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Parents press district on special-education privacy, assistive-device access and inclusion
Summary
At the board meeting Amy Marini, co-leader of the Special Education Parent Advisory Group, urged the district to ensure any new cell-phone policy accommodates assistive or augmentative communication devices, and questioned privacy practices around sharing classmates’ first names for parents of students with communication challenges.
Amy Marini, co-leader of the Special Education Parent Advisory Group (CPAG), addressed the board during public comment and raised policy questions about special-education practice and privacy.
Marini asked that any forthcoming student cell-phone policy explicitly exempt or account for assistive technology and augmentative communication devices provided by families so students continue to access curriculum and communication tools. “I just hope that that would be a clause within the policy to ensure that those kids still have access to those devices,” she said.
She also described a dispute over whether parents of students with limited verbal ability can receive classmates’ first names to help their child practice social interactions. Marini said the district had denied a request for first names citing privacy concerns and argued that the restriction could inhibit the student’s ability to communicate, citing IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) considerations.
Board leadership acknowledged the concerns and said administrators would review the cell-phone policy to permit assistive-device exceptions and explore ways to share limited identifying information (for example, first names only) consistent with privacy laws and parental permission. The board directed staff to look into the privacy question and report back.
Marini also summarized state-level Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) guidance changes and an inclusion-project presentation that the CPAG had reviewed, noting updates to due-process and settlement-agreement guidance and renewed emphasis on least-restrictive-environment placement for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
