Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

CHAPTER 6: SPIELER V. MT. DIABLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTThis chapter provides information on issues related to the Consent Decree relative toSpieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified School District.Granted as a result of inadequate special education programs ten years ago, the ConsentDecree has met the challenges put forth, but may have gone beyond what is expected ofother districts in the state. Further, programs have been created very quickly in an effort todemonstrate compliance that do not have the support or respect of the entireadministration. It is clear there has been oversight for the Consent Decree and that all ofthe MDUSD educational facilities, as well as the Student Services Department, have workedhard to comply with and honor the spirit of the order. There can be no question as to theeffectiveness of the programs created under the Consent Decree, as many programs arenow considered models for other schools in California.The Consent Decree will be met on May 24, 2010. This chapter should be viewed along withChapter 2 District Operations and Associated Financial Effectiveness; Chapter 3 ServiceDelivery Options and Continuum of Services; and Chapter 4 Policies, Procedures, andCompliance.Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified School District Consent DecreeA class action discrimination suit brought by parents of students with disabilities (Spieler)against the Mt. Diablo Unified School District in 1998 “alleged that the District denieddisabled children equal access to school buildings and educational and social programs andprevented them from attending their neighborhood schools”. 1 Twenty million dollars wascommitted over ten years to ensure access for over 5,000 students with disabilities in 55schools. According to the Disabilities Rights Advocates Web site, “The Consent Decree alsoreforms the District’s special education system, with policies supporting the integration ofdisabled children into all educational and social programs, Mt. Diablo Unified School Districthas created three new programs to benefit disabled students: a Model AugmentativeCommunication Program for children who need assistive technology, a Model Aide TrainingProgram to train classroom aides to assist children with disabilities, and a full‐time ParentLiaison to assist parents to navigate the special education system.”The court‐appointed administrator of the process has been forthright in providing a StatusReport of all 22 corrective action plans, detailed below.The district has been greatly influenced by the Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified School DistrictConsent Decree. While the district has implemented several model programs, there areparents in disagreement with district attempts to serve students. The federal governmentrequires “maintenance of fiscal effort” on the part of the local district because special1 www.dralegal.org/cases/education.MGT of America, Inc. Page 6‐1
Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified School Districteducation funds provided by Congress will never meet all of those needs. States try to makeup the difference, but this, unfortunately, is not happening anywhere in the country. Localgovernments have no choice but to assist, but concerns were expressed in interviews as towhether the encroachment for Mt. Diablo has been too high.Nationally, all state and local education agencies are required to follow the federallegislation (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). All states submit a special educationplan to the U.S. Department of Education and direct local districts do the same. Many ofthe states’ regulations, as is the case in California, exceed federal requirements. This is notuncommon, but in the case of MDUSD, the solutions have distinguished themselves as “bestpractice.”Many of the MDUSD programs developed over the past ten years are considered bestpractice and are models for other school districts. The three new programs established as aresult of the Consent Decree also have their weakness: funding. The expected $20 millioncommitment over ten years has expanded to a $34 million encroachment in the district’sGeneral Fund for budget year 2009 alone. Special education in MDUSD costs the districtapproximately $60 million and over one half of the district’s maintenance of fiscal effort isfrom the General Fund.MDUSD has undergone serious budget cuts over the past three years, and is nowexperiencing difficulty retaining even basic programs. The majority of students served inprograms for mildly disabled do not perform well on state competency tests. The district isexperiencing a great influx of Hispanic students with English deficiencies and culturaldifferences that appear to present challenges for many schools. The Model AugmentativeProgram has established “specialty” programs in certain areas requiring almost fourhundred students to be bused outside their neighborhood school—some a great distancefrom their home. The Model Aide Training Program has resulted in almost 70 studentshaving one‐on‐one assistants (aides) committed in the student IEP, which has socialimplications for the child as well as financial implications for the district. The full‐timeParent Liaison position has undergone turnover in early 2009. The Parent Liaison hasattended an array of meetings, community events, and training workshops to remain awareof the current needs of students and families.The issues affected by this plan, as discussed above, are detailed in Chapters 4 and 6 of thisreport. Issues relative to this chapter are in the form of “plans” as cited in the ConsentDecree and prepared by the district’s court appointed Consent Decree administrator. Mostissues within the plan are compliant. The following is a summary of the 22 CorrectiveAction Plans with recommendations prepared by the Consent Decree liaison. MGT supportsthese considerations.MGT of America, Inc. Page 6‐2
Page 1 and 2:
A Study of theMount Diablo Unified
Page 3 and 4:
TABLE OF CONTENTSPAGEEXECUTIVE SUMM
Page 6 and 7:
Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryF
Page 8 and 9:
Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryI
Page 10 and 11:
Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryF
Page 12 and 13:
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PEER DI
Page 14 and 15:
Introduction and Peer District Comp
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
CHAPTER 2: DISTRICT OPERATIONS AND
Page 34 and 35:
District Operations and Associated
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
CHAPTER 3: SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS
Page 58 and 59:
Service Delivery Options and Contin
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75: Service Delivery Options and Contin
Page 90 and 91: CHAPTER 4: POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AN
Page 92 and 93: Policies, Procedures, and Complianc
Page 114 and 115: CHAPTER 5: PERSONNEL SERVICES AND P
Page 116 and 117: Personnel Services and Professional
Page 126 and 127: Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified Schoo
Page 128 and 129: Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified Schoo
Page 130 and 131: APPENDIX A: SURVEYRESULTS
Page 132 and 133: PART A: ADMINISTRATION7. Special ed
Page 134 and 135: EXHIBIT A-3 (Continued)COMPARISON O
Page 136 and 137: PART E: CURRICULUM ANDINSTRUCTIONE.
Page 138 and 139: EXHIBIT A-7COMPARISON OF SURVEY RES
Page 140 and 141: PART G: DISCIPLINEEXHIBIT A-9COMPAR
Page 142 and 143: EXHIBIT A-11COMPARISON OF SURVEY RE
Page 144 and 145: PART K: SPECIALEDUCATION PROGRAMFUN
Page 146 and 147: Appendix A: Survey ResultsEXHIBIT A
Page 174 and 175:
Appendix A: Survey ResultsEXHIBIT A
Page 176 and 177:
Page 178 and 179:
Page 180 and 181:
Page 182 and 183:
APPENDIX BBIBLIOGRAPHYBooksAspy, Ru
show all

Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?