04-13-12 Strg Minutes Amended - Sonoma County SELPA

IV. ASONOMA COUNTY SELPASTEERING COMMITTEEAMENDEDMINUTESApril 13, 2012ATTENDANCE:Heidi Adler (Anova)Diane Ashton (Cotati-R.P./Healdsburg)Annabel Bentley (Windsor)Kathy Bregder (SELPA)Kelly Brooks (SELPA)Mary Ann Carpenter (Old Adobe)Jennifer Coker (Cloverdale)Cathy Crawford (New Directions)Ginger Dale (North County Consortium)Kathryn Davy (West County Consortium)Greg Englar (SELPA)Marlene Fisher (Bellevue/Wright)Ashleigh Flagerman (CAC)Tosh Fritsch (Fritsch NPA)Jim Galsterer (Journey High School)Gala Goodwin (North Valley/Victor)Vince Hamilton (WSCUHSD)Kelly Hernandez (North Valley/Victor)Kristin Hoff-Libecap (Sierra School)Mandy Hoffman (SCOE)Georgia Ioakimedes (SCOE)Lorna Kenney (North Valley/Victor)Deborah Malone-Larson (SELPA)Nanci Mathison (Sonoma Valley)Carly Moore (Rincon School)Ida Perlman (Journey High School)Ruth Petroff (SCOE)Kevin Powers (New Directions)Susan Radford (Rincon Valley)Tricia Rast (Petaluma)Carlo Rossi (SAY)Lynda Scigliano (SELPA)John Scherer (LifeWorks)Pat Straub (Easter Seals)Linda Walsh (LifeWorks)Ron Whitman (SCOE)I. PUBLIC INPUTThere was no public input.II.ANNOUNCEMENTSKelly Brooks: In Catherine's absence, I've been asked to chair today's meeting.Kathryn Davy: The West County Consortium has two (2) full-time speech/languageopenings.Jennifer Coker: Cloverdale has an opening for a long-term substitute teacher to work in a7th grade special education class for the balance of the school year.Gala Goodwin: Will be retiring as Director of North Valley/Victor, effective July 2012.Kelly Hernandez will be her successor.Ginger Dale: Announced her retirement as Principal/Administrator of the North CountyConsortium, effective June 30, 2012.Kelly Brooks: Chris Allen resigned from her position as Parent Advisor at Matrix,effective April 2012. Matrix is in the process of recruiting a replacement.-1-

III.IV.ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDAThere were no adjustments to the agenda.CONSENT AGENDAA. Approval of the March 16, 2012 Steering Committee Minutes:A motion was made by Tricia Rast and seconded by Nanci Mathison to approvethe minutes from the March 16, 2012 Steering Committee meeting, with themeeting dated corrected. The motion carried with all in favor.V. OPERATIONAL ITEMSA. Community Advisory Committee (CAC):• SELPA Program Specialist Nikarre Redcoff was the guest speaker at the April11, 2012 meeting, covering the topic of Transition at Every Grade Level.• The Spanish translator hired by the SELPA was absent, unfortunate given thenumber of Spanish-speaking families in attendance.• Nikarre Redcoff has assisted CAC co-chairs with the planning details for theSaturday parent symposium scheduled in October 2012.• Ashleigh Flagerman and Marie Derr plan to step down as CAC officers at theend of the school year. Edith Garcia will remain onboard, but needs at least oneadditional co-chair. An election of officers is slated for the May CAC meeting.• A subcommittee comprised of Elizabeth Edson, Kathryn Davy, Susan Radford,MaryAnn Carpenter and Carlo Rossi are meeting after the April 27, 2012Steering Committee meeting to brainstorm and hopefully find parent recruits torun for office and serve on the CAC board.• The Steering Committee membership applauded the many accomplishments ofthe current CAC board.B. NPS/A Issues: (Greg Englar)Educationally Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) must now be identifiedon Individual Service Agreements (ISAs), as required in the IEP. Following are thefirst wave of rate requests for services:• NPS Related Service Counseling Rate:A motion was made by Annabel Bentley and seconded by Kathryn Davy torecommend a one-tier rate of $70.65/hour for individual counseling and$35.33/hour for group counseling of two or more students for all nonpublicschools who provide additional Educationally Related Mental Health Services(ERMHS) when bundled services are exceeded. The motion carried with 3abstentions.-2-

• North Valley Day and LCI Residential Student Rate:A motion was made by Diane Ashton and seconded by Nanci Mathison torecommend a daily rate of $179.32 for North Valley day and LCI residentialstudents, to include behavior plan development and management. The motioncarried with all in favor.• North Valley Related Service Rate:A motion was made by Tricia Rast and seconded by Diane Ashton torecommend a rate of $17.23/hour for North Valley when a long-term one-tooneassistant is required in the IEP. The motion carried with 2 opposed.• North Valley Deaf Interpreter Service Rate:A motion was made by Diane Ashton and seconded by Nanci Mathison torecommend a daily rate of $75.00 for North Valley deaf interpreter servicespreviously bundled for LCIs. The motion carried with all in favor.• Journey High School Bundled Rate:A motion was made by Mary Ann Carpenter and seconded by Nanci Mathisonto recommend a bundled daily rate of $182.00 to include: 1) ERMHSindividual counseling 60 minutes per week, 2) ERMHS group counseling 60minutes per week, 3) vocational education, 4) transportation off site and fromLCI to NPS, and 5) temporary support assistants. The motion carried with 1abstention.• LifeWorks Counseling Service Rate:A motion was made by Debra Sanders and seconded by Annabel Bentley torecommend a rate of $75.00/hour and a group rate of $37.50/hour forLifeWorks itinerant services to include transportation. The motion carriedwith 1 abstention.• Tosh Fritsch Counseling Service Rate:A motion was made by Annabel Bentley and seconded by Vince Hamilton torecommend an individual rate of $75.00/hour and a group rate of $37.50/hourfor Tosh Fritsch counseling services to include transportation. The motioncarried with all in favor.C. State SELPA Report: (Catherine Conrado)Postponed in Catherine Conrado's absence.-3-

