Fresno Unified School District
CAC Meeting Minutes October 8th, 2024
Community Advisory Committee for Special Education Meeting
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: Adult Transition Program, 3132 E. Fairmont Ave., Fresno, CA 93726
MINUTES
Welcome (Chair Wong) – 6:07 pm
Introduction of 2024-25 CAC Executive Board: Chair Julie Wong, Vice-Chair Amy Aoki, Community Liaison Cara Ford, and Parliamentarian Patricia Camarillo.
Introduction of FUSD employees in attendance.
CAC stands for the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education, a volunteer group composed predominantly of parents of children with special needs who attend school within the Fresno Unified School District. CAC is a group of parents, school personnel, and other community members who work together to ensure that children with special needs receive the best education available. CAC meets once a month to identify the needs of students with special needs in our district and advises the district on issues relating to special education. CAC works to provide information to parents and also listens to parents’ concerns. CAC’s ultimate purpose is to participate in a partnership with the school district that enhances the education of each child with special needs. Fresno Unified is required by law to have a CAC.
CAC Respect Agreement:
· Recognize and respect differences of perspective and style of the CAC among members, staff, students, parents/guardians and the community.
· Act with dignity and understand the implications of demeanor and behavior.
· When speaking of your concerns, please do not use your student’s name or the school location. Please respect the confidentiality and needs of your student.
Thank you and welcome.
Roll Call (Vice-Chair Aoki)
14 members were present; quorum was met.
Agenda Approval (Chair Wong)
Motion to accept: 1st Eileen G., 2nd Betty W. – 14 Yeas/0 Nays
Previous Month’s Minutes (Chair Wong)
Motion to accept: 1st Eileen G., 2nd Monica S. – 14 Yeas/0 Nays
Old Business/New Business (Chair Wong)
Membership (Vice-Chair Aoki)
Applicants: Elizabeth Cabral, Ofelia Jardon, Mayeli Uribe
None of the applicants were in attendance so no vote was taken.
Special Education Acronyms (Chair Wong)
There was a Glossary of Educational Acronyms & Initialisms to pick up.
IEP Essentials (presented by Exceptional Parents Unlimited (EPU) – Jen Dote)
Individualized Education Plans (IEP) fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), federal education law, and are for people ages 3-22 years of age with at least one listed disability and a need for specialized support and instruction. Core Principles: 1) Appropriate Assessment, 2) Individualized Education Plan, 3) Student & Parent Preparation, 4) Free and Appropriate Public Education, 5) Least Restrictive Environment, 6) Procedures to Safeguard Rights. IEP cycle starts with a reason or concern; request assessments in writing; district must send assessment plan or prior written notice within 15 days; “Informed Consent” – if needed parents have 15 days for questions; district has 60 days to complete assessment; IEP meeting within 60 days; goals, individualized instruction and serviced are determined; appropriate placement is determined; implementation; IEP is reviewed annually or whenever requested by parent/guardian; triennial re-evaluation. New – Student Study Team (SST) may be requested to gather more information or develop interventions and accommodations to try in class to meet the needs of the student (does not stop the assessment timeline unless you agree to revoke your assessment request). Assessments should be requested in writing in all suspected areas of disability and must use a variety of methods (i.e. observations, work samples, behavior charting). Assessment plan requires signed consent. You have the right to disagree with district assessments. If you disagree, provide a written notice of disagreement or request for an Interdependent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. An IEE is a second opinion by a qualified evaluator with no requirement to pick from a district list. The district can agree and pay for the IEE, or disagree and file for a Due Process Hearing.
The IEP team should have at least the General Education teacher, Special Education teacher, parent/guardian, student (may not need to be present for the duration of the meeting), and local education agency representative (district representative). Other team members may include direct service providers, outside therapists, nurse, regional center case manager, persons conducting assessments, and persons with knowledge of the child.
IEP components start with parent concerns, present levels of performance, goals, services and placement. Present levels are what the student is currently able to do, from the last IEP until now. Goals should be written for all needs identified by assessment and present levels. They are the major factor in determining IEP services and placement. Services and any other individualized supports should help the student make progress on goals, be educated and participate with all children, make progress in General Education, participate in extracurricular activities, access free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE is at no cost to families, able to meet the student’s unique needs, provided by or paid for by the school system, and services identified as necessary for the student to benefit. Students should be educated as much as possible with peers who do not have disabilities (i.e. in General Education) and provided supports in their least restrictive environment (LRE) before moving to a separate or more restrictive setting. Ways to include students back in General Education may be field trips, lunch, recess, sports, music, band, PE, art, library, reverse inclusion, etc. Other IEP components are behavior support, assistive technology, special consideration, accommodations & modifications, extended school year (ESY), and transition planning (at 16 years old). On the signature page, everyone in attendance of the IEP meeting must sign the Attendance/Participation section - the goal being to sign once you understand the services offered and agree. You can agree in whole or in part; you can list concerns if most of the IEP is ok and you’d like to get started with services. Your student’s services will not start until you sign the IEP. You can ask for copies of the IEP & other documents and take them home for review. Procedural safeguards, prior written notice, and access to all records make sure that parent and student’s rights are protected during the IEP process.
Alternative Dispute Resolution provides ways to resolve disagreements following certain steps. Facilitated IEP and mediation may help in difficult situations. If issues are still unresolved, the party who requested the conference has the option for filing for a Due Process Hearing – a legal resolution to resolve disagreements about amount, type, intensity, frequency, or location of Special Education services. The court will require evidence so it may be tough to win. You may also file a compliance complaint with the state – an allegation that a Special Education Law is not being followed: “The IEP is out of compliance.” The fastest and easiest way is typically going to your team, telling them it is out of compliance, and asking how to fix it.
CAC Bylaws (Chair Wong)
The CAC bylaws are posted on the FUSD Community Advisory Committee for Special Education website: https://www.fresnounified.org/departments/special-education/community-advisory-committee. We will be reviewing/revising bylaws. Please email any suggestions to fusd.cac@gmail.com.
Educational Partners Forum
Parent – IEP translations aren’t always translated.
Patricia C. – Can parents request audio of IEP?
Patrick M. – Parents can record IEPs, but need to give FUSD 24 hours’ notice. District will also record.
Betty W. – How do you get people to listen to the recording? Response from Mr. Morrison: Please reach out to lower levels and go up if necessary.
Parent – Previous IEPs were in Spanish. This time only certain pages were in Spanish.
Parent – Child has behavior associated with an issue, form of communication. Needs accommodations for behavior plans.
Sometimes schools do have to shift locations. Families should be notified.
Parent – What is the recourse for a parent with IEP not scheduled? Response: Call RIM about being out of compliance. Can also file a complaint with the state. The state will give corrective action to the director of Special Education.
Parent – Asked for an IEP meeting in early August. Got a “meeting” at the end of August. Student was supposed to be transferred to a different school, but the transfer didn’t go through. The student has been out of school for two months.
Patrick S. – SDC classes have been dropped. Principal and RIM agreed to do it 2-3 years ago. Don’t want kids going into GE. Response from Mr. Morrison: I’ll look into it.
Julie W. – Ask for work samples in an IEP.
Announcements
October: Disability Employment Awareness, Down Syndrome Awareness
Next Upcoming CAC Meeting: November 12, 2024
Closing & Adjournment (Chair Wong) – 7:28 p.m.
Motion to accept: 1st Betty W., 2nd Cara F. – 14 Yeas/0 Nays