Friday Open Thread

Interesting court case about a Down syndrome student whose parents wanted him to stay in a Gen Ed classroom where he was thriving.  From Inclusion Revolution:

“Student was demonstrating progress on his IEP goals, including the majority of the goals that were implemented by the resource teacher (academic/social- behavior goals). Additionally, the student’s resource teacher admitted that his communication skills greatly improved from two-word phrases, which were limited to things he knew about, such as about his mom, dad, or sister, or naming things that he knew, to three to four-word phrases. The impact on his typical peers and teachers was described by his kindergarten teacher as ‘amazing’,” according to the plaintiff’s open brief (parent’s attorney filed).

Despite his progress, the Gilbert Unified School District in Arizona decided just a few months into his kindergarten year that the boy should have 20 more minutes of “intensive instruction.” This time in a self-contained classroom at another school. The school district said the new school would be better for the student, and provide him with “more services at his level with peers in a small environment that could have been better for him.” This subjective opinion was the only evidence they used to propose a change in the boy’s IEP.

That sounds about right because Sped kids just love moving from school to school, chasing services.

WASDA, the Washington State of School Directors' Association, and WASA, the Washington Association of School Administrators, has put out somewhat confusing statement that seems to support the current bill for school funding however:

"... today affirmed their support of legislation clarifying guidelines for collective bargaining rules as they relate to specific teacher assignments that fall outside of the basic professional responsibilities for all teachers.

However, if a levy is increased for a specific educational purpose, there needs to be clear guidelines that provide necessary limits.  This is especially generated for those educational programs and services," said Aune.

I have a call into WASDA to clarify.

On that note, there are many stories about the cuts coming/happening in other districts.  State law requires all school districts to notify their certificated staff by May 15 if they will no longer have a job with the district.

Spokane - 325 jobs
Tacoma - Superintendent Carla Santoro:

I want to remind everyone that we already have eliminated 43 administrative and central support positions during this school year. That is about 15 percent of our administrative workforce. That was necessary to help balance this current school year's budget. Those savings have been factored into our planning for the 2019-2020 school year.

We made other spending cuts and have done everything possible this school year to minimize the impact on the teaching staff and students.

It is also important to point out that this resolution exclusively speaks to reductions in certificated staff—because that's the only group called out by state law for a very specific, detailed notification process.

However, the budget reductions, spending cuts and position eliminations necessary to balance next school year's budget will come from all of our departments and services.

Meanwhile in Kent SD, parents have filed a lawsuit.  (Kent has a Broad Academy superintendent and this doesn't surprise me at all.) From The Columbian:

As parents of children who attend Kent schools and supporters of public education, they argue the Kent School District is fraught with financial and systemic problems. The Bettingers and other parents claim the district and its board of directors have allegedly mismanaged school funds, violated open meeting laws and misled the public. 

The couple took it a step further, filing a lawsuit on March 7 in King County Superior Court against the district and school board for the alleged infractions. In essence, the Bettingers want financial stability for the school district, and more open, forthcoming and responsive leadership to meet the needs of parents and students.

And then there's news from Texas - schools there are bringing back cursive writing.

Girls in one Maryland high school found out they were on a "list" created by boys that rated them.  They fought back.

The girls and administrators agreed to hold a program-wide meeting, including the boys who created the list. The planned 45-minute meeting with eighty students lasted two and a half hours as many girls shared personal experiences with harassment, abuse, and objectification, both within school and outside of it. The discussion opened the eyes of many boys, including the list's creator who stood up during the meeting to apologize for the hurt it had caused. The 18-year old senior later told the Washington Post: “When you have a culture where it’s just normal to talk about that, I guess making a list about it doesn’t seem like such a terrible thing to do." He added that he was glad that the girls spoke up, noting that “it’s just a different time and things really do need to change." 

What's on your mind?