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St. Mary Parish SEAP reviews handbook and new seclusion-and-restraint policy ahead of board vote
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Summary
The St. Mary Parish Special Education Advisory Committee reviewed a draft SEAP handbook and discussed a new seclusion-and-restraint policy that took effect Dec. 1; Director Deborah McLaren said the school board is scheduled to consider the policy at its next meeting and the handbook will be posted after approval.
St. Mary Parish — The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAP) on Dec. 1 reviewed a draft handbook that, the director said, reflects state law and federal requirements and outlines the council’s advisory role.
"All learners, including students with disabilities, are respected and provided equitable opportunities," Deborah McLaren, director of special education, told the committee as she walked members through the handbook’s vision and purpose. She cited "Act 274 of 2019" and "Louisiana Revised Statute 17.919441" when summarizing the legal basis for the advisory council and said the handbook explains the committee’s responsibility to assist with the district’s annual SIP report to the state.
McLaren emphasized that SEAP is an advisory body and does not have voting authority on programs or policy. "SEAP is not a decision-making body and has no voting authority," she said, adding that recommendations and feedback the committee provides will be shared with district leadership and included in annual reports.
A substantive development discussed at the meeting was a new seclusion-and-restraint policy that McLaren said went into effect Dec. 1. "We are waiting for our board ... to approve that policy," McLaren said; she told members the school board is scheduled to review the measure at its next Thursday meeting and only after board approval will the policy be added to the handbook and posted on the district website.
McLaren also stressed legal compliance: the district follows federal law (IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and other applicable rules. "My job is easy because I work for the federal government — the federal laws tell me I have to do this," she said, referring to requirements that guide special-education practice and reporting.
Why it matters: The handbook organizes how SEAP will advise the district, clarifies membership and confidentiality expectations, and signals how the district intends to implement state and federal requirements, including recent statutory changes that underpin the seclusion-and-restraint updates. Committee members were urged to recruit parents to attend meetings so families understand programs, curriculum choices and supports available to students with disabilities.
What’s next: McLaren said she will post the handbook online after the board formally approves the seclusion-and-restraint policy and will provide bound copies at the next SEAP meeting. The school board member who attended asked SEAP members to stay for a separate policy committee meeting that will examine proposed edits to the district’s "education of students with exceptionalities" policy.
