remains deliberate indifference and that remains a large hurdle.  That said, it is good to see the seriousness with which they are treating the issue and gratifying to see the standard for delivery of FAPE spelled out."  

Data and experience show that children with disabilities are too often the target of bullying and harassment – whether it be through overt physical behavior or verbal, emotional, or social behaviors – and schools, together with families must strive to ensure that every child feels safe and supported at school, on the bus, during recess/lunch and other extracurricular activities.  COPAA thanks the Department and Assistant Secretary Lhamon for sending an unequivocal message that schools must do everything possible to protect access to a FAPE for every student with a disability and ensure both suspected and known violations are investigated and dealt with in accordance to the law.

For more information and the guidance:  

Bullying of Students with Disabilities Addressed in Guidance to America’s Schools

  

I got lumped in classes with kids with autism and Down Syndrome

I have never considered myself a very smart person': Channing Tatum reveals his early struggles with A.D.H.D. and dyslexia 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2795939/channing-tatum-reveals-early-struggles-d-h-d-dyslexia.html#ixzz3GLG8cvlL

It's been 69 days since Exectutive Special Education Director McWilliams was placed in a time out.

Really,  69 days on PAID leave! What is she doing with all the free time?

Is SPS thinking we will forget what McWilliams did and didn't do? Perhaps they are thinking she could just lie low for a few months then come back like nothing happened.

Here's a little chit chat going around between OSPI and SPS

From: Doug Gill
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 12:39 PM
To: 'Nyland, Larry L'; Randy Dorn
Cc: Tolley, Michael F; Jessee, Wyeth; Wright, Charles E; Rogers, Lesley A; kgoodsell@psesd.org; Scott Raub; Valerie Arnold
Subject: RE: Seattle Special Education Response

Dear Dr. Nyland,

Thank you for your email below accepting the conditions associated with the (1) designation of Seattle Public Schools (SPS) as a high risk grantee and (2) the withholding of $3,000,000 in federal IDEA Section 611 and 619 funding for the 2014-15 school year. I appreciate your pledge of full cooperation in this matter, and your commitment to improving special education services in Seattle.

As I indicated in my letter of September 18, our intent is to consolidate resources at the local, regional, state and national levels to assist SPS in improving district capacity to systematically provide appropriate programs and services on behalf of students eligible for special education services. I also indicated that there would be a three-tiered approach to consolidating these resources.

Step one involves monthly meetings with staff from OSPI, the PSESD and the external consultants selected by the district. I am attaching a schedule for these monthly meetings that will begin in October (see attachment).  Just as a reminder, a primary role of the external consultants is to establish benchmarks identified in the RC-CAP against which SPS progress will be measured during the school year.

As a second step, I am also instructing Scott Raub from our office to begin scheduling weekly meetings with your interim executive director of special education and whomever else you think appropriate, beginning in October as well. Mr. Raub will contact Mr. Jesse within the next few days to set up a regularly scheduled weekly on-site meeting in the district. The focus of these weekly on-site meetings will be on the overarching concerns addressed in the July TIERS report (communication, data utility, access, staff supports, etc.).

Step three involves quarterly meetings with staff from the United States Department of Education, together with our staff, PSESD staff and the external consultants, to verify that adequate progress is being made to justify periodical, incremental releases of the funding that is currently being withheld from the district during the 2014-15 school year. The dates of the quarterly visits by DOE are not yet established, but as soon as the dates are finalized, we will notify the district immediately. You should also take the opportunities within the RC-CAP to fully engage the district identified RC-CAP implementation team.

Once again, I sincerely appreciate your cooperation in this matter and am encouraged that the SPS school board has identified special education as a top priority for the 2014-15 school year. We look forward to resolving these issues in the most efficient and effective way possible so that the results that are achieved, are sustainable in the district on a long-term basis.

From: Nyland, Larry L [mailto:llnyland@seattleschools.org]
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 6:01 PM
To: Doug Gill; Randy Dorn
Cc: Tolley, Michael F; Jessee, Wyeth; Wright, Charles E; Rogers, Lesley A
Subject: Seattle Special Education Response

Sept. 22, 2014

Dear Dr. Gill,

Thank you for your detailed letter of September 18. We understand and share your concerns about the progress Seattle Public Schools needs to make for our students in special education. Please know that since I joined the district in June, I have been meeting with our team regularly and I am personally dedicating significant time to meeting the needs of each and every student receiving special education services.

The district accepts the conditions of the letter, and we look forward to working together on the additional oversight mechanisms, including weekly meetings with an on-site compliance officer. We are confident we will satisfy your requirements this school year.

