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26 The friction between the parents of special education students in the Eanes school district and a policy that restricts their ability to visit their children’s future classrooms came to a head during a school board study session Monday morning. District Superintendent Nola Wellman said the district would ask the Department of Education for a decision on whether to let parents visit special education classrooms in which their students are not currently enrolled.
Parents of special education students spoke during the meeting’s open session, firm in their demand for the right to visit prospective classrooms their children might be placed in during the future to get firsthand knowledge of the programs, knowledge that would allow them to make the best educational choices possible for their children with special needs.
Current district policy allows parents of special education students to visit their children’s current classrooms with the approval of the teacher and campus principal, but it does not allow the parents to visit the classrooms of programs in which the students may be placed in the future.
The primary issue in the eyes of district administrators is a legal one; by allowing visits from the parents of students not currently in a particular special education classroom, would the district be violating the privacy of students currently in the classroom by identifying other students with disabilities?
Wellman said she thought the district had an obligation to protect the identity of special education students because of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
“We understand that these parents have a need,” Wellman said. “They really want to be involved in the educational process of their children. The issue is that, if by walking into a classroom where every student in that classroom is in special education, we have disclosed those students’ disabilities.”
She said the district sent out letters to the parents of special education students in classrooms that prospective parents wanted to visit last year, asking for permission to allow the visits.
“We didn’t have a single class where at least one parent in the classroom did not object to the visit,” Wellman said.
On the flip side of the privacy issue are parents who want to visit the programs available at the district for their children in the special education department.
“I am concerned that staff at the district level seem resistant to the concept of classroom visiting by parents, both visiting a child’s current classroom to be able to observe and be involved in the child’s education and the ability to observe a prospective placement for their child when the child’s future educational success or failure will be impacted by that choice,” said Suzanne Shepherd, the parent of a child in the district’s special education department.
Shepherd said her concerns stemmed from a denial by the district to her request last spring to visit programs at Hill Country Middle School where her child attends classes this year.
Wellman said the question about visiting rights has become a one of priority.
“Whose rights prevail?” Wellman asked. “Once a child is in a classroom, we believe parents have a legitimate right under FERPA to visit their children in that classroom. When they don’t have a child in the classroom, we believe the rights of parents of children in the classroom supercede the rights of prospective parents.”
Wellman said that an answer from DOE on the legality of allowing prospective parents to visit special education classes could take months. While administrators wait for that answer, they weigh an additional factor they say is involved in classroom visits – disruption.
“Classroom visits are disruptive to a school environment,” Wellman said. “Most principals don’t allow them.”
She said visits to special education classrooms are even more disruptive because of the small class sizes – six to seven students on average.
“It is not a function of what visiting parents are doing; it is the fact that someone new is there,” Wellman said. “If a stranger walks in, it is going to disturb them.”
Shepherd believes parents rights to work with teachers and administrators to provide the best education for their children are more important than control over possible disruption.
“What staff at the district level sees as a bothersome, high-volume source of potential disruption to the classroom, I see as a clear unmet need on the part of parents who want to be more involved in the child’s daily education,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd, an attorney, said FERPA does not pose an obstacle to classroom visits.
Wellman said she would wait for a decision from DOE to weigh the needs and desires of parents before new requests for prospective classroom visits begin next spring.
Good for Suzanne Shepherd. Because of her advocacy, the previous policy that equated special-education parents with registered sex offenders has at least been modified. Still, the superintendent’s stance rings hollow. As an educational professional, I know that student teachers, district visitors and contractors, parents and prospective parents frequently observe classes, and good teachers are always confidant enough to welcome such visits. Our faculty and staff know that there are relatively simple solutions if there is one parent who objects to a visit that is essential to another child’s IEP decisions. In the meantime, during the “months” it might take to get a legal opinion that even the district’s attorney admits may not exist, prospective parents of special-ed children just might decide that if they cannot visit the class, perhaps they shouldn’t enroll. One has to wonder if these kinds of “policies” are in any way related to the four-percentage point drop our district is seeing in special-education enrollment. But even “regular” education parents should be concerned that our administration believes “classroom visits are disruptive to a school environment.” As long as parents maintain proper decorum, they should never be prevented from observing their children or potential placements for their children.
