Arlington School Board Candidates Respond to SEPTA Questionnaire

A message from SEPTA President, Katherine Harris (note that there’s a School Board candidate forum TONIGHT at 7:15 pm – see below for details!):

As promised, here are the responses from each candidate for Arlington School Board to our candidate questionnaire.  I’ve listed the responses from the candidates below in the order they were submitted:

1. Nancy Van Doren
2. Chaz Crismon
3. Tannia Talento
4. Michael Shea

My thanks goes to all of the School Board candidates for submitting their responses to these questions by our deadline.

And I also want to thank all of you for taking the time to study the candidates and go out a vote.  Your vote really does count, especially in these School Board elections; in the last several years, School Board members have been elected/reelected by just a handful of votes.

You can meet and learn about the candidates at the APS School Board candidate forum, this Wednesday, April 6, at 7:15 p.m. at the Fairlington Community Center at 3308 S. Stafford Street, Arlington, VA 22206.

Happy voting, everyone!

Katherine Harris

Arlington SEPTA president

Nancy Van Doren

2016 Arlington SEPTA School Board Candidate Questionnaire

1. What do you view to be the most significant issues facing APS?  

APS’ most significant challenge is to continue to make progress on improving outcomes for ALL students while also successfully undertaking the required projects to expand school capacity.  APS is a great school system.  Yet we still have work to do to improve outcomes for several groups, such as students with disabilities and English language learners.

2. What do you believe to be the most significant issues or challenges within APS relating to students with disabilities?

There are two main challenges for APS related to students with disabilities.  The first is to provide the infrastructure and training necessary to properly support all teachers in working with students with disabilities.   The Arlington Tiered System of Support (ATSS) needs to be fully operationalized for use by special education and general education teachers.  We will then have a system in place that efficiently and effectively identifies the needs of students with disabilities and applies the appropriate supports and interventions to ensure student success. To make this system work, teachers need the training and resources required to successfully implement the supports and interventions identified through ATSS for each student.  We then need to monitor and track the outcomes for our students.

The second most significant issue is related to the first.  APS should move closer to a full inclusion model.  This can best be done by educating the entire school system and community about inclusion and providing teachers, parents, and staff with the tools to make inclusion work.  Both ATSS and implementation of the inclusion model were recommended as part of the Evaluation of Services of Students with Special Needs, issued in January 2013. As a member of the steering committee for that Evaluation, I have a strong interest in ensuring the recommendations from the Evaluation are implemented.

3. Describe your experience working with or on behalf of special needs individuals.

I have been involved in working with students with special needs for over twelve years.  This began with my own children, one of whom had significant reading and speech challenges, another with ADHD, and a third with a chronic medical condition.  In dealing with each of these issues, I saw ways in which APS could serve students better.  In 2006, I joined the Arlington Special Education Advisory Committee, serving as its secretary and then chair.  While involved with ASEAC, I created the ArlingtonADHD and ArlingtonReading on-line support groups for parents.  I pushed for system efforts to improve services for students with ADHD and served on the ADHD Task Force.  This resulted in a partnership between APS and CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) to train and work with parents, teachers, and students.  When I was chair of ASEAC, we also undertook the first Evaluation of Services for Students with Special Needs, which has become a blueprint for change in APS.  The highest priorities for improving outcomes for students with disabilities have been to operationalize ATSS and move toward a full inclusion model.  I am fully supportive of both efforts.  Additionally, I spent years serving as an informal support for other parents and learned a great deal about our school system through the challenges faced by these families and students.  While I cannot actively participate at the school level with individual families in my current position on the School Board, my door is always open and my phone is always ready to take calls so I can direct families to the right place in APS to make sure their students’ needs are met.

4. What steps should APS take to improve the education and overall welfare of students with disabilities in Arlington? 

APS needs to fully implement the Arlington Tiered System of Supports (ATSS) to ensure students’ needs are effectively identified, assessed, and addressed.  APS then needs to monitor the outcomes for students using this system. Additionally, APS should move toward a full inclusion model, allowing students with disabilities the opportunity to achieve alongside their non-disabled peers.  APS also needs to implement the programs it has undertaken with fidelity.  For example, the Orton-Gillingham program, brought into APS to serve students with dyslexia, needs to be implemented correctly to ensure it has the intended results.  The CHADD training for students with ADHD needs to continue.  The Mental Health Cadres at each school need to be strengthened and their outcomes, assessed.  Disability training must be constantly updated and offered to strengthen the understanding and skills of our teachers, parents, and students.

