Advisory Commission on Special Education Members
Kristin Wright, Chair
Feda Almaliti
Janice Brown
Maureen Burness
Kenneth Denman
Diane Fazzi
Morena de Grimaldi
Betty Karnette
Susan Martinez
Laurie Newton
Tomislav Peraic
Naomi Rainey
Laureen Sills
James Woodhead
Student Members
Alexa McBride
Matthew Stacy
Legislative Members
Carol Liu, Senate
Joan Buchanan, Assembly
State Board of Education
Carl Cohn, Liaison
State Special Schools
Scott Kerby, Director, State Special Schools & Services Division
Department of Education
Executive Secretary
Fred Balcom, Director, Special Education Division
Department of Education
NOTE: Not all items were heard in the order they appeared on the printed agenda.
Advisory Commission on Special Education
Thursday, May 24, 2012
May 24, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time ±
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 1101
Sacramento, California
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. by Kristin Wright, Chair.
Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chair Wright.
Members Present:
Feda Almaliti (late)
Maureen Burness
Ken Denman
Diane Fazzi
Morena de Grimaldi
Betty Karnette
Susan Martinez
Laurie Newton
Tom Peraic
Matthew Stacy (student)
Jim Woodhead
Alexa McBride (student)
Kristin Wright
Members Absent:
Jan Brown
Naomi Rainey
Laureen Sills
Senator Liu
Also Present:
Fred Balcom
Scott Kerby
Kathleen Smith
Beth Rice, State Board of Education
Doug McDougall
Diana Glick, Consultant, Assemblymember Buchanan
Communications & Announcements
Commissioner Jim Woodhead received a Resolution of Recognition from Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski’s office, 20th District, for years of service to students with disabilities.
Review of Agenda
Chair Wright reviewed minor changes to the agenda.
Item 1: Standing Committee Reports
Members from the Legislation Standing Committee reported. Jeanice Warden-Washington and Whitney Staniford, California Department of Education, provided a brief legislative update and responded to inquiry. A handout was provided.
Discussion was held about a petition circulated by Commissioner Woodhead via social media. A motion was duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried to support the statement at Change.Org (US Congress: Fully fund special education
) which statement follows:
BROKEN PROMISE
In 1975 Congress passed a law guaranteeing students with disabilities a free, appropriate public education. They promised to pay 40% of the surplus cost for educating these students. They have never provided even half of what they had promised. That's 37 years of broken promises.
EVERYBODY LOSES
Students with disabilities have much lower graduation rates and employment prospects than their peers. In California, for example, a little less than half of students with disabilities have been able to pass the high school exit exam and only 34% are employed after they leave high school. The lack of federal funding means that local school districts must pay for special education programs out of general funds. That hurts all students.
WASTED LIVES
Exemplary programs make it clear that students with disabilities can learn and lead and productive lives. Without proper education and support, these kids wind up in need of public assistance. Worse yet, many get caught up in the criminal justice system. With the right resources, this tragic waste of human resources can be averted.
CONGRESS MUST ACT
The time to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) has come. We urge Congress to act now. These kids do not belong to somebody else; they belong to all of us. We all have an obligation to do the best we can to see that all our kids reach their full potential. Now that's a good IDEA.
Commissioner Burness reported on behalf of the Policy Review and Development Standing Committee. Handouts were provided. Discussion was held.
A motion was duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried in support of drafting a revision to the California Code of Regulations, Title V, Section 3030, to include additional federal categories of disabilities and to amend and update, as appropriate; e.g. replace the term mental retardation with intellectual disability and incorporate response to intervention language in the context of identifying learning disabilities.
Further, Commissioner Burness recommended the ACSE take a support position on AB 154 (Beall); health care coverage: mental health services and AB 171 (Beall); pervasive developmental disorder or autism. Discussion was deferred.
Item 2: Instructional Quality Commission overview and California math frameworks update by Kristen Cruz Allen, Administrator, Curriculum Frameworks Unit, California Department of Education.
Kristen Cruz Allen provided a presentation and responded to inquiry. A handout was provided.
Item 3: Consideration of the current state of special education in California including, but not limited to, presentation by Tom Parrish, American Institutes for Research: An Overview of Special Education Data from California: Resources, Identification, Placement, and Academic Outcomes.
Tom Parrish provided a presentation and responded to inquiry. A handout was provided.
LUNCH The meeting was temporarily adjourned at 12:33 p.m. and reconvened at 1:37 p.m.
Item 4: Presentation by Alice Parker, National Director of Special Education Improvement, Cross and Joftus, on national school efforts for school reform and improvement; meeting the needs of students at risk of school failure.
Dr. Alice Parker provided a presentation and responded to inquiry. A handout was provided.
Item 5: Consideration of California’s efforts to create and support environments for student success in the least restrictive environment including, but not limited to, presentation by Jannelle Kubinec, Director, National State and Special Projects, California Comprehensive Center at WestEd, about what opportunities the implementation of common core standards offer students with disabilities.
Jannelle Kubinec provided a presentation and responded to inquiry. A handout was provided.
Item 8: Public comment on matters not included on the printed agenda.
Stacy Begin, California Teachers Association, spoke to concerns from general education teachers about districts implementing cost-saving measures that put special education students in classrooms before teachers and/or students are ready. A handout was provided.
No action was taken on this item.
Item 6: Consideration of improved access, opportunities, and outcomes for students with disabilities in California including, but not limited to, next steps and/or recommendations from the Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE).
Commissioner Burness and Chair Wright agreed to develop a course of action and strategy for influencing improved outcomes for students with disabilities that includes, but is not limited to, intervention strategies, for subsequent presentation to the full advisory commission.