Thanks, Dane for covering this topic. However, either because of space issues or something else, you neglected to mention that until August of this year, parents of children with Special Needs had an entirely different set of secret, non-published “guidelines” that, although not uniformly enforced, effectively denied them the right to visit their own child in his own classroom unless they were accompanied by a district observer–just like convicted sex offenders. The acknowledgment by Dr. Wellman and the Board that all parents should visit their child under the same, board approved policy is a tremendous “victory” for us and we thank her for this from the bottom of our hearts. It is also important for the public to know that EISD’s outside law firm advised the Board that it “might, conceivably be a violation of FERPA” to allow parents to visit a classroom in which their child is not a current member (in other words, to visit a classroom that has been proposed for your child in the future). Even though the attorney, Ellen Spalding, told the board that it “May” violate FERPA, she has advised the district to include in the new Special Ed Visitors To Schools Guidelines and to teach our teachers that it definitely WOULD violate FERPA. She confirmed for the Board that there has never been a claim in either Eanes, or the entire United States for that matter, wherein a parent has objected to the visit to a classroom by another parent. It has never happened. Even so, our team of administrators has decided to treat these visits as if they do violate FERPA, which they do not, and deny every parent in Eanes (both parents of typical children and parents with special needs) the right to prospectively visit a classroom until they can get guidance from the Department of Education at some unknown date in the future. In my opinion, that is an over-abundance of caution, at the very least, and denies to the parents of EISD a basic tool to be an effective parent of a child in public school.
The EISD position is that no parent (special ed or regular ed) in this public school district may see a placement proposed for their child. So if you’re wondering if an AP placement is right for your child, you can’t see it until your child is actually in the class – and by then, if it’s the wrong class for your child, he’s stuck for a grading period. EISD isn’t even trying to assert a FERPA justification for regular ed classrooms; they just will not allow visiting because it will be “disruptive.” They will not try designated “Visiting Days” to minimize any problems while still allowing some level of observing a proposed classroom.
Parents in EISD devote so much time, energy and money to our schools. Parental involvement is good for our children. Parents being able to see proposed placements in advance is good for our children, it happens in other school districts all the time –and it’s even the law in some other states.
This is outrageous
Sounds like this Spalding attorney is working pretty hard to keep the parents and the school district in a fight over “a possible” legal issue maybe some day. Can you say “job security?” All I know is we didn’t have these kinds of problems until the school administrators started hiring all these lawyers. How many do we have anyway?
How many private attorneys has Nola Wellman hired?
More about Eanes ISD and their private attorneys here:
http://www.keepeanesinformed.com/private_lawfirms.htm
Bracewell & Giuliani, L.L.P.
McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, L.L.P.
Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P.
Feldman & Rogers, L.L.P., and
Walsh, Anderson, Brown, Schulze & Aldridge, P.C.
Thompson & Horton, L.L.P.
Dianna Pharr
http://www.keepeanesinformed.com
We should all ask:
Why is Nola Wellman paying private attorneys to request an opinion from the U.S. Department of Education Family Policy Compliance Office when … (excerpt from link below) the SUPREME COURT ruled in Owasso Independent School District v. Falvo (534 US 426 2002) that confidentiality of other students can’t be used as a reason to deny observation by a parent. They established that students have no expectation of privacy.
Further, FERPA law addresses education records (written documents) not classroom visits.
Are Parents Allowed to Observe Child’s Classroom?
Link to article: http://ezinearticles.com/?Special-Education—Are-Parents-Allowed-to-Observe-Childs-Classroom?&id=1155187
More about Eanes ISD and their private attorneys here:
http://www.keepeanesinformed.com/private_lawfirms.htm
Ellen Spalding says whatever Nola tells her to say.
