Special Ed Investigator Approved, Aug. 8 Public Hearing Set

Hagerty-Ross' Statement

At our last meeting, the Board of Education approved a motion directing its attorneys -- in consultation with the Connecticut State Department of Education -- to identify an independent investigator to look into concerns regarding special education in 2012-13, including allegations of unlawfully altering IEPs and the development or implementation of unlawful practices or procedures.

These are serious allegations requiring a full and fair investigation. It was determined that the investigator must be

(1) experienced in conducting investigations into allegations of wrongdoing in the area of special education,

(2) knowledgeable about special education, and

(3) independent of the Board, school district, its attorneys, and concerned members of the community.

Through a series of recommendations from various Special Education leaders across the nation, we are pleased to announce that Attorney Susan Gamm will be investigating this matter.

Attorney Gamm, who hails from Illinois, is highly experienced in conducting investigations in special education. She was an Assistant Civil Rights Attorney and Division Director of the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education.

Attorney Gamm is also very knowledgeable about special education, serving as both a special education teacher and director of special services during her extensive career.

Finally, she is independent; she does not have any prior relationship with the Board, its attorney or the Town of Darien. We are pleased that Attorney Gamm has agreed to conduct this investigation and expect that she will begin her work immediately. Attorney Gamm will report directly to the Board and her findings will be shared with the community.

I also want to update the community on next steps as we work with the community to move forward with special education in the coming school year. The Board of Education values the feedback and input of our entire community -- our parents, our teachers, our administrators, and others.

We have a wonderful history of working in partnership with our community to reflect, grow, and improve. It is important that we continue to do so. On Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Darien Town Hall Auditorium, the Board of Education will hold a special meeting in public to hear directly from our school community -- to hear from our parents, our teachers, and others.

As the community knows, the Board has directed its attorneys, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to identify an independent educator who will oversee special education in 13-14.

We want to hear from our community about the qualities, the approach, and the expectations for this person. We have invited Attorney Gamm, the independent investigator, to attend this meeting to introduce her to the Darien community.

Attorney Gamm will share her approach and timetable with us. While we understand that this is a very popular time for families to vacation timing of this hire is critical. We are working through the logistics to gather parent input from those who are unable to attend.

As soon as we confirm the details, we will post additional information about the meeting and contact information for our special investigator on the Darien Public School website. We look forward to hearing from and listening to our community on Aug. 8.

Resolution Adopted by the Board

Whereas by Letter dated July 18, 2013, the Connecticut State Department of Education informed the Darien Public Schools of a number of findings of noncompliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and
Whereas further allegations have been made concerning IEP changes without adequate parent notification, and

Whereas concerns have been expressed that utilization of such training materials and/or such IEP changes may have adversely affected the educational programs of Darien students, and

Whereas the Darien Board of Education and the Superintendent are committed to assuring that such concerns be investigated independently and thoroughly, and

Whereas the Board of Education wishes to involve parents in remedial steps to restore confidence in the special education programs in Darien,
Now therefore the Board of Education takes the following actions:

1.    Attorney Susan Gamm is hereby appointed as independent investigator of these allegations as specified in the related contract, and the Board authorizes its Chairperson to execute the related contract.

2.    The Board will hold a public hearing on August 8, 2013 at the Darien Town Hall Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. to hear from parents as to what qualities and experience that they would recommend the Board seek in appointing an independent person to oversee special education in Darien during the 2013-2014 school year.

3.    The Board will establish a personnel search committee to identify, interview and recommend an independent person to oversee special education in Darien during the 2013-2014 school year, which committee shall include at least two parents of Darien students.

4.    The Board directs that Ms. Theresa DeFrancis provide it and the community periodic updates concerning the status of her revision of training materials to comply with legal requirements, retraining of Darien staff and related parent involvement.

5.    The Board solicits parent and staff input prior to August 8, 2013 on the following procedures to address parent concerns over the potentially adverse impact of incorrect training materials and/or IEP changes on the education of their children. At that time the Board may take action to establish such procedures:

a.    Parents who have such concerns may contact their building administrator to discuss concerns and possible agreement on an IEP amendment as allowed by state and federal law to address those concerns.

b.    If such discussion does not result in agreement, or if a parent prefers a more formal process, a parent may request that a meeting be convened with Darien staff before an impartial person knowledgeable in special education matters (e.g., a person who has previously served as a special education hearing officer) to present evidence informally and to receive a prompt nonbinding recommendation from such impartial person as to whether and how to resolve the parent concerns.

c.    These informal processes are intended to facilitate prompt resolution of parent concerns, and they do not affect the rights of parents to request a meeting of the planning and placement team or to request a due process hearing, both of which are rights guaranteed by law.

Again, we are working through the logistics to gather the parent and staff input. An Ed-alert and the information will be posted on the Darien Public School website as soon as we have finalized the details.