The Frederick County, Maryland Board of Education is expected to hear recommendations Wednesday from a task force created after a Justice Department investigation on how to improve special education programs.
The Frederick County, Maryland Board of Education will hear recommendations on Wednesday from a task force created in response to a settlement with the Department of Justice regarding accusations of discrimination against students with disabilities on how to improve special education programs. It’s a schedule.
Federal investigators found that a public school in Frederick County improperly detained and segregated 125 students with disabilities more than 7,250 times in just three years.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force spent hours discussing behavioral intervention recommendations for special programs over the summer. The task force consists of 11 of his FCPS staff members and 12 of his parents and other community members.
Angelique Vigliotti said her son was “deeply affected by the DOJ investigation”. Vigliotti has joined the task force.
“I wanted to give voice to children who had no voice in special education programs and parents who had no voice in special education programs,” Vigliotti said in a video submitted with the findings. “I feel like it might be too late for my child. He’s 17 now. He’s pretty much out of the school system. But there are a lot of kids who aren’t.”
She said she cries after meetings because she’s often been with people “who have been involved in fostering some of the abuse of my children.”
After reaching a settlement late last year, Frederick County public schools stopped using isolation as a disciplinary tactic and changed their practices regarding restraint.
“The opportunity was very attractive,” said Janine Stewart, student support supervisor and task force member. In my opinion, when you bring people together from different places, different experiences, and different levels of passion, you always come up with really good ideas and recommendations. ”
The task force plans to provide a dozen or more recommendations for special education programs, including:
- Staff training on basic prevention, intervention and de-escalation mitigation.
- Professional learning on cognitive assessments, educational scores, sensory profiles and language assessments to support specially designed teaching.
- A neutral third party that evaluates special education programs.
- Create advocacy centers for families that provide support and best practices for children.
- Add behavior support positions to all elementary schools.
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