5. If elected to the School Board, one of your most important job duties will be to ensure that APS complies with the many laws governing students with disabilities. Describe your familiarity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As ASEAC chair, I became very familiar with IDEA, the American with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  I participated in Wright’s Law training.  I completed the CHADD Parent to Parent Training and became a parent trainer. I have attended many IEP meetings on behalf of my children and other families’ children.  Through the APS Evaluation of Services for Students with Special Needs, I pressed to have our Section 504 implementation procedures re-written to reflect the updated 2008 ADA Amendments Act.  APS did update its practices and this resulted in a more streamlined process with many, many more students qualifying for 504s.  I consider this a huge success and a real benefit to APS students.  The ongoing training enables staff to efficiently and effectively administer Section 504 and quickly get students the support required.  I continue to learn about the laws addressing students with disabilities and welcome the opportunity to learn about Title II of the Americans with Disability Act and its impacts on our students.

6. Many students with disabilities in APS are segregated from their non-disabled peers in separate classrooms, at times against the wishes of those students and their parents. What will you do, if elected, to end inappropriate and undesired segregation of people with disabilities in Arlington?  What will you do to create additional meaningful inclusion opportunities for Arlington’s special needs students?

I pushed for, and am pleased that APS has put together, a Working Group on Inclusive Practices.  I support this effort and ensured that funds were allocated to engage a consultant to assist APS in planning this effort.  I believe one of the first steps APS can take is to update its policies supporting differentiated instruction and inclusive practices.  We then need to train our senior managers, staff, parents, and students on inclusion.  At that point, APS can then pilot an inclusion effort at several schools and allow the inclusion model to expand from there.

7. In Arlington, we are fortunate to have different optional programs to choose from, such as foreign language immersion.  However, these programs can be challenging for students with disabilities.  What is your plan to support the students with disabilities in these programs so they can access the curriculum and succeed alongside their non-disabled peers?

Students with disabilities should have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers and should have the opportunity to succeed in choice programs, such as immersion programs.  APS needs to improve and expand its training of teachers so that they can support students with disabilities in all settings.  We need to do more rigorous training of our staff and administrators so they can help students with disabilities succeed in programs such as foreign language immersion.  I am also very supportive of expanding alternatives to traditional foreign language offerings. For example, American Sign Language (ASL) has been of great benefit to students who struggle with foreign languages.  ASL should be expanded to the Middle School level, so that any student can begin ASL classes at the same point that other World Language classes are available.

 

Chaz Crismon

2016 Arlington SEPTA School Board Candidate Questionnaire

1. What do you view to be the most significant issues facing APS?

The most significant issues APS faces are 1) the retention and development of our teaching talent and 2) adequate planning to accommodate student population growth. All students have unique needs and we must have the resources available to meet each individual’s needs.

2. What do you believe to be the most significant issues or challenges within APS relating to students with disabilities?

My son has an IEP. I know firsthand that APS takes concerted efforts to fulfill its legal obligations to students with disabilities. The teachers who work with my son are wonderful. I think the median special needs student is serviced admirably well in this county—especially compared to elsewhere. However, my friends who have children with more severe disabilities are concerned that their child’s education is outsourced too much to assistants. These (instructional) assistants have huge hearts and want to do what’s best for kids, but they are not designing lesson plans. The teachers often have such a massive workload that they do not have enough time to give lesson plan guidance to the de facto teachers, the assistants. Making sure that all students learn and progressively reach less restrictive teaching environments is important. Greater collaboration between Special Education and General Education teachers must be sought.

3. Describe your experience working with or on behalf of special needs individuals.

I have special education training from my teacher education coursework. When I was a full time substitute, I helped in Special Education self contained classrooms. I once had a job transcribing notes for a blind student. I have sought guidance from literacy gurus on how to help children read. I am familiar with speech and occupational therapy components to Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Plus, I know the struggles other families face with children challenged by autism. I know parents who were elated to get more inclusion opportunities for their child. These special students need inclusion opportunities. As a parent, I try to listen to teachers and actively participate in the development of my child’s IEP.

4. What steps should APS take to improve the education and overall welfare of students with disabilities in Arlington?

APS should reprioritize the spending of money to support the skill development of assistants. Consider hiring more part-time teachers. I believe there is talent out there not looking for the full benefit package, but willing to make a difference in the classroom for our most vulnerable students on a less than full time basis. I would expand the Children’s School to help such part-time teachers who may need childcare for their own kids to be able to teach.