Progress we have made

Earlier this month the Seattle School Board selected four governance priorities for the 2014-15 school year, and I am pleased that one of those priority goals is a focus on special education. We are working diligently on meeting the requirements of the Revised Comprehensive Corrective Action Plan (RCCAP). We have also worked hard to get classrooms ready for the 2014-15 school year, with materials and supplies ready to support instruction. While we have not yet been able to staff each special education classroom, we continue to make hiring those staff members a priority.

In addition, we are working on increasing the stability and capacity of the department. We have hired an additional program specialist in each region to support the special education staff at each school, and also improve our relationships with families. We are also in the process of hiring a special education ombudsman to help improve our engagement with and responsiveness to families. This is the first time in five years that we had a fully staffed central office leadership team for the special education department. Wyeth Jessee is currently serving as Interim Executive Director, stepping in to provide stable leadership while Zakiyyah McWilliams is on administrative leave.

Addressing your concerns

As I mentioned earlier, we acknowledge your concerns and we look forward to our continued partnership with OSPI to address these issues.

We will meet weekly with our on-site compliance officer and host monthly meetings with our third-party contractor, OSPI program review staff and identified staff from the Puget Sound ESD. In addition, we will host quarterly reviews for both OSPI and the U.S. Department of Education to review our progress on the RCCAP.

I am confident that we will meet the performance indicators set forth by OSPI and that the restriction indicated in your letter of $3 million will be released as we demonstrate adequate progress

Moving forward

We are completing the bidding process to hire our third-party consultant, and we look forward to their support and recommendations.

At your earliest convenience, we look forward to pulling together all parties to determine next steps and continued partnership on behalf of our students.

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry Nyland
Interim Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools
 

87 days out from the TIERS group meeting, 255 days to meet FAPE compliance.

It's now been 87 days since the July 22nd TIERS group's "Forgive and forget" meeting, so what's improved?

It's hard to gauge how well the district is doing on the revised C-CAP, because the district doesn't openly communicate its progress to families. To me SPS sees families as secondary in the process.

So, let look at some outside indicators.

In 2013 SPS had a total of 5 citizen complaints filed with OSPI  for IDEA related violations.
As of October 2014 SPS has a total of 13 citizen complaints filed against them for IDEA related violations.

In 2013 SPS had a total of 7 due process hearings filed for IDEA related issues.
As of October 2014 SPS has 18 due process hearings filed for IDEA related issues.


As of October 2014 SPS has a total of 5 US department of education civil rights violations investigations pending against them.

It appears based on the above numbers that things are possibly worst, but in no meaningful measurable way have improved.  I cant imagine SPS has a chance with only 259 days left.

Dyslexic Henry Winkler comes to Seattle to promote his books.

Winkler is co-author of a series of popular children's books featuring a boy named Hank Zipzer: the World's Greatest Underachiever.
Standing with students, Winkler said, "I cannot believe that my name is on a book."
Fifth grader, Iris Dimpsey is a fan of Winkler's books. She said, "Well, the books are really cool because they are about dyslexic kids and I'm dyslexic."
And so are other students at Hamlin Robinson. It's the only school in the Puget Sound area designed for children with dyslexia, a condition that makes learning words difficult.

Read it carefully according to KING5 and me Hamlin Robinson is the ONLY school in the Puget Sound area designed for children with dyslexia! There are at least 2,000 students in SPS diagnosed with dyslexia and another 2-3 thousand undiagnosed. SPS does not serve dyslexic students SPS makes dyslexic students suffer through ineffective curriculum and teaching methods.

Maybe Mr. Winkler should pay a visit to SPS and ask why SPS doesn't use Hamlin Robinson's methods for teaching students with dyslexia.   

So who is Seneca Family of Agencies and what are they going to give SPED for $421,000?

SPS administration is asking the Seattle School Board at its Wednesday meeting to approve a contract for about $421,000 with a California-based consultant, Seneca Family of Agencies. This group is to replace the TIERS group after officials found issues and possible contract tampering by SPS administrators. More on that soon.

I guess it's time to start digging into Seneca Family of Agencies.

Here's something:

Public School Partnership Programs

Seneca partners with school districts and charter schools, most often located in urban areas to provide these culturally rich and diverse communities access to educational services that accelerate academic progress and develop the skills needed to successfully transition back into a public school setting. Seneca also partners with local school districts to provide Outpatient Services in the form of therapeutic classrooms and mental health services on public school campuses. Each student’s unique needs and goals are addressed through a personalized treatment plan that includes individual, group, and family therapy, supported by intensive case management and crisis intervention services. Program services are designed and tailored to enable each student to make the most of his/her education.

Wait until they get a load of SPS SPED OMG, I predict they will use up the $421,000 and run for the hills.