D. SCOE Program Update:Court & Community/Alternative Education: (Georgia Ioakimedes)• With a caseload slightly above 28 students, the program is trying to find someshort-term relief for their RSP through the end of the school year.• The expulsion subcommittee has met 3-4 times this year in an effort tostreamline the referral process to better serve students and districts. Participantson the subcommittee were thanked for the input and willingness to assist.• Staff at the new Amorosa Academy site are really excellent and doing a greatjob.6-22 & Preschool: (Ron Whitman)• A book on autism was circulated.• SCOE has three (3) classes currently housed at Doyle Park Elementary. Givenplans on the part of Santa Rosa City Schools to close this school, with a French-American charter school to take its place in 2012-13, SCOE may be looking forclassroom space.• Districts planning to contract with SCOE for counseling services in 2012-13 areasked to submit requests no later than Friday, April 20, 2012.• SCOE has posted a position announcement at .40 FTE to replace SonomaDevelopmental Center Director Jeannie Knighton.E. Private School Services for 2012-13: (Kelly Brooks)• One-year Pilot for 2012-13:- According to IDEA, the amount of federal funding to be expended annually onspecial education services for Parentally Placed Private (PPP) school studentsis proportionate to the number of all ELIGIBLE students.- As of December 1, 2011, only 7 PPP students were recorded in CASEMIS.Based on this number, the SELPA is required to expend $11,609 on specialeducation services for PPP students in 2012-13.- In April 2012, the SELPA followed up with district administrators to verify thenumber of PPP students.- Given the information collected from district administrators and input receivedfrom private school representatives that attended the March 16, 2012 SteeringCommittee meeting, alternative PPP models were considered.- The SELPA proposed a one-year pilot to manage the assessment componentfor the district of location (DOL) child find activities, contract for assessmentservices, and develop procedures for the DOL and private school participation.Approval of the proposal would support an accurate count of all students withdisabilities by the DOL, including PPP students, and result in a more accurateproportionate share of federal funding.- Discussion resulted in reluctance on the part of several members to approve theSELPA's proposed one-year pilot. There was consensus, however, thatcommunication and child find activities needed improvement, and that theSELPA align itself with IDEA wherein the DOL be responsible for child find.Other recommendations included: 1) having the SELPA act as theclearinghouse for PPP referrals with the DOL to conduct the assessments andenter information into CASEMIS; 2) the formation of a subcommittee to-4-

develop an alternate PPP model with training to follow; 3) the SELPA todevelop a sample letter to be used by districts when contacting private schools;and 4) refining the current process with districts required to maintain aspreadsheet to record PPS student referrals including dates of assessment,offers of FAPE, outcomes, etc.• Recommendation on Special Education Services for PPP students in 2012-13:- Action was postponed to the April 27, 2012 Steering Committee meeting.F. Spirit of Education Award: (Kelly Brooks)• With time running short, the SELPA presented two (2) proposals to themembership for this year's Spirit of Education Award: 1) omitting this year andbeginning the process earlier next year, or 2) beginning the process immediatelyrequiring the formation of a subcommittee, with the award to be presented at theSeptember 2012 Superintendents' Council meeting.A motion was made by Kathryn Davy and seconded by Vince Hamilton to omitthis year's Spirit of Education Award due to time constraints, and to begin theprocess for next year's award in January 2013. The motion carried with all infavor.G. Update from Steering Member Representatives on ERMHS for 2012-13:(Greg Englar)• To plan for next year, County Mental Health (CMH) would like to know whichdistricts, if any, plan to contract with them next year for ERMHS.• John Kolhoven has been invited to attend the April 27, 2012 Steering Committeemeeting, so any questions should be submitted to Catherine Conrado prior to themeeting.H. Preschool Programs - Review of Services: (Kathryn Davy)• In September 2011, consortium Preschool Program Operators submitted arequest to have the Finance Committee review the funding allocation model forall operators serving students on the autism spectrum. The Finance Committeerequested additional data regarding the level of services provided by eachoperator, with the Diagnostic Center subsequently invited to provide operatorswith a thorough understanding of best practices.• Service data from each operator was also collected and compiled for review.Although program models vary depending upon student need, all services arecomparable and follow best practices.• This information will be reviewed by the Finance Committee at its May 1, 2012meeting.VI.ADJOURNMENTThe meeting adjourned at 11:45 a.m.Respectfully submitted,Lynda Scigliano, SELPA Administrative Assistant-5-