OSPI Looking for Input on Special Ed Manual

OSPI has a short survey for feedback on their Special Education Manual.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I need recommendation for SpEd attorney.

Please, share? Matter is urgent


SpEd
5/1/17, 11:19 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
You might try the Seattle Special Education PTA Facebook page with your query:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/478966362117517/
5/1/17, 11:58 AM
Anonymous said…
Why don't they just use the SPS manual ..hell they spent close to a million dollars creating it.


Blah
5/1/17, 1:31 PM
Anonymous said…
What about kids being inappropriately punished before they're identified as having a disability?

Sad 2Eparent
5/1/17, 2:14 PM
Anonymous said…
SpEd:

Charlotte Cassidy
Kathleen George
Jeannette Cohen
Howard Powers

All attorneys who have provided excellent guidance to SpEd families in SPS.

Good luck!

Another one
5/1/17, 4:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Wouldn't it be great if OSPI cared about services instead of manuals? I'd love to fill out a survey about services. Does anybody really want to proofread their crap (documentation) for free? Hire a publisher for that.

Right on. The million dollar SPS sped manual is also top secret. If a parent read it, their eyes would burn right out of their heads. O yeah. OSPI forced SPS to write that manual, and to pay top dollar.

Speddie
5/1/17, 10:57 PM
Anonymous said…
Lara Hruska and former SPS attorney Chris Williams at Cedar Law. Much better than any of the above and have more traction since they used to work for school districts.

-BTDT
5/2/17, 11:23 AM
Anonymous said…
Why does the name Lara Hruska ring a bell?

MJ
5/2/17, 4:18 PM
Anonymous said…
Melissa, thanks for posting the request regarding the manual update. FYI, the request is regarding the Office of the Education Ombudsman, which is independent of OSPI.

Speddie, you exaggerate. The internal special education procedure manual is online at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4ECvYkK5CgodzhJNFZ0aFVxeVk/view. I have read it, and my eyes have not burned out of my head. The district had to come up with an internal procedure manual, because the old "let every employee fly by the seat of their pants" manual wasn't working out so good for all involved. And guess what, yes, they did have to pay someone to do it, because they were not capable of doing it themselves.

GL
5/3/17, 12:57 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks GL! Glad the location of the super secret million dollar sped internal document has been cracked. And that highly motivated individuals such as yourself have read it. Unfortunately the "fly by the seat of your pants" approach to all sped issues remains. Quite evidently student and program placement remain a complete whim, as do mandatory study skills classes despite OSPI resolutions against them, staffing classes, therapies by the beginning of the year, starting services before Nov or whenever, hiring subs, and snow routes. A super secret document that even district employees don't know about, doesn't change the culture of anything goes. At the root, the district has no process for following up on and enforcing OSPI resolutions, so the same crap keeps happening. But OSPI is, as usual, content to check off a "done" box for compliance when a manual is completed at SPS (by friends of Doug Gil, must be good right?) and to check off another "done" box if they can find someone who will actually read their document.

Speddie
5/3/17, 2:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Speddie, you do have your points. Bsp manual should not be super secret. And the district's should be relying more on policies, procedures and practices that result in equitable, consistent action that are in line with law.

GL
5/3/17, 3:40 PM
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