And Nola says whatever Ellen Spalding tells her to say. Then they both collect their big paychecks (funded by our tax dollars) and go on their merry way.
Follow the money. It’s a cozy game ($$$) that works very well for Nola and Ellen.
The district never seems to have “privacy” issues when parents are volunteering.
The problem with what the board endorsed is that special needs parents should not be treated differently without a valid legal reason. The board members were all provided with a memorandum citing actual cases (unlike Ms. Spaulding’s hypotheticals) that under the parent rights to participate in placements decisions that the federal special education law establishes, parents must have access to view potential placements. Otherwise, they are effectively denied their rights under the law.
So hurrah for a broad based policy that applies to all of our children, but a special provision need to be added to permit parents to view potential special education placements without permission of other parents. To violate FERPA there must be a record or an image (a picture or a video). If we need permission to view school children in person, then all of our parent volunteers, Special Olympics, and our sporting events have significant problems. Ms. Spaulding’s hypothesis is ludicrous and defies common sense–which we desperately need to get back. Do the right and sensible thing, and it’s unlikely you’ll get sued.
Doing the “right and sensible thing” is not in the Eanes ISD mission statement and certainly not the reason that Nola Wellman retained Ellen Spalding (Feldman & Rogers) or any of the seven law firms and countless private attorneys now under contract with the district.
How many of us still believe that Eanes ISD is actually guided by ethical or sensible leaders?
I do not want to speak for the special education system but I strongly hope that the district does not allow parents to visit classrooms and “participate in placement decisions” for their children. What sounds like a nice idea could become an incredible disruption and abrogation of the district’s duties and responsibilities. Do the math – there are roughly 2,500 teens at the high school….each taking 6 to 7 classes a day. That would mean the high school system could potentially endure 15,000 visits from parents. And then what if all the parents request the same teacher for English III and Geometry. And is that teacher even the best placement? As parents, there is a fine line between positive involvement and over-protectiveness and meddling. It isn’t the worst thing in the world if our children get a bad placement…it’s called life, and they can often learn some of life’s best lessons such as how to work around a problem, how to teach oneself, how to reach out to peers for help. It may prepare them for the teacher in college they can’t understand, the boss that doesn’t like them, and other difficult situations. A teen that goes to college without ever hitting a speed bump in life is not a prepared teen. Resilience may in fact be the number one life skill. Children that are nurtured and coddled their entire life don”t learn resiliency. Let’s back off here and let the District do its job. It isn’t always perfect but neither is life.
Concerned Parent —
It’s a good thing you “do not want to speak for the special education system” because your post shows your ignorance of school policy, law, and the responsibilities and rights of parents of children with special needs as well. (My father used to say “ignorance is a hell of a handicap.”)
Some clarification for you: First, neither special education parents nor regular education parents have the right to CHOOSE specific teachers for their child. So, no need to “do the math” as you say. Instead, read the policy.
Second, when a child is identified as eligible for special education, the parent is a member of the ARD committee per federal law IDEA and as such participates in creating an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for the child. This isn’t about “meddling” or “over-protectiveness”; rather it’s about parental responsibilities and rights.
Third, children with disabilities hit “speed bumps” every single day. Try not to be a speed bump, “Concerned Parent.” After all, empathy and compassion are two of life’s most important lessons.
The Texas Education Agency website posts drop out rates for special education students with individualized education plans. The Eanes ISD drop out rate for this population of students is a staggering 9.1%! Compare this to the drop out rates for special education students in Highland Park ISD (2.6%), Lake Travis ISD (2.9%) and Pflugerville ISD (6.5%). If I had a special needs child attending schools with a dropout rate of 9.1%, I would take my responsibility to partner with teachers in the development of the individualized education plan very seriously. That would include reviewing in advance, all proposed classroom programs and placement. Responsible parents are proactive.
