Educational Equity and Access

It is already March??? Did we have a winter? Shh.. I probably should not say that out loud. In this edition we spotlight Ramadan, we have a message for building administrators, and a feature about a guest visit to Summit High School. We also have a very special EEA WE FIND A WAY story to tell you about, and don't forget about the podcast. Always a great time supporting students and staff.

~Dr. Cassandra Suggs

Hosted by Dr. Cassandra Suggs and Emily Walshaw, each podcast episode inspires to engage, educate, and entertain. This episode we celebrate Black History Month. We spoke to Rachel Johnson; Music Teacher at Westridge Elementary and Shannon Batt; Gifted Resource Teacher at Lafayette High School. Please visit Rockwood School District on YouTube to view and listen to all past podcasts.

We wanted to inform you that an email has been sent to all building administrators and other district staff sharing about the upcoming religious holiday; Ramadan. In an effort to make sure that all students feel a sense of belonging, the Educational Equity and Access Department wants to provide you with information about Ramadan 2024.

Please see the email text below to learn how this holiday may impact some of our students district wide. We look forward to hearing about celebrations regarding Ramadan this year.

Hello All,
With the start of Ramadan just a few weeks away, we would like to remind you of the importance of supporting our learners who are observing this religious holiday.
In an effort to make sure that all students feel a sense of belonging, the Educational Equity and Access Department wants to provide you with information about Ramadan 2024.
Please note that this is a month of fasting and prayer, so you may have some students periodically absent from school, unable to eat lunch, have a snack, etc. During this Islamic calendar month, please take into consideration many of our elementary age students may not want to participate in outdoor recess and many students of all ages may be challenged with the physical activities and games during PE classes.

We thank you for making sure that your building has a plan and location in place should these students need an alternative learning environment for the time being.

We had the privilege of spreading our "EEA, WE FIND A WAY" grant out to even more schools recently. In an effort to make sure that all students have a snack during snack time, the EEA department is providing boxes of snacks to any elementary school building in the district that needs them. The response has been fantastic! Supporting students and our schools is what we love to do!

In early February Dr. Cassandra Suggs; Director of Educational Equity and Access visited Rockwood Summit High School. She joined the Child Development II classes where they discussed the importance of diverse children's literature. After hearing from Dr. Suggs, these same students read to the preschool class at the end of the month.

Gone are the days of sending a student to detention to wallow in self-pity with his head on a desk. A student with a disability who receives an in-school suspension now must have access to services on his IEP if his time outside of class is not to be counted as one of the 10 "free days" before a removal counts as a change in placement.

"It has been [ED's] long-term policy that an in-school suspension would not be considered a part of the days of suspension addressed in 34 CFR 300.530 as long as the child is afforded the opportunity to continue to appropriately participate in the general curriculum, continue to receive the services specified on the child's IEP, and continue to participate with nondisabled children to the extent they would have in their current placement." 71 Fed. Reg. 46,715 (2006).

"I have seen ISS used really well and really poorly," said Jennifer M. Deutch, an attorney at Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick, and Kohn LLP in Itasca, Ill. "I have seen schools offer services with social-emotional programming built into it. That can be really helpful. Make that time not just about a punishment, but about changing the student's behavior. You really have to try to create a continuum of service."

IEP teams need to ensure ISS does not inadvertently impede the learning of a student with disabilities or improperly change his placement. Time in this disciplinary setting should allow continued access to learning. Follow the tips below to achieve these aims while ensuring the ISS doesn't count toward 10 days of exclusionary discipline permitted before a change in placement.

• Continue to provide special education, related services. Make sure students are not just idling in a different classroom with a substitute teacher during ISS, Deutch said. A special educator should work with students. Students should also continue to receive their related services, such as speech-language therapy. It may make sense to offer students new social-emotional programming. A social worker can offer anger management lessons and promote restorative practices. "We need to make sure they're receiving their services," she said. "One urban high school has a classroom staffed with a social worker, special ed teacher, and general ed teacher, so students are accessing services and having that continuum."
• Look for opportunities to involve peers. There's no requirement that students receiving ISS have to stay in one room, Deutch said. Depending on a student's behavior, he may benefit from spending some time in a small group in a more structured setting to work on social skills as well as receive one-on-one services from a social worker. "We can provide push-out related services knowing that the group has a highly trained professional," she said.
• Verify need for ISS. Recognize that students may benefit from something other than an in-school suspension, Deutch said. For example, suspending a student for skipping class may defeat the purpose of getting her back into class. Instead, it may be better to offer adult or peer support during transitions so she makes it from class to class without distractions along the way. "We have to ask, 'Why are we using in-school suspensions when there are other restorative measures?'" she said.
• Recognize need for placement change. Remain cognizant of how often students are given ISS because even if they are getting their services, they may ultimately need a different placement to improve their behavior, Deutch said. "We have to acknowledge that the consistent use of in-school suspensions is without question a change in placement," she said. "If you continue to do this, it's essentially changing the student's placement. You're getting to a situation where you're possibly not providing FAPE."
• Document everything. Use service logs to keep track of services offered to students in ISS and collect data on progress as you would outside of ISS, Deutch said. For example, if an occupational therapist works with a student in ISS on self-regulation strategies, she should record her name, the date, the time, the minutes she has provided, and the exercises she completed with the student.
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See also:

· 4 fast facts you need to know about in-school suspensions
· Discipline Scenarios: Navigating the IDEA Procedural Framework, by Andrew Tatgenhorst, Esq., Janet Bubert, Esq., Peggy Duran-Klenclo, Esq.
· Your Blueprint for Compliant Short-Term Disciplinary Removals Under the IDEA and Section 504, by Amy K. Onaga, Esq.

Cara Nissman covers autism, school psychology, and IEP team issues for LRP Publications.

Did you know the Department of Educational Equity and Access has a public group in ParentSquare?

Parents, guardians, staff members, and students have the option to join public groups in ParentSquare.

To join our group on ParentSquare, follow these 3 simple steps:

1. From the home screen on ParentSquare, click "Groups" in the left sidebar under the "Participate" section.
2. Look for "Public" groups with the people icon.
3. 3. Click "Join Group" next to the group that interests you.