Memorandum

FROM: Sandy Enloe, Director of Special Education

TO: SDC Teachers

RE: Protocols for Placement in Social Development Classes (SDC) in Sevier County

DATE: December 14, 2000

CC: Dr. Jack A.Parton, Superintendent

Mr. Jim Wade

Principals

Under the guidelines of Public Law 105-17(the 1997 Amendments to IDEA), students must be placed in the least restrictive environment possible. This means that they should be educated in their neighborhood schools and in regular education classrooms with appropriate modifications and accommodations, except in those rare circumstances when the student’s individual needs are best met in a more restrictive, self-contained program. Generally, the use of these restrictive placements occurs when the student’s conduct or behavior is so disruptive or threatening to him/her or to others that placement in a more restrictive environment would be to the student’s benefit. The law does not accept placement in restrictive environments for the benefit or convenience of the school. Also, students do not have to have an emotional disturbance classification to be served in the SDC. E D is a very permanent and disabling condition, and it can impact the student’s ability to do many things as an adult. I would encourage psychologists to be very hesitant in labeling students E D. The IEP Team simply needs to determine that an SDC placement would be the most appropriate for the student, as long as the student has been certified as disabled. The parents, as members of the team, need to be in agreement with the decision.

Prior to the placement of a student in an SDC, the following actions need to be taken:

1. The student’s IEP goals and objectives must be appropriate, must address the behaviors in question, and must be appropriately implemented.

2. A behavior intervention plan (BIP) must have been developed, and a functional behavior assessment (FBA) must have been conducted. The BIP must address modifications and accommodations that relate to the behavior and to its elimination. Documentation of strategies attempted must be on record prior to removal from the regular education program.

3. Parents must be in agreement with the placement, and an IEP developed.

4. The IEP must address the behavior with the intention of allowing the student to return to the regular education environment as soon as possible.

No student may be placed in an SDC who is not certified as needing special education and related services. Use of the SDC for the discipline of non-disabled students is in direct violation of federal law. Therefore, if you have students currently in an SDC who are not certified or who do not have an IEP, they must be removed immediately. Also, unless you have a justifiable threat to the safety of a particular child or to other children, students may not be placed in the SDC. Students transferring from other states or systems who were in restrictive placements may be served in the SDC on an interim IEP. However, there should rarely be more than one student in an SDC on an interim at any given time, and documentation should be collected on that student as quickly as possible. We are not in the business of recruiting for these programs, and proper placement procedures must and will be followed. Emergency placements must be accounted for with significant documentation of the efforts of the school or teacher(s) to address the behaviors in question prior to placement in the SDC. Suspicion of need is not sufficient for placement, and it should be classroom teachers, resource teachers, parents, and school administrators initiating the referrals.

Once in an SDC, the program must focus on two specific areas, the behavioral and academic needs of the student. Research continually shows a strong correlation between misbehavior and poor academic performance. Students who cannot do the assigned work or who continually fail in their attempts to master elements of the curriculum, have no motivation to behave. In fact, their failure is motivation to disrupt. This needs to be addressed immediately upon placement. The curriculum must follow that of the class and grade they would be in if not in the SDC, and it must be modified appropriately to allow them every opportunity to succeed. Also, the students must be returned to the regular program as soon as the inappropriate behaviors have been brought under control. The number of students in the SDC is not an issue. Whether or not they are being included in the regular program is.

Use of punishments or aversive therapy to eliminate behavior should be limited. Students must be taught how to change their behaviors rather than suffering punishments for them. Each SDC teacher must focus on teaching students how to change or eliminate inappropriate behaviors and what behaviors should replace the ones deemed inappropriate. This meets the guidelines of federal law and protects the students, the teacher, the school, and the district. Restraints used must be identified in the IEP, and no one may use restraints unless they have received the proper TCI training. Teachers or assistants who need training should identify that need to Mr. Jeff Moore at Parkway, the certified TCI trainer for our system. No SDC student should ever be handcuffed, unless they are carrying a dangerous weapon as identified by federal, state and system policy. This would be very difficult to defend, if the parents chose to file a due process against the teacher and or school. Remember, if they are in the SDC then their behavior is related to their disability. If students in SDC commit felonious or criminal acts, they should be referred to the proper authorities to be charged. This is well within the rights of the school.