To Special Education for Concerned Parent – you misunderstand my post. In the first sentence I stated I was not addressing special education. Obviously, by using 2,400 kids in my math – which equates to the entire enrollment at WHS – I was not referring to special education. My post related to a suggestion in an earlier post that all parents should be allowed the same participation in class placement. I think this is a notion that sounds good in concept but could become very problematic in practice, and is a bad idea. I was not in any way referring to the special education process and the needs and legal rights of those kids and families.
Concerned Parent – Read my response carefully. I explained that parents (of both special AND regular education students) are not permitted by the district to choose specific teachers. So, again, no need to “do the math” or answer the questions that you ask: “And then what if all the parents request the same teacher for English III and Geometry. And is that teacher even the best placement?”
And c’mon Concerned Parent … you were in fact “referring to the special education process” by commenting on this article which addresses the issue of parents of special needs children who are not able to participate in placement decisions (as is their legal right). The issue is not about droves of regular education parents overwhelming the district with uninformed teacher requests (as you forecast). The closing statement in your post which implores parents “to back off” is therefore directed at the parents of special needs children who are currently advocating for the legal rights and needs of their children, a challenge that you are clearly not experiencing.
When my child was designated as “special education” due to severe learning disabilities the first thing my child said was “please don’t tell anybody”. He knows he has “issues” but he doesn’t want to be viewed as “different” or “lower” becuase of this designation. When I was asked if other parents could visit his classroom I immediately said “NO”. Not beucase I didn’t want them to see how those classes were run but becuase I know parents have a tendency to talk and I didn’t want them inadvertantly letting everyone know that my child was in fact “special education”. I trusted EISD to test and make a diagnostic evaluation of my child. I trust that the classroom and education they provide will be in the best interest of my child. Have I ever visited a “special ed class”. NO. Do I want to? NO. I also have no desire to randomly attend my other child’s class who is all AP. I trust the administration and the teachers to do what is best for my child. Am I involved with my children. Absolutely!! I believe we need to let the professionals do their jobs.
Blind trust can be very dangerous. If you choose to drop your child off and simply “trust” that everything is wonderful, that’s your choice as a parent. Hope that works well for your child and he is safe and well-educated along the way. It is important for you to know and to acknowledge, however, that other children have experienced academic, emotional and yes, physical harm due to the district’s failures. Unfortunately, along with the harm, many parents have also experienced “cover-ups” by Eanes ISD. Your choice of unquestioning absolute trust (blind faith), while certainly your prerogative as your child’s parent, is certainly not in the best interest of every child.
Laws governing the education of special needs students recognize and encourage the right of parents to be partners with schools in the education of their children (special needs or not). In fact, special needs students have individualized education plans that are reviewed at least once a year by an ARD committee comprised of educators, administrators and parents. It is imperative that parents attend these very important meetings as informed participants. Sometimes the parents are in complete agreement with district officials and other times they are not. That doesn’t reduce the importance of parental input, suggestion or interest in assuring appropriate placements are formalized in these plans. Differences in opinion provides an opportunity for parents and educators to problem solve collaboratively to benefit the student. It makes me sad to read posts from parents in our community that choose to hide a child’s individual special needs as an embarrassment. It’s equally unfortunate that those same parents seem to be advocating that others do the same by encouraging families to relinquish their right to advocate for their child’s needs and lawful access to an appropriate public education. Let the professionals do their job? Absolutely! Let’s also support the parents who choose to embrace their responsibilities, and encourage those parents who hide behind blind faith to do the same.
To Anonymous Mother of Special Needs Child…if your child is in the class that these parents wanted to visit and you think that no one knows he must be “different,” then you’re living in a fantasy world. And if your child thinks he is “lower” because he learns differently, then you really have lots more to be concerned about than these parents who simply wanted to look at a potential placement so they would have the same information as the rest of the ARD committee when they went into the meeting.
