EEU Working Out Plan with SPS

The official joint statement from EEU and SPS:
The Seattle Public Schools and the Experimental Education Unit had an extremely productive meeting about funding for the EEU kindergarten on Thursday, January 28th. With the help of the Washington Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds and OSPI we have reached a tentative agreement about a new structure for funding the EEU kindergarten program for the 2016-17 school year and beyond. SPS will be exploring, based upon the agreement currently in development, next steps for an appropriate enrollment process for enrolling students for the EEU kindergarten. We will continue to communicate updates in the days ahead.
 From the Change.org petition page:
Jan 29, 2016 — EEU leadership met with representatives of SPS and OSPI yesterday and reached a resolution. Details are in progress, but the main components of the resolution are:

- SPS will continue to partner with EEU to provide publically available, fully inclusive kindergarten.

- EEU kindergarten services will be available for students and families for the 2016-2017 school year.

- The new agreement will specifically consider how EEU’s innovative model can be replicated across the district.

We are optimistic that this new agreement will not only secure more stable funding for the EEU kindergarten but also make inclusion a reality for more and more children.

Thank you all once again for your incredible support, relentless advocacy, and courageous stories. We truly did this together – everyone contributed their time, energy, and unique strengths to a common vision in which ALL children learn together, ALL children are embraced. This journey has exemplified the power of community – ordinary folks coming together and making a positive difference in the world that we all share.

This is exactly why #inclusionmatters.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
1/30/16, 8:39 AM
Watching said…
I'm thrilled for the families of EEU. EEU needs to be expanded. The proposed cuts to EEU elevated EEU to a different status, which reached the Governor's office. Let's hope that this is the start of something good.

I agree with Next. Tolley is famous for cutting effective programs. Shameful.
1/30/16, 9:21 AM
Anonymous said…
I'm glad that this worked out for EEU. It is a great program. I get concerned, though, when I start to see that "all children learn together". Inclusion can be great for many students, maybe even most, but not for all. In Special Education, I see the pendulum swinging heavily in one direction or the other based on the current thinking at that time. Right now in our district, it is inclusion. I believe the reality is in the middle and that the deciding factor is what the parent envisions for their child and what an IEP teams decides is best based on the child's need. As a district, we need to have options.

Special Educator
1/30/16, 9:34 AM
Watching said…
I recall an administrator making a FALSE assertion regarding EEU and an audit finding. This, is worth remembering.
1/30/16, 9:35 AM
Anonymous said…
You are kidding Special Educator. Sps hates inclusion so much, they can't even say the word. They have to invent new terms like "access" to appease the inclusion haters everywhere. And they'll do anything to avoid it, including lying and stealing. Lying as in not telling families where programs are, how you sign up, or making up false barriers to inclusion. If you've been in special ed a while, you've heard them all. Stealing as in "supplantation" of general ed funds with special ed ones. Right, Special Educator, it's supposed to be an iep team decision.

Next
1/30/16, 8:30 PM
Anonymous said…
Special Educator here is one way "the pendulum" isn't swinging at all: if your student has ANY behaviors that the school views in only a disciplinary manner you can bet that your student will be shoved into a self contained setting before the sun sets. Building administrators have no idea their obligations to IEPs and Behavior Plans, though they are "evaluating" staff who are supposed to make good on the legal obligation of SPS on both. I feel that our students in GenEd are in constant jeapardy. Our students' access to INCLUSIVE public education is so tenuous in Seattle Public Schools. Nobody really wants them. I don't know where you get your data on the grand embrace of inclusion, maybe another district somewhere else in Washington State?

#inclusionmatters
1/30/16, 10:20 PM
Anonymous said…
And really. All the audits and program evaluations over the last 10 years. Did a single evaluation anywhere (evaluating special ed services in sps)conclude "There's just too much inclusion going on. SPS needs more self contained placements." No. They didn't. Every study and evaluation found too much segregation and limited mainstream opportunities for students with disabilities. What do parents all over the district complain about? Lack of inclusion. Lack of ownership, when there is inclusion. Special Educator, you need to sally forth from the room more often.

Next
1/30/16, 10:42 PM
alex said…
Such good news!
1/31/16, 2:42 PM
nhuthuy said…
Thanks for sharing, nice post! Post really provice useful information!

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1/6/20, 8:05 PM
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