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LAMBTON KENT DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD |
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SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE |
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Thursday, |
Wallaceburg District Secondary School |
7:00 p.m. |
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November 23, 2006 |
Library |
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M I N
U T E S |
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PRESENT: |
Rose Gallaway, St. Clair
Child and Youth Services |
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Norma Hills, Community
Living Sarnia-Lambton |
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Al Kuhn, Community Living
Chatham-Kent |
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Marion Lennan, Lambton
County Developmental Services |
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Maggie Rochon, Easter Seal
Society of Ontario, Sarnia-Lambton Branch |
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Lisa Saul (for Lisa
Matthews), Learning Disabilities Association of |
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Donna Scherer, Learning
Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent |
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Margaret Smith, Autism
Society of |
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Charlene Taylor, Member
"at large" (Chair) |
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Jonathan Quaglia, Member
"at large" |
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Janet Vanderwerf, Member "at large" |
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REGRETS: |
Elizabeth Hudie, Trustee |
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Susie Jones, Trustee (Vice-Chair) |
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David Katzman, Community
Living Wallaceburg |
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RESOURCE |
Jim Costello, Superintendent of Education |
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STAFF: |
Pam Graham, Principal of Special Education Geri Haskell and Debbie Seager, Special Education Co-ordinators |
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1.0 |
CALL TO ORDER AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA - 7:10 p.m. Jim Stewart, Vice-Principal of Wallaceburg District Secondary School was introduced. J. Stewart was in attendance as a spectator on behalf of the Secondary School Principals’ Association. |
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2.0 |
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF
2006 10 26 |
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The Minutes of 2006 10 26 were approved as written. |
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3.0 |
BUSINESS ARISING FROM
MINUTES C. Taylor mentioned that she had an opportunity to review that Education for All Open House Evaluation Forms. Although most comments were very positive some parents had noted that they were not informed of the Open Houses through their child’s school. Suggestions to better communicate future Open Houses include: · determine dates for the Fall in January or February, · distribute information to schools in the Spring and instruct Principals to inform all parents with “at-risk” students of the dates for the Open Houses, · enclose information with annual IPRC letters. |
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4.0 |
PRESENTATION – 2006-2007
BUDGET UPDATE AND REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The 2006-2007 Budget Update and Review of Financial Statements presentation was postponed until January, 2007. Revised estimates and adjustments are still being made to the final budget. |
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5.0 |
TOOLS FOR LEARNING FORUM
AND THE G. Haskell provided a brief outline of the activities that took
place during the “Tools for Learning Forum:
Effective Practice for the Use of Assistive Technology for Students
with Special Education Needs”. The
Forum was hosted by the Ministry of Education in D. Seager reported on the Geneva Centre Autism Symposium recently attended by Special Education Co-ordinators, Special Education Teachers and Educational Assistants. There were over 1600 delegates who heard several dynamic guest speakers from all over the world, as well as attending individual workshops. A CD containing workshop information was distributed to each SEAC member. Participants learned many practical strategies and were excited to take information gained back to their classrooms. D. Scherer requested an update on what was being implemented locally from what was learned at the Assistive Technology Forum and how information will be shared with parents. G. Haskell provided an update on the recently completed Premier Accessibility Suite training sessions for staff and students and suggested that a Premier Suite demonstration could be made at a future SEAC meeting. Staff also plan on reviewing our current procedures for SEA--Special Equipment Amount (formally ISA 1 Equipment) and periodic updates will be provided to SEAC. C. Taylor wondered if the Ministry of Education will be pressuring publishers to ensure textbooks are available in unencrypted electronic format. She also noted that difficulties are being encountered at the secondary school level for students with assistive technology. Some teachers are making students with assistive technology feel uncomfortable when they use their technology in the classroom. Some teachers do not understand the importance of, or the reason for, assistive technology leaving parents to educate all of the different teachers a pupil may have every school year. |
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6.0 |
SPECIAL EDUCATION
TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES SEAC reviewed the contents of the “Special Education Transformation” document which was the Report from the Co-Chairs of the Working Table on Special Education. The Report was submitted to the Minister of Education in May, 2006. P. Graham distributed a summary sheet and elaborated on the key recommendations under the following eight headings: · Student Success and Access · Professional Development · Identification and Support · Service Integration · Parent Collaboration · Accountability and Reporting · Research · Special Education Funding Allocation Also reviewed was a Ministry of Education Memorandum, dated October 12, 2006, providing information and direction regarding the transformation of special education in Ontario. Highlights include: · In order to reduce administrative requirements the IPRC process may be streamlined. · In order to determine progress with connecting Individual Education Plans with the Ontario Curriculum and the Provincial Report Card each Board was asked to submit, by November 7, 2006, a sampling of IEP’s from 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, along with June, 2006 Report Cards for 5 elementary and 5 secondary panel students. · The Ministry is embarking on a review to collect information from school boards on the decision-making processes related to the provision of special education programs and funding. · Special Education Plans will be aligned with other Ministry reporting requirements and transformed so they focus on target setting and improvement planning related to student achievement and program effectiveness. · School boards will receive information later this school year on developing