Dear Anonymous Mother: It is clear that you are still working thru emotions that come with having a child who has learning difficulties. With time I hope you can work through that. In the meantime, be aware that others have been down the road you’re on, and do not agree that it is best to be so trusting. For example, I could never place my child in any environment and then make a conscious choice to never visit it. (Heck, why else would you endure endless hours of college campus visits except to see what the place was like?) Perhaps you never visited your child’s typical classrooms either. But did you never volunteer to read to the kids, file paperwork for the teacher, or go on a field trip? I bet you did. So I would respectfully suggest that you examine your real motives for refusing to visit a Special Ed classroom. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, you may be new to SPED. You should understand by now that IDEA (the law) was crafted so that you, as a parent, can participate in the creation of IEPs for your child. Why do you think that law exists? Because in many situations, the real experts about a special child are the parents. It would be marvelous if it were true that all teachers were experts. But that is not realistic. Teachers, like all of us, are limited in their experience, their world view of the capabilities of the disabled, and, yes, their training. It’s not their fault that they are human. They cannot possibly be expert in all learning and mental disabilities. Special Education teachers need you to help. Every teacher we have had has been grateful for our participation in crafting strategies for dealing with our child’s disabilities, for our suggestions for modifying the curriculum, and for our support. If you leave the entire responsibility to the “experts” you may well find, like so many parents before you, that time and opportunity can slip away, and the only person paying for your inattention to what is going on in the classroom is your child. In other words, wake up Mom! While it is certainly easier on the administration if you abdicate your role in the IEP process not one SPED teacher or administrator I know at EISD would ever suggest that you do so. Because they know the truth: parental involvement is critical to the success of students in Special Education.
So shall we also have blind faith in the coach who sexually molested girls here at WHS — actually more than one coach over the years — and that is substantiated. Shall we have blind faith in the school administrator who chose to hide important facts from parents about harm to child while at school — to protect the school district? Shall we look the other way as long as it doesn’t happen to our child? Shall we look the other way and just “trust” that because people are associated with schools or churches or Boy Scouts that they are beyond reproach and absolutely safe for our children? As parents, we owe our children must more than blind trust.
Maintaining confidentiality of a child’s diagnosis and special ed eligibility is fine, but if it’s a parent’s only priority, then the parent is not doing her job. Participating in and overseeing a child’s education is every parent’s duty, not sticking your head in the sand and expecting school to be perfect. We’ve had wonderful teachers and administrators in Eanes, but we’ve still had aides who were supposed to be in place but never got hired, teaching styles that were supposed to be used but were forgotten about, and other problems that we would have never known about if we hadn’t visited class. And our child could not tell us what was happening; we had to show up, demonstrate an interest and work with the school to ensure that all the plans were actually being implemented. This is pretty basic stuff, and is a parent’s duty. And as for other parents actually being in your child’s class – heavens! Don’t you know that the more parents who can visit a room, the safer your child is and the greater the opportunity for someone to spot a problem and tell you about it?
Eanes is a public school district. Parents can behave themselves. The district’s assertion that an AP teacher or a regular ed teacher or a special ed teacher can’t teach if there’s a parent quietly sitting in the back of the room is nonsense. Parental involvement in a child’s education is a good thing. Classroom visits for special ed and regular ed strengthen the home-school connection and allow both partners to build on what’s successful and fix what’s not working. Most school districts understand this and encourage classroom visits. Eanes does not. As parents and owners of the schools, we should send a message that this is unacceptable.
I agree, Eanes Mom, Eanes ISD does not encourage authentic home-school connections or parental participation. And this classroom visit issue is only the tip of the iceberg for problems in this district.
In yesterday’s American Statesman there was an article about how Leander ISD actively seeks and encourages fathers to visit their children in their classrooms? Most educators acknowledge the benefits to be achieved when parents are in the schools, whereas as this Picayune story notes, EISD spent months and lord knows how much on legal fees seeking the exact opposite goal. (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/10/19/1019dads.html)