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Thank you for coming in to see me today Mrs. Carpenter!

My name is Miss Dean, and as you know I am the principal here at Monsour Middle
School. We are meeting today regarding Julius and his recent behaviors, as well as
come up with some solutions together to get him back in class and following
directions. I know you are very upset with what has been going on with Julius here
at school and I can assure you we have been trying our very best to work to resolve
his behavioral issues. Though we have had little success with previous tactics, our
attempts are nowhere near done! My goal here today is to come to some mutual
resolution and plan moving forward regarding Julius to keep him in class as much as
possible, minimize his behavioral outbursts that cause classroom distractions, and
take strides towards getting Julius to enjoy school!
His classroom teachers and I had met as a grade level team last week specifically to
discuss Julius. Julius does very well academically in reading and math, enjoys hands-
on activities such as technology class, anything-involving art, and music! I know
Julius also really enjoys playing the trumpet, which is excellent! The most recent
dismissal from class occurred with Mrs. OLearly, his reading teacher, because he
was acting out and disrupting his classmates during a lesson. In this most recent
occurrence, along with many previous instances in reading, Julius throws classroom
supplies on the ground, refuses to participate or follow along with the class, is not
returning completed homework assignments, and laughs at his teachers and
classmates when lessons are underway. These behaviors are beginning to affect him
academically because he misses important information when he is off task. Also
when he is frequently dismissed from the classroom, he is missing valuable
instruction time. His lack of homework completion is another factor that will begin
affecting him academically if not completed, as homework is supposed to work as
independent practice on a concept taught in the classroom here at school. His
teachers are sending him to speak with me as a form of discipline. The word
discipline refers to the training of students to obey or follow certain rules,
procedures, or a code of conduct when inside or outside of the school
environment. Discipline can include a punishment to correct the misbehavior
or disobedience to rules and procedures. As a way to diminish his negative
behaviors, Julius currently has a Behavior Modification Plan in place here at
Monsour. His behavior modification plan is a treatment approach that is based
on principles of operant conditioning. Meaning behavior modification plans
help to replace an undesirable or inappropriate student behavior with a more
desirable or appropriate behavior through positive or negative
reinforcements.
I understand that due to the recent issues occurring with Julius here at school, you
were considering taking things a step further and going to Due Process. To clarify,
while we are here together, in regards to special education a due process
hearing is one of the three main administrative options available to parents
under IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This process allows
parents to resolve disagreements between themselves and the school district
involving and regarding their child with a disability. However, Julius is
protected under Manifestation Determination. Manifestation Determination is a
process required by IDEA, which is only conducted and utilized when a
student with a disability requires a change in placement due to behaviors.
Another form of protection for you and for Julius is Procedural Safeguards. This is
presented as a section of the IEP that parents/guardians must sign off on
during an IEP meeting or when an initial/annual IEP is written. The
Procedural Safeguards outline and give information on the parent and childs
rights in regards to if they disagree with the schools recommendation and feel
the child isnt receiving appropriate services/SDIs. These safeguards also give
parents a sense of protection as far as their rights if they disagree with the
school or IEP team in regards to their child. Parents must sign off in the IEP
that they received a copy of these safeguards.
As you can see, you do have protection options for yourself and Julius as far as his
special education is concerned here at Monsour. Let me talk to you briefly about a
court case that applies directly to our conversation regarding parental and student
rights. In the court case of Winkleman v. Parma City School District, it went into
discussing parental rights in special education and how parents of students with
disabilities are entitled to rights under IDEA. Under this act, parents are able to
prosecute IDEA claims on their behalf in order to protect their child. Therefore if
you do disagree with the currently implemented IEP or Behavior Support Plan for
Julius, you do have the right through IDEA to dispute it. The following step would be
Dispute Resolution. Although it is encouraged for parents and school districts to
work together to resolve disagreements about a students educational plan or
program, there are times were additional support may be needed to resolve a
disagreement. There are three dispute resolution options available to parents
under IDEA. The options can address parental concerns regarding child
identification in special education, evaluation, and educational placement.
However, if you would choose to dispute it, under Stay Put the current educational
placement of Julius would remain the same until any issues are resolved. Stay Put
is a right under IDEA that comes into play when a parent disagrees with or
disputes a decision or change made by the school district. These changes
involve the childs educational placement. If we are still unable to reach a
resolution or agreement involving Julius and his education, you have the right to
take the school district to Due Process. In regards to special education, a due
process hearing is one of the three main administrative options available to
parents under IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This process
allows parents to resolve disagreements between themselves and the school
district involving and regarding their child with a disability. Since these
processes do get very involved, an often-easier option in disagreement might be
mediation. Mediations are voluntary, meaning both the parents and the school
district must previously agree to mediation or meeting to resolve an issue
regarding the child with a disability. Parents and local education agencies
(LEA) may request mediation involving their child at any time and their
request must be met.
As you know, I would like to be able to find resolution with you here today
regarding Julius and his behavioral concerns so we do not have to take this any
higher in legal steps. Julius and his education are my top priority, as is for his regular
education and special education teachers. My teaching staff here at Monsour teaches
everything with multi-modality in mind to reach all types of learners. Therefore if
Julius enjoys technology, art, and music, these areas of interest are being met daily
in reading and mathematics lessons in his general education curriculum. I strongly
believe if Julius is more interested and engaged in what he is learning in these core
subject classes, his behaviors will begin to diminish. We need to revise his currently
implemented Behavior Support Plan to indicate any changes we wish to make here
today. Id like to share with you a few ideas we should try to revise his currently
implemented Behavior Support Plan. Overall we all want Julius to succeed both
academically and socially, and we will do everything we can here to work together
and make that happen. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to
contact me and we can set up another meeting like this one. Lets also keep frequent,
open communication here in the next few weeks to see what is working or not
working with our revisions. Thanks so much for coming in today!
1. Providing Julius with the option for a short break if he is getting overly
stimulated in the regular education classroom, is frustrated, or upset. He can
visit the classroom calming bin and choose something from it to do while
the teacher sets a 3-4 minute timer. Options in the calming bin are bubble
wrap, foam puzzles, bingo dabbers with sheets, a book on Self Soothing,
social stories, and fidget spinners/cubes. When Julius is ready to return or
the timer goes off, he will know its time to get back to work.
2. Parent-Teacher communication forms or journals will be sent home daily so
his teachers may comment on how his day went and if any behaviors
occurred and why. Then his parents can respond and add their own thoughts
and feelings in return. This is a great way to keep daily communication
between home and school, and it also holds Julius accountable to bringing the
form or journal to and from school. He will then be aware that his teacher
and mother speak daily which should help.
3. A homework reward system for Julius will be put into place. Julius will
receive stickers or tallies daily on his chart in the classroom for bringing back
completed homework. Once he earns a certain amount of stickers or tallies
on his chart, he will be able to choose a reward of some kind. These rewards
could be tangible objects such as a choice from the prize box or could be
reward time/free time at the end of the day.
4. Julius will begin using a daily reward system. His teachers will send a basic
data sheet along with him throughout his day and he can earn points in the
following categories Working hard, respecting teachers, respecting peers,
following directions, and staying in seat. At the end of each day is he earns a
certain amount of points he will be rewarded either with something tangible
or reward/free time.
5. Lastly, his regular education teachers will be including music, technology,
and art in their daily lessons more often in an attempt to further engage
Julius in activities. The teacher can even adapt certain activities specifically
for Julius or select groups of students based on their interests. For example, if
the class is writing an essay, Julius may only be required to write half of the
assigned writing and then illustrate the rest of what he wanted to say.
Another example may be for a class assignment or project in a certain
subject, Julius could write a song, rap, or poem to share with the class rather
than speaking or reading something he wrote. Technology can also be
incorporated during free time but also as remediation or enrichment in core
subject areas through the use of educational applications or web 2.0 tools.