informal dispute resolution processes for issues regarding special education programs and services. · The Ministry has recently established a Reference Group on Autism Spectrum Disorders. A report will be submitted to the Ministers of Education and Children and Youth Services in January, 2007. J. Costello provided additional information pertaining to the Ministry Memorandum: · Streamlining IPRC Process--Regulation 181 is not changing, simply a reminder that an IPRC is not required when both the school and parents agree that the student should be placed in a regular classroom. In the past, some school boards have used the IPRC process to delay access to special education programs and services. The Ministry is stating that if a student needs accommodations or modifications in a regular classroom they should be taking place regardless of whether the student is IPRC’d or not. Parents continue to retain the right to initiate an IPRC. Annual IPRC reviews will continue but many parents may opt to waive their right to a meeting or use the meeting more to review the learning needs of the pupil. · Submission of IEP’s for Ministry Review--the Ministry may be conducting a review to determine if there is a need to develop a provincial IEP template. J. Quaglia stated that most parents would welcome the opportunity to address individual learning needs at the annual IPRC review meeting. He also would like staff to encourage the collaboration of resources for students which would involve experts from outside agencies participating in meetings, etc. D. Scherer announced that the LDAO has concerns about a common province-wide IEP template. They also feel that the Ministry needs to provide further clarification regarding the IPRC streamlining issue. L. Saul suggested that School Councils utilize “Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grants” to educate parents about Premier Accessibility Suite and other specialized programs. |
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7.0 |
SPECIAL EDUCATION PLAN J. Costello announced that the Ministry of Education has indicated that 2006-2007 will be an “amendment year” for Special Education Plans due to the fact that guidelines are being developed to align Special Education Plans with other Ministry reporting requirements so they focus on target setting and improvement planning related to student achievement and program effectiveness. |
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7.1 |
Review of Section 2.10 -
Provincial and SEAC reviewed Section 2.10 of the Special Education Plan. The following revisions were suggested: · On Page 58, add the following sentence to the end of the 1st Paragraph: Transportation Department staff meets with the Provincial Schools Committee to determine individual arrangements. ·
On Page 60, revise the Number
of Students Currently Attending Provincial Schools based on 2006-2007
statistics: Amethyst = 11, Robarts =
3, W. Ross Macdonald = 7, E.C. Drury = 1. |
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8.0 |
J. Costello
informed SEAC that the Ontario Psychological Association has released funding
to school boards to impact student achievement in literacy and numeracy and
to reduce wait times for Psychological Assessments. The Lambton Kent District School Board
received $25,000 which will be used to hire a part-time Speech and Language
Pathologist (oral language skills) and a part-time Psychometrist to provide
additional assistance to the twelve identified CODE Special Education Project
pilot schools. Regarding the
Special Education CODE Project, J. Cosetllo announced that a half-time
Project Co-ordinator has been hired to assist with the management of the
project. In-service begins next week
for Resource and Senior Kindergarten Teachers of the twelve selected schools. |
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9.0 |
BEHAVIOUR PROGRAM REVIEW
UPDATE P. Graham reported that the Behaviour Program Review Committee has been formed and their first meeting is scheduled for December. All behaviour programs including the use of itinerant staff and the referral process, along with professional development, statistics, and transitioning procedures will be reviewed. The number of high needs behaviour cases within the district has been escalating and resources are stretched. |
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10.0 |
CORRESPONDENCE J. Costello distributed two thank you notes received from students who participated in the recent Premier Accessibility Suite training. The Avon Maitland District School Board sent out a request to Superintendents for samples of any SEAC brochures, etc. to assist their SEAC with the development of materials to boost their profile within their communities. J. Costello forwarded a copy of the Lambton Kent District School Board SEAC Brochure along with the flyer announcing the October SEAC Open Houses. J. Costello reminded SEAC Members that nomination letters for the next four-year term were due by November 30, 2006. |
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11.0 |
ASSOCIATION REPORTS AND
OTHER BUSINESS A. Kuhn reported that the Community Living Chatham-Kent Christmas
Concert will be held on November 24th at D. Scherer distributed
pamphlets providing details of the Winter/Spring 2007 Tutoring and Social
Skills Programs offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of
Chatham-Kent. She also announced that
the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario in partnership with the
Ontario Association of Education Advocates will be offering a web-based
course. Further details are available
at www.ldao.ca/oaea. R. Gallaway informed SEAC
that St. Clair Child and Youth Services has received a small grant to support
students with Autism. They are
currently developing a plan to provide a peer to peer relationship program to
assist with transitioning students with ASD from elementary to secondary
school. N. Hills was pleased to
announce that Community Living Sarnia-Lambton recently awarded two
scholarships to D. Seager announced that special
class teachers of students with developmental disabilities recently attended
an in-service on life skills curriculum. Responding to a question
from C. Taylor, D. Seager informed SEAC that all schools have nominated an
“Inclusion Facilitator” who will receive training to assist with
modifications to physical activities early in the New Year. The Inclusion Facilitator program was a
recommendation from the Physical Disabilities Review Committee and will train
a resource person at each school to assist staff with the necessary
modifications so that all students can participate in physical activities. |
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12.0 |
QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC - None. |
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13.0 |
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ·
October
31, 2006 Exceptional Pupil Statistics ·
EQAO
Results ·
2006-2007
Budget Update and Review of Financial Statements (January) ·
Premier
Accessibility Suite Demonstration |
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14.0 |
NEXT MEETING |
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Thursday, December 14, 2006 |
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7:00 p.m. |
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15.0 |
ADJOURNMENT - 9:05
p.m. |
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Joan Sparks, |
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Recording Secretary. |