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

Policies, Procedures, and ComplianceUse of the term mainstreaming on the part of several administrators and teachers suggestssome staff may not be advised or may lack current knowledge as to the procedural changesin IDEA 1997 and IDEA 2004 relative to inclusive education. Some of the elementaryschools use this language and are not consistently including students in the generaleducation core curriculum. Two elementary schools had primary and intermediate selfcontainedprograms where students were not taught their grade‐appropriate core work. Bynot teaching meaningful material, students were denied the opportunity to be prepared forCalifornia competency assessments. Scores for these classes were proof the students werenot prepared for the material required on the test. There seems to be a philosophicaldisagreement among some special education staff at the elementary level where inclusiveefforts have not been embraced. Some teachers interviewed apparently believe thatstudents should be taught at their functioning level in a separate environment rather thanaccommodating (modifying) grade‐appropriate work in the student’s general classroom.Considerations for Issue 4‐2:• Continue to provide ongoing staff development to teachers and staff regarding theimplementation of special education services. Board Policies 4131 and 4331require ongoing professional development. It is recommended that professionaldevelopment be provided either once each semester in a meeting or offer thetraining once and tape the session, with a link to the district’s Web site where staffmay have access to the training at‐will. An evaluation of the training requiring 100percent competency should be expected. Whether the staff decides to attend aprofessional development opportunity in person or seek a virtual opportunityshould be up to the individual, but should be completed within a definedtimeframe. It must be documented as a condition of further employment that allnew staff has the proper understanding of special education requirements.• Update the Special Education Handbooks and disseminate to administrators andspecial education teaching staff.Cost Implications for Issue 4‐2:There should be no additional costs to the district if the training is offered after schoolhours and is optional. One hundred percent competency should be expected for all staffwhether they choose to seek training on their own or if they choose a district‐provideddevelopment program. Staff choosing not to attend the professional developmentopportunity would be expected to seek the information on their own through the Internet.It must be stressed, however, that all staff must have the understanding and thecompetencies expressed in this training and therefore, must seek the information anddemonstrate the competencies as recorded in the performance evaluations. Futurelitigation costs for the district will likely be reduced as staff competencies increase.MGT of America, Inc. Page 4‐5