Arlington SEPTA Meeting
October 11, 2018
Syphax Education Center
2110 Washington Blvd.
Arlington, VA
I. Welcome Message from President and Introductions
Janna Dressel introduced the 2018-19 SEPTA Executive Board Members and greeted special guests from the Arlington Public Schools (APS) Office of Special Education, APS Transportation Services, APS Internal Audit, the Arlington School Board, and the Arlington Special Education Advisory Committee (ASEAC).
II. Officers’ Reports
Treasurer
Adam Mann shared the results of the audit report conducted over the summer by Gary Wells, which showed that SEPTA has nearly twice the amount of cash on hand as it did in the prior year (approximately $20,000). The budget for FY19 (which began on July 1, 2018) was approved and is available at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hQ2cC143s05271tObX5lj6V9PRmY85exMlLiCD1P_ec/edit?usp=sharing. The main differences from FY18 budget were:
- Membership target reduced from 300 to 250 members
- No more Whole Foods sponsorship, resulting in a reduction in revenue
- Increase in mini-grant budget from $5000 to $7000
- ChildFind grant is now listed as a separate line item.
- New events, such as cortical vision impairment training, have been added, while some old events, such as the PTA Reflections art workshop and Magic Paintbrush have been eliminated, due to low attendance. One parent expressed interest in continuing the Magic Paintbrush; Caroline Levy is willing to work with the parent to look into reinstating it.
- Speakers fund is now at $4000.
- The budget reflects a net loss. This is intentional, as having less cash on hand is necessary for fiscal responsibility.
Adam is not planning to continue serving as Treasurer in FY20 and therefore is seeking a replacement ideally by the summer of 2019 in order to provide for sufficient time for training to participate in the next audit.
VP Membership
Melissa Wadman reported that SEPTA currently has 120 members and encouraged everyone to renew their membership if they have not already. Sponsoring teachers for membership is also another option.
VP Fundraising
Minerva Trudo reported that the Phantom Ball began on October 11 th and runs through the end of the month. Contributions from $10-$100 are welcome. The next fundraiser will be the Holiday Online Auction, which will run from November 24 th -December 3 rd . Any help with sponsorships and donations would be appreciated; contact Minerva for more information.
VP Events/Programming
Hannah Grieco shared a flyer listing upcoming events, which include the Dyslexia Conference, Super Sibs meeting, November Monthly Meeting on Mental Health, Sensory Friendly Santa, Annual Super Chat w/ Dr. Murphy. Please contact Hannah if you have any ideas for programming.
Special Education Parent Liaison Coordinator
Cristina Camacho Yacobucci reported that the next parent liaison training will be on November 1st (morning and evening sessions).
Espacio Hispano Coordinator
Leslie Goodman publicized the availability of the Espacio Hispano webpage and email address for Spanish-speaking families. She also reported that families speaking other languages can be accommodated as well.
Other
Janna encouraged families to partake in the teal pumpkin initiative which is geared towards accommodating kids with food allergies. Displaying a teal pumpkin sign indicates to trick or treaters that non-food treats are provided.
III. Let’s Talk Transportation with APS Transportation Office and the Office of Special Education
The Parent Perspective
Janna Dressel and Tauna Szymanski of ASEAC and the leader of the Arlington Inclusion Task Force provided a presentation of the parents’ perspective on transportation issues with APS. The slides from their presentation are available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e94Rh-umlGUreJEiI_ZiixUwPSGuAqQo/view?usp=sharing and includes a copy of the Evaluation for Special Transportation document (slide 10), which includes a checklist and recommendation for transportation for completion by the IEP team in consultation with APS Transportation. Tauna addressed the legal authorities related to the provision of transportation services for students with disabilities. Tauna also highlighted that according to her calculations, nearly a third of APS Transportation’s staffing budget is devoted to providing special transportation services to 1.5% of APS’s student population.
Janna shared some parent feedback calling for improvement relating to including students with disabilities on general education buses and informing parents of the full range of transportation options for students with disabilities. For instance, some parents were not aware that special transportation services could be covered under a Section 504 plan, and not all students who are eligible for special transportation services necessarily need to use it. Additionally, some parents are hesitant to decline special transportation services for fear that they would not get it in the future. Another concern was that medical information is not always communicated to the bus staff despite Transportation Services being members of the IEP team.
There was also a lot of positive feedback from parents, particularly as to the transportation staff on the buses, as well as the identification of greater inclusion opportunities for students with disabilities, such as having an aide on a general education bus or having students in the neighborhood also ride a special education bus. It was also suggested that transportation could be a topic on Engage APS.
Director of Special Education Paul Jamelske clarified that there is now a drop-down option in the IEP which provides for the ability to decline special transportation services. Karen Archer reported that a number of students have transitioned out of special transportation over the past year.
Transportation 101
Kristin Haldeman and Angel Garcia-Ablanque of APS Transportation Services gave an overview of the resources and considerations that go into planning and operating bus transportation routes. The slides to their presentation are available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ez7nBw0ZkDaKSFJWYyE0f0K715du8sdO/view?usp=sharing. Among the challenges APS Transportation Services faces are the large volume of routes and stops, traffic volume, tight bell times for the various schools, and driver shortages and absences. Because the numbers of students who are eligible to take the bus, as well as those who actually use the bus, vary from year to year, planning can be particularly difficult. Generally, one bus and one assistant are staffed for buses transporting students who use special transportation services.
John Mickevice, Director of Internal Audit, for the School Board is currently reviewing the issue of transportation for students with disabilities, as required by their IEPs and Federal and State law, and is continuing to gather information through end of November.
Breakout Sessions
Meeting attendees broke into small groups to brainstorm ideas for improving the transportation of students with disabilities. Janna and Kristin will provide a more comprehensive summary of the ideas from the breakout sessions, which serve as the basis for an action plan. Among the ideas discussed were:
- Rethinking routing, especially among countywide programs and using a better modeling program;
- Shortening the length of routes and serving students with IEPs at their home schools;
- Considering more efficiencies, such as using smaller vehicles for routes with fewer students; the resulting cost savings could be used to hire other drivers or for training;
- Creating social stories and having physical therapist work with students to prepare them for riding general education buses;
- Improving communication not only between parents and APS Transportation Services but also between the IEP and APS Transportation Services. In the case of the latter, this would help ensure that transportation staff are aware of the student’s needs and contacts in the event of a medical emergency.
- Working to improve relationships between families and APS Transportation Service leadership.
Parents who wish to further engage on this important topic of transportation are encouraged to reach out to Janna (president@arlingtonsepta.org) and Kristin (Kristin.haldeman@apsva.us) directly.
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