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Parents urge Carmel Central to fix IEP/504 and DASA notification gaps after reported incidents
Summary
Parents told the policy committee they are not consistently receiving children's IEPs or notifications when substitutes or staff are unaware of accommodations; the board agreed to review policy 8508 and bring implementation questions to the Special Education Committee for a first-year review and training plan.
Multiple parents and community members told the Carmel Central School District policy committee that staff and substitutes are not receiving or referencing students' IEPs and 504 plans, leading to missed accommodations and, in one cited case, a child with diabetes who ate sweets and experienced a significant blood-sugar spike.
A parent (Speaker 2) told the committee: "people are not getting copies of children's IEPs, being notified of their IEPs when their subs are not aware of what kids' IEPs are," and described an elementary student whose blood sugar rose to 380 after sweets were given. The chair (Speaker 1) responded that the district has an updated policy—Provision of individual educational programs to staff members (policy 8508, updated 11/06/2023)—and acknowledged an older conflicting policy (dissemination of individual educational program information, policy 43201.6, last reviewed 2007) still appears and must be resolved.
Why it matters: Parents said inconsistent dissemination and a lack of training for substitutes put students with diabetes, asthma, seizure disorders and other needs at risk and erode trust with families. Committee members agreed that implementation—not just having a policy on paper—is the pressing issue and recommended a Special Education and Wellness Committee presentation on how the policy has worked in its first year.
On incident reporting, speakers discussed DASA (New York’s anti-bullying statute) and whether initial incident-level reports that do not rise to a formal complaint require parental notification. Participants agreed that adults who receive a report have a duty to follow through and that DASA timelines apply when a formal DASA complaint is initiated. The committee agreed training is needed so responses are consistent across buildings; Speaker 1 said, "We need more training," and proposed bringing the issue back for a dedicated policy review to address parent notification expectations and incident-handling procedures.
What’s next: The chair will add a review of IEP/504 dissemination and incident-notification procedures to the Special Education Committee agenda, ask for a presentation on implementation barriers and report back to the policy committee. The committee also asked administration to review applicable complaint timeframes (policy 9140 and related regulations) and return recommended language for clearer periodic updates to complainants during investigations.