5. If elected to the School Board, one of your most important job duties will be to ensure that APS complies with the many laws governing students with disabilities. Describe your familiarity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

IDEA allows for the identification of students with disabilities and a Free Appropriate Public Education tailored to those students. The funding of programs to address those students’ needs is jeopardized if APS does not comply with procedures. Students and parents have rights. Teachers have recommendations. Sometimes it requires negotiating to get an IEP team to reach a meeting of the minds. All parties are to advocate for the welfare of the student. Section 504 has a broader mandate to protect other students with special needs, including those resulting from physical impairments. I experienced a bout of cancer. If this had happened to me in high school, under section 504, I could have been afforded special accommodations. My educational program could have included personalized instruction at home while I went through debilitating immunotherapy. Some students need minor exceptions to rules, like snacks during class for diabetics. Title II requires all APS services, programs and activities to be accessible to students with disabilities. Title II prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

6. Many students with disabilities in APS are segregated from their non-disabled peers in separate classrooms, at times against the wishes of those students and their parents. What will you do, if elected, to end inappropriate and undesired segregation of people with disabilities in Arlington?

A stated goal of all IEPs is to provide education in the least restrictive environment. Detailed plans and funding for the necessary staff should be made available to make this a reality. I volunteer and substitute in the schools and I see students who are segregated, but I also see students getting inclusion time, usually with an additional staff member assisting. Students would get more inclusion time with more personnel or trained volunteers. Parents do not like to be disinvited from their child’s classroom. It happens. Could we let SEPTA volunteers help other SEPTA parents’ children get more inclusion time? I think so. Beyond volunteering, parents need to remember how powerfully they can influence the IEPs of their students. Inappropriate and undesired segregation should be called out to administrators. Call me on the board when I am elected. I understand your frustrations.

7. What will you do to create additional meaningful inclusion opportunities for Arlington’s special needs students?

What is at issue here goes beyond just socialization. Inclusion opportunities must help special needs students access the general curriculum with accommodations. Diploma options should be reevaluated. I feel that APS has good anti-bullying initiatives that help create an inclusive environment, but we can do more. When I was in first grade, I was assigned a friend with special needs. Now my special needs son is in first grade. He feels everyone’s mean to him (not true) except one girl and his teachers. For students with speech and social difficulties, the Special Education Parent Liaison Project could help. Opportunities for reverse inclusion should be sought. All students should know how to relate to others who have challenges they do not experience themselves. In school, students could pair up with assigned special needs buddies to play something fun, even if for only 10 minutes a day. After school, parents often lack access to information to make social opportunities available to their young kids. An intermediary, like the parent liaison, could protect the privacy of message recipients while still helping to pass notes on from parents reaching out. In higher grades, special needs kids should be included in the same ceremonial activities, clubs, and committees as their non-disabled peers. All students and staff should be sensitized to the general needs of disabled students. Of course APS staff members have to keep details of specific IEPs and 504s private.

8. In Arlington, we are fortunate to have different optional programs to choose from, such as foreign language immersion.  However, these programs can be challenging for students with disabilities.  What is your plan to support the students with disabilities in these programs so they can access the curriculum and succeed alongside their non-disabled peers?

For a long time my wife and I really wanted our son to do Spanish Immersion. I used to be a school-based substitute at Key Elementary and my son had the option of attending Claremont. We doubted the program would work for my son with his speech difficulties. To their credit, Claremont was very welcoming and ready to take him. All parents have to make their own decisions. Laws will protect your child. You can outline accommodations you believe should be on your child’s individualized plan to address any disability. The curriculum must be made accessible for your child. If we had decided to put our son at Claremont, I might have insisted he get speech support in Spanish in addition to English. I believe the school would have had to provide that support to comply with the law. We chose to value the science focus of Hoffman-Boston more, and now our son excels at Math.

 

Tannia Talento

2016 Arlington SEPTA School Board Candidate Questionnaire

1. What do you view to be the most significant issues facing APS?  

APS is facing many issues, all of which affect our students’ education and deserve thoughtfulness, research and attention.  I believe there are three major issues that currently rise above the rest.

