Education State Director for Special Education Carrie Johns has announced the schedule of district audio conferences that will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the respective conference rooms of the St. Thomas and St. Croix State Offices of Special Education.
The 90-minute, interactive audio conference will discuss “Getting Manifestation Determinations Right: Practical Strategies for Compliance,” which will bepresented by Attorney Jim Walsh and focus on practical applications, such as what to do when the behavior is a manifestation of a student’s disability, the parties disagree on the decision, or the student’s behavior falls under the “special circumstances” spelled out in the law. Other questions will be answered such as:
- When is a student’s disability a direct cause of misconduct?
- How should IEP team members make that decision?
- What are the roles of the parents and outside experts?
- How do you discern willful behavior vs. behavior caused by a disability?
- And most importantly, how can you be sure you’ve made the right decision?
Who Should Attend? Special education directors, insular and deputy superintendents, general and special education teachers, IEP team members, special education supervisors, principals and assistant principals, parents/parent advocates, counselors, school attorneys/mediators and hearing officers.
Johns encourages all special education stakeholders to attend these very important presentations. The St. Thomas Office is located at No. 210-3A Altona in the Frostco Building; the St. Croix Office is located at Estate Orange Grove, Bay 9 and 10, Building 2, Christiansted.
For more information, contact Truvia Plaskett on St. Thomas at 776-5802 or Eddie Parrilla on St. Croix at 719-7682.