Week 6 Terms:

Procedural Safeguards- This is presented as a section of the IEP that


parents/guardians must sign off on during an IEP meeting or when an
initial/annual IEP is written. The Procedural Safeguards outline and give
information on the parent and childs rights in regards to if they disagree
with the schools recommendation and feel the child isnt receiving
appropriate services/SDIs. These safeguards also give parents a sense of
protection as far as their rights if they disagree with the school or IEP team in
regards to their child. Parents must sign off in the IEP that they received a
copy of these safeguards.

Due Process Hearings- In regards to special education, a due process


hearing is one of the three main administrative options available to parents
under IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This process allows
parents to resolve disagreements between themselves and the school district
involving and regarding their child with a disability.

Dispute Resolution- Although it is encouraged for parents and school


districts to work together to resolve disagreements about a students
educational plan or program, there are times were additional support may be
needed to resolve a disagreement. There are three dispute resolution options
available to parents under IDEA. The options can address parental concerns
regarding child identification in special education, evaluation, and
educational placement.

Mediations- Mediations are voluntary, meaning both the parents and the
school district must previously agree to mediation or meeting to resolve an
issue regarding the child with a disability. Parents and local education
agencies (LEA) may request mediation involving their child at any time and
their request must be met.

Behavior Modification Plans- A behavior modification plan is a treatment


approach that is based on principles of operant conditioning. Meaning
behavior modification plans help to replace an undesirable or inappropriate
student behavior with a more desirable or appropriate behavior through
positive or negative reinforcements.

Manifestation Determination- Manifestation Determination is a process


required by IDEA, which is only conducted and utilized when a student with
a disability requires a change in placement due to behaviors.

Stay Put- Stay Put is a right under IDEA that comes into play when a parent
disagrees with or disputes a decision or change made by the school district.
These changes involve the childs educational placement.

Discipline- The word discipline refers to the training of students to obey or


follow certain rules, procedures, or a code of conduct when inside or outside
of the school environment. Discipline can include a punishment to correct the
misbehavior or disobedience to rules and procedures.

Peer Response #1:

Katie, Great job coming up with different revisions the parents and school
could try with Julius in an effort to diminish his negative behaviors. I
especially agree with the "ignoring the behavior" bullet because often this is
the most simple intervention that teachers often overlook and don't even try
in their classrooms. In my experiences, many times students are acting out it
is for attention. If the attention-seeking behaviors get them sent out of the
classroom, or result in them being talked to by the teacher or looked at by
their peers, sometimes this was their goal all along. Trying the ignorance
would be an easy and likely beneficial first step. I also like your idea of a
parent/teacher communication journal. This will give his mother and the
teachers an easy way to communicate daily on the behaviors occurring in
school. Great post Katie!

Peer Response #2:


Emily, I think your discussion with his mother was very easy to follow,
touched on all the points that needed to be discussed in the meeting, and was
informative. First off I commend you for beginning the meeting/discussion
with positive attributes of Julius! This is something teachers often forget.
Beginning any conference, meeting, IEP meeting, etc. with positives about a
child is always an excellent way to begin because it creates a warm and
inviting atmosphere, begins or adds to the trust relationship between home
and school, and shows the parents that we ultimately care for their child and
are not "out to get them." In your suggestions listed, I love the first one that
allows Julius to work for time with his trumpet or drawing. These are
excellent rewards because he will see them as positive reinforcement, while
we know they are benefiting him in more ways than one. This will also give
him something to work for that he is interested in and wants to earn. Great
post Emily!

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