The special-education department of the Arlington public schools has conducted its own investigation of complaints brought by parents in March and has found no basis for them, but the state will now look into the concerns.

Mark Ryder, director of special education, responded April 22 to a story published nine days earlier detailing the parents' issues brought in March. He wrote in an e-mail that his department conducted an internal investigation and were unable to substantiate the claims of noncompliance. He wrote that his department "has been successfully working to improve and expand" programs and services.

{mosimage}"At this time," he wrote "more than 900 Arlington students have been identified as eligible for and are receiving special education services. Over 1,200 meetings are held each year to develop individualized programs that meet the unique learning needs of these students."

Trish Orlovsky, the cochair of Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) who represents parents, said the state will do its own investigation after apparently changing its stance about allowing only a local check of the complaint.

In an e-mail April 22, Orlovsky wrote: "I received today a packet from the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [DESE], and they will be investigating several items of the complaint. When I spoke with them two weeks ago, they indicated that they may ask Arlington to conduct its own investigation rather than send a representative to the school department to look into the allegations.

"It seems they have changed their mind and will be looking into this."

She wrote that she spoke April 21 with George Haille, a liaison with program quality assurance of the state agency, who "indicated they are investigating most of the allegations in the original complaint."

Among the points raised in March 23 complaint are:

-- Changes to programs for the language-based seventh- and eighth-graders at Ottoson without parent notification;

-- A variety of issues involving students at Dallin, Bishop and Hardy; and

-- Social skills provided by the Arlington Youth Consultation Center in all town elementary schools offer few services in September and June.

For Ryder's part, he is managing an overhaul of a department that drew state complaints in 2005. He described to the School Committee on April 14 his plans to serve more children in Arlington rather than beyond the district -- and save as much as $400,000 in the fiscal 2010 budget.

In his April 22 e-mail, Ryder wrote:

"Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to respond to the [March 23] letter that has recently been made public on Yourarlington.com. I have been informed that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not intend to investigate the issues raised in the letter at this time," an issue that Orlovsky clarified above.

"Nevertheless, upon notification of the complaints in the letter we conducted an internal investigation. We were unable to substantiate the claims of noncompliance set forth in the letter. To the contrary, in recent years the special education department has been successfully working to improve and expand special education programs and services across the district.

"Special education students are being included more in general education settings, compliance rates have significantly improved (as evidenced by the end of our DESE review cycle), and educators have been pursuing and embracing new skills and professional development in order to meet the needs of all students.

"At this time, more than 900 Arlington students have been identified as eligible for and are receiving special education services. Over 1,200 meetings are held each year to develop individualized programs that meet the unique learning needs of these students.

"We all agree that the process of identifying eligible Students and providing special education services as required by law can be frustrating and confusing at times, but we are committed to improved student learning, adherence to regulations, and partnering closely with families and community resources.

"When problems arise, our knowledgeable and dedicated staff work hard to resolve the issue and focus on the needs of the student.

"I would encourage parents with questions or concerns to please contact their child’s teacher, building administrators, or special education department liaison."

He has been asked to explain what steps he took to conduct an internal investigation.

Informed about Ryder's response, Orlovsky wrote the same day:

"I appreciate Mark's elaboration on what he sees as strengths in the provision of special education. As elected representatives for parents of students receiving special education, we are obligated to speak for those parents and children whose rights are not respected and possible procedural violations that may deny a child a free and appropriate public education.

"In talking percentages, Mark is right that the complaint covers only a small number of students compared to the 900 serviced in Arlington with in- and out-of-district placements and a variety of specialized instruction and services.

"The complaint does not include many of the smaller complaints we hear all year for numerous parents for violations scattered across schools and grades, which could not be reasonably addressed in a group complaint."

She wrote that such items included failure to receive evaluations in a timely way, delays in scheduling meetings, not getting individual education plans for a month or more after a team meeting, resulting in delay of services and programs.

"This recent complaint is filed on behalf of perhaps no more than 30 students covering elementary programs and teams and the middle school.

"It does underscore, however, that the district is not yet procedurally correct and compliant with the law and much work needs to be done to provide incentives for teams to be educated in the law and the rights of students and parents, and for the district to ensure that procedures are in place to ensure that this occurs.

"The PAC continues to have concerns and dialogue with administration and School Committee about the quality of in-district programs being developed without regard for best practices and methodologies for educating students with specific disability categories, and model systems and schools who have such programs in place.

"That there are little or no means of measuring the effectiveness of these programs as they roll out is also very concerning to us and the parents whose children are in these programs.

"Finally, the fact that the district was unable to substantiate any allegations after conducting its own investigation may say more about lack of systematic tracking of services and IEP compliance than that the district is incapable of error.

"Thank you for your informing the public about this important issue. It is critical that the public understand how the system does and does not work for some of the most vulnerable students in the district."

Orlovsky wrote that she is sharing the information she reported here with Ryder, interim Superintendent Kathleen Bodie, and members of the School Committee.

 

{mosimage}This story was first published April 26.