Special Education Parent Newsletter
October 2021
Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) Updates and Needs
In our August newsletter, we introduced the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) to you. We are excited to share that we now have 56 of our 77 campuses represented on the SEPAC. We still need representatives on the SEPAC for the following campuses:
Arizona Fleming ES
Armstrong ES
Colony Bend ES
Colony Meadows ES
Glover ES
Holley ES
Hunters Glen ES
Jones ES
Lakeview ES
Malala ES
Meadows ES
Mission Bend ES
Mission West ES
Oyster Creek ES
Ridgemont ES
Settlers Way ES
Sienna Crossing ES
Townewest ES
McAuliffe MS
Quail Valley MS
Sugar Land MS
If your campus is listed above, we need you! Please contact Amruta Kulkarni if you are interested in serving as the SEPAC representative for your campus.
Additionally, we also need your help in reaching out to your campus SEPAC representative. For confidentiality reasons, the district is not permitted to give information about the other parents on campus directly to your campus SEPAC representative. As such, please note that your SEPAC Campus Representative does not have your name or contact information. If you would like to receive information from your campus SEPAC representative regarding information shared at SEPAC meetings and upcoming events, please contact your campus SEPAC representative directly. If you do not know who your campus SEPAC representative is, please reach out to your campus administration or to Amruta Kulkarni. Once you share your contact information with your SEPAC representative, they will be able to contact you going forward to share information and provide support and resources.
Without this connection, your SEPAC representative will not be able to build a community of support on your campus. The SEPAC encourages open communication, understanding, and mutual respect among all students, parents, and district educators. We appreciate your support as we work to fulfill the district’s mission of inspiring and equipping all students to pursue a future beyond what they can imagine.
Program and Service Highlights
Program Highlights
SAILS, ABC, and FLaSH
1. SAILS: Succeeding in Academic and Independent Living Skills:
The SAILS program generally serves students with cognitive and/or developmental delays who require a curriculum focusing on (1) academic instruction based on prerequisite skills that are aligned to grade level TEKS, (2) communication/social skills, (3) independent living skills, and (4) vocational instruction at the secondary level. It should be noted that diagnosis/disability does not drive the programming decision, and the ARD committee ultimately determines placement.The goal of the SAILS program is to inspire and equip all students to pursue future success through relevant academic instruction, development of functional skills, and setting a high level of expectation for post school outcomes.
The SAILS program is supported by special education teachers, general education teachers, paraprofessionals, related & instructional service providers (Speech, OT, PT, O&M, in-home and parent trainers, counseling, school health, assistive technology specialists, transportation, Adapted PE, DHH, and VI), campus administrators, district-level program managers and specialists, Licensed Specialists in School Psychology, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, and parents.
2. ABC: Academic, Behavior, and Communication
The ABC program provides intensive educational services for students who are kindergarten through 8th grade that require a highly structured environment. Students receiving ABC services typically demonstrate significant repetitive stereotypical or challenging behaviors, little to no functional communication skills, high need for visual/physical structure, and the need for “ready to learn” behavioral skills.
The goal of ABC is to provide special education students with adaptive, academic, behavioral, social, and communication skills necessary to be educated in an inclusive setting.
Overarching goals include increasing independence, functional communication, increasing social interaction skills, pro-social behaviors, and other skills students can further utilize as they transition into adulthood.
3. FLaSH: Functional Living and School Health services:
The FLaSH classroom generally serves students with significant physical and/or cognitive disabilities. The students may not be independently mobile and may often require full assistance to care for their daily needs. The focus of instruction is visual and auditory stimulation, motor skills development, assistive technology, interaction with others and, if possible, communication skills. Students are medically fragile, and they may require custodial care. It should be noted that diagnosis/disability does not drive the programming decision, and the ARD/IEP Committee ultimately determines placement.
The goal of the FLaSH program is to lead students to maximize their potential through relevant academic instruction, building positive relationships, assistive technology and setting a high level of expectations for post-school outcomes.
The FLaSH program is supported by special education teachers, general education teachers, paraprofessionals, school health providers, related & instructional services providers (Speech, OT, PT, O&M, in-home and parent trainers, assistive technology specialists, school health, transportation, Adapted PE, DHH, and VI), campus administrators, district-level program managers and specialists, Licensed Specialists in School Psychology, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, and parents.
Program Contacts for SAILS, ABC, and FLaSH Services:
Alexis Greer, Assistant Director, Specialized Programming
Holly Martinez, Program Manager, SAILS, ABC, FLaSH ES
Rebecca Kaminski, Program Manager, SAILS, ABC, FLaSH MS
Darin Quintero, Program Manager, SAILS, FLaSH HS
Physical Therapy Services
October is National Physical Therapy Month, so we wanted to highlight the work our dedicated Physical Therapists do to support our students.