1. The capacity issue affects the core operations of any school division.  This issue is affecting every part of our county; therefore, it is imperative that we address it with a long-term vision of how we will provide cost-effective learning environments to serve all students in Arlington.  Meaningful community engagement from the beginning of any capacity-related process is a must.  Most importantly, focus on instruction and optimal learning environments must remain central to the discussion of capacity issues.

2. APS continues to grapple with closing the achievement gap.  While APS has long-standing efforts and vision in closing the achievement gap and progress has been made, the achievement gap is still unacceptably high. Accelerating efforts to close the achievement gap will improve education for all APS students.  In alignment with APS’ implementation of ATSS, I believe in the power of data to reveal information about the needs of our students.  I believe we need to further disaggregate our student achievement data to better isolate and understand the factors that most likely lead students to underperform.  This important information will help us to see a path forward to accelerate our efforts in closing the gap.  We can use our ATSS and Whole Child initiatives (and the many other resources in APS) to accurately identify the academic and non-academic needs and provide the tailored academic and whole-child support that every student in Arlington deserves to ensure they reach their full potential regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, and ability.

3. Mental health is an issue that begs APS’ attention.  We need to improve our understanding of the mental health needs of our students and families at all levels of education.  Our students cannot focus on education if they are in a mental health crisis.  It is time that our community talk about mental health and recognize that it affects so many students and families in our system.  We have to provide our educators, support staff, and administrators resources and education on how to respond when students comes to them or when our schools are experiencing a tragedy.  We need to be proactive and not reactive.  We have a unique opportunity to do this as we explore our vision for educating the Whole Child.

2. What do you believe to be the most significant issues or challenges within APS relating to students with disabilities?

APS has to re-envision the education of students with disabilities to address one of its most significant challenges.  We cannot continue to segregate our students during the education process and we cannot allow the achievement gap to be so large for our students with disabilities.  It is through inclusion that we will give each student the chance to reach their full potential. This does not just benefit students with disabilities but all students.  Inclusive classrooms reflect the real world.  When children are learning in classes with students that have similarities and differences, they learn to appreciate diversity; they learn to respect and gain an understanding for differing abilities, different cultures, and different people.  We pride ourselves in being a diverse and inclusive community and this needs to be reflected in our education, leadership and learning communities.

3. Describe your experience working with or on behalf of special needs individuals.

In one of my early roles of advocacy for the APS community I worked with a group of parents to address middle-school block scheduling.  I actively worked with a group of parents to come up with a hybrid block schedule that ensured the consideration of students with special needs in the block schedule learning environment.  As an ACI vice chair and voting member I supported and voted for the ATSS implementation process that was presented by the Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee.  Through my advocacy work on the ESOL/HILT program in APS I have met with leaders of the special needs community on many occasions and we have worked together to ensure that the needs of the ESOL/HILT community and the special needs community are being addressed in APS.  As a member of an adhoc group comprising ASEAC, ELA and ESOL/HILT, we came together last year to advocate before APS leadership and the School Board for effective and coordinated Literacy services to meet the needs of SWD, ELLs and struggling students.  ELLs who also have a disability suffer some of the most egregious educational services due to the lack of understanding of language acquisition, the lack of understanding of the students’ special needs, and the lack of expectations of student performance.  On several occasions, the ESOL/HILT CAC has jointly or in a parallel fashion advocated for professional development, regarding ELLs and students with special needs, for our administrators and teachers.

4. What steps should APS take to improve the education and overall welfare of students with disabilities in Arlington? 

While we can never stop improving our education system for all of our students, some of the immediate steps we can take in regard to improving our education and overall welfare of students with disabilities in Arlington are:  i) Provide professional development for teachers and administrators regarding the education of students with disabilities as well as understanding and implementing effective, research-based teaching practices for students with disabilities; ii) Educate the community about inclusion, co-teaching and the benefits it brings to all students; iii) Educate central office, administrators, teachers and the community about the legal requirements for educating students with disabilities; iv) Ensure that all staff members who work with students with disabilities have a clear understanding of the needs, support systems and accommodations required for each of the students they work with and that all paper work is transparent and is easily accessible to parents and all teachers educating the student; and iv) Ensure that we hire staff and teachers with awareness, empathy, and understanding for the diversity and equitable education we expect each one of our students to gain and access in APS.

