Hart, Robinson Say They Met With Special Ed Parents

As part of his chairman's report to the rest of the Board of Education, Bill Hart says he and Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson have met with a special education advisory board to get a better understanding of the issues around the topic and will plan to address the issue with staff.

"It is clear to me that we aren't doing probably the job we should be doing in terms of being compassionate with parents," Hart told the education board during a Tuesday, June 21 meeting.

Special education has been an area of consternation for the district, particularly in light of complaints parents made regarding Newtown's handling of special education to two state representatives, .

Officials have reported no updates on whether the state plans to pursue any investigation into Newtown though Hart said that based on his meeting with the special education advisory board, which is made up of parents, educators and others, he believes the district should take steps to improve its handling of special education cases.

"I'm beginning to get a better feel for what is going on," he said of special education, adding a number of options were discussed with the advisory group for improvements.

"Many of the key players are going to be our staff," Hart said.

With the summer coming, he said he didn't want to lose momentum on the matter..

"Janet and I have a challenge to find a way that we don't drop that ball," he said. "It's just the beginning of what for me is a long running process."