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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Service Delivery Options and Continuum of ServicesUsing a rating scale of one (minimal success) to three (substantial success), a review ofstudent achievement in 2008‐09 Mental Health Collaborative reports indicate:• Mental health goals measures ranged from 1.9 to 2.7.• Attendance ranged from 77 percent at Alliance to 95.5 percent at Bel AirOutpatient.• Elementary grade level standards mastery ranged from 1.61 in fifth grade to 2.64in second grade.• Academic scores of one year or greater indicate academic growth, with theexception of Bel Air Outpatient. It should be noted that many studentsparticipating in the Mental Health Collaborative are below grade level in basicacademic skills, particularly at the secondary level.For the 2009‐10 school year, the district hired 20 behavior health specialist positions at acost of $1,530,113. MGT consultants received conflicting reports as to how these positionsare funded or if Medi‐Cal reimbursement cover the costs of these positions. According todocumentation provided by the Contra Costa Health Services, these positions are not paidfor by the $930,952 district match. Further, the behavior health specialist positions pay forthemselves through Medi‐Cal and SB90 claims made by the County.In onsite focus groups, the behavior health specialists indicated that they are employedeight hours per day and are required to be Medi‐Cal billable for five hours per day. Thiswork schedule is also consistent for school psychologists assigned to the Mental HealthCollaborative.While the Mental Health Collaborative documents adequate progress for students, MGTcould not determine benefits to students versus costs to the district. Actual costs arebraided within multiple funding sources with no clear, concise data provided to MGT tosubstantiate the actual costs to the district.The Counseling Enriched Program (CEP) at Sun Terrace School is designed to meet theacademic and behavioral needs of students exhibiting behavioral challenges in either thegeneral education or special education setting. This service delivery model offers academicand behavioral support to students throughout the day. The program consists of twoclassrooms, both designated as fourth/fifth grade combination classes. Both classes aretaught by a special education teacher and two special education instructional assistants.Support staff consists of one full‐time school psychologist, one part‐time behaviorist, andone part‐time social worker. The program currently services up to as many as 22 students.CEP offers counseling, behavior support planning, and case management to all students.While the CEP may be a viable program for students with academic and behavioral needs,the district should consider the benefits to students versus the costs to the district. TheMGT of America, Inc. Page 3‐25
Service Delivery Options and Continuum of Servicesdistrict must determine if the services of the CEP could be delivered in a less restrictiveenvironment (home school with support) at a reduced cost to the district. If a lessrestrictive environment is a viable option for students, the district could realize a costsavings for personnel and transportation.Considerations for Issue 3‐18:• Determine actual costs of the Mental Health Collaborative to the district toascertain the overall effectiveness of the model.• Assign all school psychologists to a home school and schools within the samefeeder pattern for accountability and support.Cost Implications for Issue 3‐18:MGT cannot determine cost implications at this time. The district should considerdeveloping a more consultative service delivery system (for example, reducing direct serviceand increasing consultative services from school psychologist and behavioral healthspecialist positions with greater emphasis on staff development for teachers and teacherassistants).3.4 Nonpublic PlacementsIssue 3‐19: Restrictive and Costly Nonpublic School Placements.Nonpublic school placements are the most restrictive setting for a student with a disability.Nonpublic school placements currently total $7,205,818, for 191 students, an average costof $37,727 per student.Based on information provided by district staff, MDUSD evaluates students in nonpublicschool placements (NPS) on an annual basis. A MDUSD team reviews students in NPS todetermine ability to return to the district. The Mental Health Collaborative and classes forstudents with autism were implemented to accommodate students who were previouslyserviced in NPS.These costs could be reduced if the district could build capacity to serve the students indistrict,with better utilization of existing staff such as school psychologists who are notbased in schools as well as behavioral services staff. With targeted staff development inschools, it may be possible to utilize the Special Day School model for some of thesestudents, resulting in a cost savings to the district. MGT recognizes that the cost savingscould be partially offset by the need for the development of additional classes. MGT furtherrecognizes the full continuum of special education services for students with disabilities andsupports the district’s efforts to make such determinations through the multidisciplinaryevaluation and placement process.MGT of America, Inc. Page 3‐26
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: Introduction and Peer District Comp
Page 32 and 33: CHAPTER 2: DISTRICT OPERATIONS AND
Page 34 and 35: District Operations and Associated
Page 56 and 57: CHAPTER 3: SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS
Page 58 and 59: 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 124 and 125: CHAPTER 6: SPIELER V. MT. DIABLO UN
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 148 and 149:
Page 150 and 151:
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
Page 158 and 159:
Page 160 and 161:
Page 162 and 163:
Page 164 and 165:
Page 166 and 167:
Page 168 and 169:
Page 170 and 171:
Page 172 and 173:
Page 174 and 175:
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 ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?