5. If elected to the School Board, one of your most important job duties will be to ensure that APS complies with the many laws governing students with disabilities. Describe your familiarity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ensure that our students with disabilities have equal access to public education by requiring districts to provide the services and accommodations needed for our students with disabilities to succeed.  They also guarantee parents’ rights to be fully informed of all services provided to their students.  I look forward to working with APS to make certain that our practices are up to date with these laws and that they result in equitable participation in education for our students with disabilities.  Groups such as SEPTA, ASEAC, and the Inclusion Task Force play an important role in ensuring that the school division is responsive, so I look forward to working with SEPTA and other groups to make sure APS is meeting its obligations under IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

6. Many students with disabilities in APS are segregated from their non-disabled peers in separate classrooms, at times against the wishes of those students and their parents. What will you do, if elected, to end inappropriate and undesired segregation of people with disabilities in Arlington?  What will you do to create additional meaningful inclusion opportunities for Arlington’s special needs students?

One of my goals, if elected to the School Board, is to maintain a focus on closing the achievement gap.  I understand that research shows that inclusion models of Special Education services are most effective in providing students with disabilities equal access to education, which in turn will help APS make strides in closing the achievement gap related to students with disabilities. Arlington prides itself in being an inclusive and diverse community and we should be an example of this in our schools by teaching all of our students to respect and appreciate diversity.  Therefore, when deliberating decisions brought before me on the board, I will always consider concerns about unnecessary segregation of students with disabilities and any other student group subjected to segregation.

7. In Arlington, we are fortunate to have different optional programs to choose from, such as foreign language immersion.  However, these programs can be challenging for students with disabilities.  What is your plan to support the students with disabilities in these programs so they can access the curriculum and succeed alongside their non-disabled peers?

Educational research supports that students with disabilities can succeed with the proper accommodations and supports provided by teachers who are knowledgeable with how to work with students with disabilities.  I believe that language immersion programs are no exception, and as a school board member I would support efforts that equip such programs with the expectation, resources and staffing that allow them to provide for the equitable participation of students with disabilities.  I would like APS to look at all of its choice programs and opportunities to improve access to students with disabilities and other students groups, such as English language learners.

 

Michael Shea

2016 Arlington SEPTA School Board Candidate Questionnaire

1. What do you view to be the most significant issues facing APS?

The most significant challenge for APS is to ensure that all students are supported and are well-prepared for life after high school, not just the students whose achievements are celebrated by the summary “measures of success.”  That means that all students are challenged and able to build upon their unique strengths.  We need to accomplish that goal while finding more seats to eliminate overcrowding and minimize the use of classroom trailers.

2. What do you believe to be the most significant issues or challenges within APS relating to students with disabilities?

First, we need to ensure that any segregation of students with disabilities is in their best interests.  The 2013 evaluation of our special education services cited data to show APS was segregating students to a greater extent than the national average.  APS should always be a leader in our inclusionary programs, not trailing the national average.  Second, as we design new facilities and re-design existing facilities, we need to ensure that students with special needs are fully supported and do not bear unfair burdens related to overcrowding.  Third, as we integrate new technology and new approaches to instruction, we need to ensure either that students with special needs benefit equally or that we devise adaptations to support them.  I am an advocate for problem-based learning and the new Arlington Tech.  Some research suggests that problem-based learning and STEM are often supportive to students with autism.  But any benefits will not accrue automatically, but only with attention to social skills building and an inclusionary environment.  Fourth, as we re-think what skills and competencies our students should have by the completion of high school, we need to ensure either that new tests/assessments/certifications are equally available to any students with special needs or that adaptations are developed.

3. Describe your experience working with or on behalf of special needs individuals.

In my thirty years of experience working as an economist, I have worked with individuals with different disabilities.  They have been supported and able to make full contributions in terms of work effort.  I attribute to this to the fact that so much of my work experience was in the Federal environment, underscoring the need for clear policies and practices of inclusion.  I also worked for a Wall Street bank for three years, which was also an inclusive environment.  I credit that to the particular group of senior executives at that bank.  I had some chronic health issues in that time which limited my own mobility and was supported by the bank management.  My work experience and personal values convince me of the clear need for policies of inclusion in our schools and workplaces.

4. What steps should APS take to improve the education and overall welfare of students with disabilities in Arlington?

First, we need to re-examine all cases where special needs students are being segregated against their wishes or the wishes of their families.  We should facilitate a fair appeals process in those cases.  We need to avoid a situation where the only effective and fair appeals process is costly litigation.  We need to rely on objective measures of student needs and abilities as much as possible.