Item 15: State Special Schools Report by Scott Kerby, Director, State Special Schools and Services Division, California Department of Education.
Scott Kerby provided a report and handouts.
Item 9: Update on autism diversity hearing
and SB 946 (Steinberg): Health care coverage: mental illness: pervasive developmental disorder or autism by Louis A Vismara, MD, Policy Consultant to Senator Darrell Steinberg, Office of the President Pro Tempore, and Feda Almaliti, ACSE.
Dr. Louis Vismara and Feda Almaliti each provided a presentation and responded to inquiry.
Item 10: Finalizing the 2012 ACSE Annual Report; Mary Grady, Editor, The Special Edge, California Services for Technical Assistance and Training (CalSTAT), a special project of the California Department of Education.
Mary Grady provided an update on the content for the annual report to be published this summer.
Item 11: Commissioner Reports
Oral reports were provided by individual commissioners on matters related to his/her stakeholder group(s) and work related thereto.
Item 7: Reports/updates from staff of the Office of the Governor, the State Board of Education, and the California Legislature, appointing bodies of the California ACSE.
Beth Rice, State Board of Education, advised the membership of their requirement to complete an ethics course every two years.
ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Advisory Commission on Special Education
Friday, May 25, 2012
May 25, 2012 – 8:45 a.m. Pacific Time ±
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 1101
Sacramento, California
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 8:54 a.m. by Kristin Wright, Chair.
Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chair Wright.
Members Present:
Feda Almaliti
Maureen Burness
Ken Denman
Diane Fazzi
Morena de Grimaldi
Betty Karnette
Susan Martinez
Laurie Newton
Tom Peraic
Matthew Stacy (student)
Jim Woodhead
Kristin Wright
Members Absent:
Jan Brown
Naomi Rainey
Laureen Sills
Alexa McBride (student)
Senator Liu
Also Present:
Fred Balcom
Kathleen Smith
Doug McDougall
Beth Rice, State Board of Education
Communications & Announcements
None
Review of Agenda
Discussion of AB 154 and AB 171 was added to the agenda under unfinished business.
Item 12: Review of ACSE calendar for 2012−13 including Commission planning and summer homework by Kristin Wright, Chair.
Discussion was held. A motion was duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried to cancel the July 2012 ACSE meeting.
Item 13: Approval of February and March 2012 meeting minutes.
The February and March 2012 meeting minutes were approved, without objection.
Item 14: Operations and planning
Election of 2012−13 officers
In accordance with the ACSE bylaws, Commissioner Peraic declared the presence of a quorum of eligible voters and the election of officers proceeded.
Student commissioner appointment
A motion was duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried appointing Timothy Higgins as student commissioner to the ACSE for the term of July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2014.
Unfinished business from prior day’s agenda
Discussion of various legislative matters was held.
A motion to support AB 154 (Beall); health care coverage: mental health services and AB 171 (Beall); pervasive developmental disorder or autism was duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried.
A motion was duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried authorizing the Chair to forward a letter to Governor Brown relative to the “May Revise” budget which includes reductions to the development services budget and impacts to the provisions of SB 946 (Steinberg); health care coverage: mental illness: pervasive developmental disorder or autism: public health.
Item 17: Organizational Input
Barbara Shulman, California Teachers Association (CTA), as a member of the AB 250 workgroup, relating to instructional materials, spoke to activities to date and responded to inquiry.
Break The meeting temporarily adjourned at 9:56 a.m. and reconvened at 10:14 a.m.
Item 17: Organizational Input (continued)
Jill Larson, California Department of Education, spoke on behalf of the Community of Practice on secondary transition.
Item 16: Public comment on matters not included on the printed agenda.
None
Item 18: Report of the Director, Fred Balcom, Ph.D, Special Education Division, California Department of Education.
Dr. Balcom introduced Doug McDougall to the membership in his new role as support to the ACSE, and reported on various matters and responded to inquiry.
A motion was duly made and seconded in support of the Special Education Division's recommendation to the California Department of Education that California join the National Center and State Collaborative for assessments for students with more severe disabilities.
After discussion, the motion carried with Commissioners Fazzi and Karnette abstaining.
Item 14: Operations and planning (continued)
Acknowledging ACSE members whose terms are expiring or recently expired
Chair Wright recognized Judy Holsinger for her many years of service to special education and the ACSE. Additional comments and accolades were offered to Ms. Holsinger from members of the commission and staff.
Election of 2012-13 Officers
The results of the secret ballot election were announced as follows: Kristin Wright elected 2012-13 Chair and Diane Fazzi elected 2012-13 Vice Chair.
Item 19: Grazer Outstanding Achievement in Learning (GOAL) award presentations:
Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, presented the GOAL award to the following recipients:
- In the category of secondary transition, the Learn to Earn program for middle and high school students with mild to moderate disabilities, Riverside Unified School District; and
- In the category of non-secondary transition, the Speech Improvement Class for students with mild articulation (speech sound) disorders, San Diego Unified School District’s Speech-Language Pathology Department.
The following representatives were in attendance and provided a presentation about the Learn to Earn program: Constance B, Wahlin, Program Specialist; Lisa Masi, High School Transition Coordinator (Teacher on Special Assignment); Tedra Trimm, Middle School Transition Coordinator (Teacher on Special Assignment); and Charles Headley, Ramona High School Student (Graduating Senior).
The following representatives were in attendance and provided a presentation about the Speech Improvement Class: Claudia Dunaway, (Retired) Lead Speech-Language Pathologist; Jennifer Taps Richard, Senior Speech-Language Pathologist; and Carrie Rea, Program Manager for Related and Specialized Services.
ADJOURN The meeting adjourned to the GOAL award luncheon at 11:51 a.m.
