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Parent and advocate urges improved communication and protections in Hamilton County exceptional education services
Summary
A parent and district resident, Kimberly Hayes, told the board she and community stakeholders want clearer, consistent communication from the exceptional education department, stronger protections against retaliation for advocates and families, and suggested revisiting Project Re‑Ed principles and forming a stakeholder committee.
Kimberly Hayes, a Hamilton County resident who identified herself in public comment as living in District 3, told the board she and other parents, teachers and advocates are concerned about inconsistent and insufficient communication from the district’s exceptional education department and about fear of retaliation for advocates.
“It’s crucial that the board of education, community members, teachers, staff, and advocates for students with disability are well informed about the decisions and processes that affect the education of these students,” Hayes said. “We are all concerned about potential retaliation against those who advocate for students with disabilities, their families, and more importantly, the students they serve.”
Hayes said a climate of fear inhibits open dialogue and that some teachers report inadequate training to provide the data and assessments requested at IEP meetings. She suggested the district restart outreach to parents of students with disabilities, convene ongoing parent meetings and consider creating a stakeholder committee of communicators, teachers and advocates to review exceptional education practices. She recommended that staff and board members review two successful lawsuits and the Project Re‑Ed model (which Hayes said combined mental‑health services and education at Dawn School) as an example to revisit.
Hayes said she raised these concerns in private conversations with some board members and was encouraged to bring them to public comment. She asked the board and administrators to “revisit these principles and successes of Project Re Ed and explore the possibility of recreating a similar [model] within our district,” and to consider training and systemic steps that would reduce reprisals and improve teachers’ ability to inform decisions.
The board did not take formal action on Hayes’s suggestions during the work session. Board members acknowledged receipt of the concerns and several said they would continue discussions with staff about outreach, training and how to respond to parent and teacher concerns in exceptional education.