Giving too much discretionary power of decisions to any school system is a bad policy in this area.  As an economist, I understand incentives and there are probably some school systems which are motivated by aggregate SOL scores and not individual student best interests.  We need to ensure that Arlington does not become that kind of school system.

Second, we need to ensure that all our technology choices and initiatives are fully inclusionary.  Not all students have to use new technologies in the same ways, but all need to be benefitting from their deployment.  Third, we need to continue to improve our data collection and reporting so that students with special needs, limited English proficiency, or economic disadvantage are reported separately.  In order to close gaps, we need to see the gaps.  If you look at the APS Quick Facts, there is a reference to being “inclusive” but students with special needs are not mentioned in a single program highlight or statistic.  That form of invisibility needs to change. Fourth, we need to expand programs of support such as the ATSS, based on measures of their effectiveness.  Fifth, we need to challenge our students with IEPs to take more advanced courses in high school and ensure they have the support they need to succeed.  Sixth, we need to ensure that we teach all students the value of an inclusionary environment by example and instruction.

5. If elected to the School Board, one of your most important job duties will be to ensure that APS complies with the many laws governing students with disabilities. Describe your familiarity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Among the laws governing students with disabilities, IDEA, Section 504, and Title II of ADA are important guidelines on how we use inclusionary practices to support students with special needs.  The requirements under IDEA are the primary legal impetus for APS to educate students with special needs in the least restrictive environment.  Inclusionary education benefits students with special needs and the Federal Government provides funding to enable school systems such as APS to achieve that goal.  We should not set as a goal simple legal compliance with IDEA, but rather embrace the inclusionary objective and pursue it to the maximum extent possible.  Recent signals from the Department of Education on more flexibility for school districts receiving funding under Title I of ESEA, IDEA, and other funding sources should be a signal to APS that we can be innovative in using those funds.

Section 504 is not as specifically defined as IDEA in terms of what students it covers.  Given that lack of specificity under Section 504, APS should commit itself to the broadest interpretation feasible and use the inclusionary guidance to meet the needs of as many students as possible.  Title II of the ADA is another opportunity for APS to go beyond just compliance.  The law requires that public entities, when their programs are viewed in their entirety, are physically accessible to anyone with special needs.  Our goal should be to ensure that each facility and each program are themselves physically accessible.

If we can switch from simple compliance to a more expansive embrace of objectives, we would achieve greater inclusiveness.  Our programmatic evaluations, for example, would begin to consistently reflect student with IEPs and other students with special needs.

6. Many students with disabilities in APS are segregated from their non-disabled peers in separate classrooms, at times against the wishes of those students and their parents. What will you do, if elected, to end inappropriate and undesired segregation of people with disabilities in Arlington?  What will you do to create additional meaningful inclusion opportunities for Arlington’s special needs students?

First, I would request an analysis of all programs where special needs students are being segregated from their non-disabled peers.  What criteria were used by APS to determine that those students were better served in that environment?  I would work with the rest of the School Board to develop clear standards of inclusion that minimized the discretionary power of APS in segregating students. Second, I would request an evaluation of the appeals process by which students and families, faced with segregation against their wishes, try to change the APS decisions. Third, continuing to build on the recommendations of the 2013 special education evaluation, I would advocate for inclusionary targets and goals over 3-5 years.  Fourth, during my four-year term, I would advocate for “Inclusion” to be the overriding theme coming from School Board guidance to ACI and to APS.  Fifth, I would review APS media production and ensure that students with special needs are fairly represented in the stories, videos, and highlights being released.

7. In Arlington, we are fortunate to have different optional programs to choose from, such as foreign language immersion.  However, these programs can be challenging for students with disabilities.  What is your plan to support the students with disabilities in these programs so they can access the curriculum and succeed alongside their non-disabled peers?

First, I would review enrollments at all our choice programs sorted by sub-groups including students with special needs to identify those who are underrepresented, based on their share of the total student population.  If there are persistent low enrollments for any sub-groups, I would first have that school’s administration comment on the data and describe any efforts they are making to broaden their participation.  If needed, I would advocate for a programmatic evaluation on that issue.  The objective is to identify and remove barriers to participation. Second, my intention is to advocate for new choice programs, particularly at the secondary level, to best serve our students.  I would ensure that any new programs are designed and implemented to be fully inclusionary of students with special needs.

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Vote button photo credit:  Chris Stoichiometry, CC license 3.0.