Special Education Reforms Discussed at Board Meeting

The interim director of the Belleville Public Schools special education program told the board of education Monday night that the program will be “in compliance by the end of the year, latest.”

Several months ago state education officials found the district’s special education program was deficient in six out of nine sections in which it was assessed, said Bill Shlala, the interim director. During a presentation at Monday’s board of education meeting, Shlala identified those deficiencies and the steps being taken to address them.

Many of the deficiencies outlined by Shlala concerned failures to properly document actions being taken by the district. Responding to a question from the board,  Shlala attributed past problems with special education in Belleville to a lack of coordination among staff members.

“I think for many years the department has been rudderless. People with the best intentions came up with their own answers,” Shlala said.

Shlala also said that some decisions on remaking the program must be deferred until a permanent director of special services has been selected.

Among the points in Shlala’s presentation:

• “Individual education plans” (IEPs) for 14-year-old students will include documented material regarding their academic strengths and interests, while graduating seniors will get written summaries of their academic achievement
• IEPs will include information showing that students are being placed in the “least restrictive environment,”  given their particular learning disability. IEPs will also include a comparison between the benefits of a special education placement for that student versus placement in a general education environment
• Ensuring that teachers and other “required participants” take part in meetings to discuss students’  IEPs. The district will cover for teachers who participate in these conferences, Shlala said
• Additional training will be offered to educators on “best practices”
• Corrective actions will be monitored with the help of spreadsheets and random reviews of student records, among other measures