1. Enable the student to travel through the school environment.
2. Enable the student to participate in classroom activities.
3. Enable the student to maintain and change positions in the classroom.
4. Enable the student to access common school areas such as: stairs, restrooms, the cafeteria or the school bus.
Purpose of Physical Therapy in the School Setting:
Physical Therapy specializes in school-based evaluations, consultation, and therapy services for students with disabilities for the purpose of improving functional performance and independence in the educational setting. Educationally based Physical Therapy (PT) differs from medically necessary PT. Both Federal and State law dictate that educational services concentrate on a child’s ability to function in and receive benefit from their education in the school setting, “to attain a free and appropriate education.” Evaluations and therapies are designed in consideration of the child’s ability to make progress on IEP goals/objectives. In conjunction with the IEP team, areas in which progress is delayed or limited are identified and therapists design, recommend, and implement strategies and reasonable accommodations as appropriate for the school environment, with the overall goal being access and participation.
School-Based Therapy vs. Clinical Therapy:
Therapists in the medical community direct their attention primarily toward the child’s impairments, whereas education-based therapists direct their attention toward removing barriers from the student’s school environment and assisting the educational staff to understand the different considerations that must be given to children with disabilities. PT with students in the school must be educationally relevant. Educationally relevant can be defined as therapy directly related to performance in the educational environment. Therapists work with students and teachers to help each student acquire the functional abilities needed to access his or her educational materials and move about the school. Therapists may work with a student to find alternative methods for participating in school activities or adapt equipment so that he/she can function better while at school. Assistance may occur in areas such as the classroom, lunchroom, or restroom. Therapists can help the student participate in activities on the playground, on field trips and at school sports events, if appropriate.
Physical Therapy Contacts:
Rowena DoradoMichelle Nava
Chaitali Patel
Casey Penny
Emelie Pletcher
TEA Updates
Updates to The Special Education Dispute Resolution Handbook
The TEA Special Education Dispute Resolution Process now offers the handbook in a variety of languages which can be found at the following links: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic. Please visit the TEA Dispute Resolution Page for more information.
Supplemental Special Education Services
SB 1716 passed in the 87th Legislative session expanded the current Supplemental Special Education Services (SSES) program which gives $1,500 grants to families of qualifying Special Education students. Beginning November 1, 2021, new eligibility guidelines will go into full effect, making all currently enrolled Texas public school students served by Special Education eligible! Visit the SSES Homepage to apply and review program information.
Fort Bend ISD Resources and Trainings
Free Assistive Technology Training
Through our partnership with Region IV, we are offered free Assistive Technology training sessions on the ATIA website. In order to access the course for free, please create a free account. Go to the learning catalog and select the courses you want to attend and put them into your cart. Once you proceed to checkout, enter the access code (22INCLUSIONTXPD) and your cart total will drop to $0.00, finish the checkout process to register and receive credit for the course.
More Information: https://www.atia.org/texas-online-course-subscription-webpage/
FBISD Dyslexia Awareness Parent Night
October is Dyslexia awareness month. Will you help us spread the word? Fort Bend ISD would like you to join us for our annual parent night, hosted virtually on October 28, 2021, starting at 6:30. For further information, please see the flyer below.
2021-2022 Special Education Parent Learning Opportunities
Community Resources
Academic Resources
https://www.fcrr.org/resource-database?keys=dyslexia&tid_1=All&tid_2=All: Looking for additional research- and evidence-based resources? The FCRR Resource Database pulls together over 650 materials from across the center’s numerous research, innovation, and engagement activities. Users can search available materials by resource type, project, and stakeholder audience. We invite you to continue learning and growing with FCRR.
https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives: Engage your students in online literacy learning with these interactive tools that help them accomplish a variety of goals—from organizing their thoughts to learning about language—all while having fun.
https://visuwords.com/: Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. Additionally, learn how words associate.
https://www.quill.org/: Quill provides free writing and grammar activities for elementary, middle, and high school students.
Community Events
Webinars from Consolidated Planning Group (CPG)
Brazos Bend Guardianship Services Information Session
Brazos Bend Guardianship Services is hosting the next Guardianship Information Session on Thursday, October 28th by Zoom. Join the Brazos Bend Guardianship Services' Executive Director, Kirk Monroe, along with BBGS Board Member and attorney, Eric Junker, to learn about the guardianship process.
To join the meeting you will need to register in advance by clicking on the link below.
Register for this meeting by clicking this link
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Contact Kirk Monroe at 281-232-7701 or by e-mail at kmonroe@brazosbendguardianship.org if you have any questions.