- Seclusion to be used only as a behavior intervention strategy.
- Seclusion rooms to be used only if part of a student’s IEP, or if the student is posing an imminent danger to self or others.
- Seclusion rooms have a ceiling of comparable height to other rooms in the building and comparable heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting.
- School employees have proper training in restraint to prevent harm.
Received Information on the Kansas Parent Information Center
Dr. Nancy Kraft, director of the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center, shared with the Board how the Center is working with Kansas schools to promote parental involvement and to provide resources for educators and families on how children can be successful in school.
Received Update on the Kansas Writing Standards
Dr. Tom Foster, deputy commissioner, Division of Learning Services, reviewed the work of the writing committee in developing accountability targets for the Kansas Writing Assessments. The committee, composed of Kansas educators, was charged with developing a series of performance targets for use with student results on the writing assessment under the performance criteria of the Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA) system. The committee’s draft featured a stable accountability target based on statistical data from student writing assessments in Kansas, a challenging standard for student achievement, technical assurances for large-scale assessments, an index to reward significant growth in student achievement, and other components that will maintain quality in writing programs while encouraging growth in student achievement.
Received Information on Kansas Career Preparation Initiative
The Board received an update by Linda Oborny, assistant director, state and federal programs, on the status of the Kansas Career Pipeline (KCP). An overview of changes within the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education legislation was also presented.
Received Recommendations of the Charter School Review Committee
The Board received information on the twenty-one approved charter schools petitions from Dr. Larry Englebrick, deputy commissioner, Division of School Innovations. The current Charter Schools Grant allows for ten petitions to be funded for the 2007-08 school year. The twenty-one petitions were reviewed by a committee and scored according to a new rubric. The maximum score was 188, and a charter school had to receive a minimum score of 144 points for it to be recommended to the State Board.
The Board will review the recommendations and take action on the proposal at the April meeting.
Received Quarterly Report from the Kansas School for the Deaf
The Board met at the Kansas School for the Deaf on Wednesday, March 14, to receive the 2nd quarterly report and to view student presentations, outreach activities, and classes.
Received Quarterly Report from the Kansas School for the Blind
The Board reconvened at 1:15 p.m. at the Kansas School for the Blind. Board members received the 2nd quarterly report, highlighting several campus-based and statewide outreach initiatives and activities. The Board was then joined by Accessible Arts, Inc., its board, honorees, and guests for the Annual Arts Awards ceremony.
Gaby Lucas received the Distinguished Service award for her work with The Jellybean Conspiracy. The Jellybean Conspiracy is a play that is performed as part of a high school theatre’s regular season. The lead is always a student who has a developmental disability, usually Down syndrome, and also features a cast that includes local students who have disabilities. Gaby Lucus is currently the resident choreographer for BEST Network and The Jellybean Conspiracy.
Two Wichita educators were co-named as Educator of the Year. Nancy Rose works with children who have severe behavior disorders at the Greiffenstein Special Day School, and Susan McHugh works in east Wichita with early childhood and adolescents who have moderate to severe mental retardation. As adaptive music educators in the Wichita public schools, Rose and McHugh have served students with all types of disabilities from ages 3-21. They have also mentored many student teachers.
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