The State Department of Education has concluded the Meeker School District had several violations concerning a student with learning disabilities and has ordered the district to remedy those.
A report dated July 11 this year, says a state-level complaint was filed on May 12, 2022 by Cassandra Beeson on behalf of her daughter, the student, a child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
That was three days after Beeson had addressed the Meeker Board of Education on May 9 during the citizens participation of its meeting. Meeker Board President Ashley Sellers advised Beeson that evening before she spoke that the board members could listen to her concerns but are not allowed to respond.
The report stated the Office of Special Education Services (SES) of the State Department of Education(OSDE) determined that the complaint identified one allegation subject to the jurisdiction of the complaint process under IDEA and its implementing regulations.
Beeson said on July 12 she received a copy of the report issued by the State Education Department on July 11 and was told the school district received the report the same day.
She said she’s had no contact with the school district since the report was issued.
“If I do not hear from the district within two weeks, I am to give Todd Loftin a call,” she said.
Loftin is the Deputy Superintendent of the Special Education Division of the State Education Department.
Attempts to reach Meeker School Supt. Jeff Pruitt for comments or for a response to the State Department of Education’s report were unsuccessful.
Beeson related, “my daughter will be in the seventh grade this year. It’s still to be determined if she will be at the elementary school or the middle school,” she noted.
The SDE stated in its report, “The district did not take appropriate steps to ensure the student was served in the Least Restrictive Environment
(LRE); did not provide progress reports; the district did not obtain consent before conducting an FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment); and the district did not consider the need for ESY.
The report noted that placement pertains to the point on a continuum in which the amount and intensity of services is found, while location pertains to the geographical location in which a student is served.
According to the SDE’s conclusion, in January, when the student was to be served for a half day in the middle school and a half day in the elementary school, this constituted a change in location but not a change in placement.
In March of this year, the student began spending a half day at home and the other half at the elementary school, this was a change in both placement and location because the amount of services the district was able to of fer was decreased by half given the student was educated at home in the morning.
Beeson said, “From the beginning of the second semester we didn’t have the required meeting to talk about her placement.
“Every nine weeks school personnel has to remit to make sure her goals are being met. They are supposed to do a proper monitoring throughout school year and if so to set new goals,” Beeson claims.
The report stressed that consent for evaluations and reevaluations is a critical procedural safeguard for parents. It further comments, “regarding consent for the FBA used to develop the Behavior Improvement Plan (BIP), the district did not acquire consent before the FBA and as such the documents are moot.
“Parent consent for an evaluation was not acquired until April 25, 2022, several months after the date of the BIP,” the report states.
The State Department of Education issued several directives to what it calls “to remedy these violations.”
The district’s Individual Education Plan team was instructed to meet prior to the first day of school to determine the placement and location in which Beeson’s daughter will be served.
It directs the district that prior to the IEP holding the meeting, to generate progress reports for the fourth quarter to appropriately develop the IEP and that documentation is to be provided to the OSDESES no later than Aug. 31.
It further directs the district to contract with a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) to conduct an FBA, help develop the BIP and train appropriate staff on how to properly implement the BIP.
The directive states the BCBA is to be selected by the district and approved by the OSDE-SES and documentation is to be provided to the OSDESES no later than Sep. 30.
The district was directed to develop policies and procedures that include:
Monitoring progress toward IEP annual goals.
Reporting progress toward IEP annual goals.
Obtaining parental consent.
Utilizing progress monitoring data to help determine the need for Extended School Year Services and this is to be documented and sent to the OSDE-SES no later than Sep. 30.