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Parents and SEPAC urge Hoosac Valley Regional to fix special-education communication and IEP compliance
Summary
At the June 16 Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee meeting, SEPAC representatives and a parent raised concerns about communication, missing documentation and possible IEP timeline violations; district leaders said they will present audit findings and add coordinator support for special education.
A parent and representatives of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council pressed the Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee on Monday to improve special-education communication and ensure students receive mandated services.
Betty Simkin, a middle-school parent, told the committee her son “got molested in the bathroom” and has been bullied since September; she said the family’s complaints produced only partial results and asked that a staff member be fired and that the district do more to support autistic students and her daughter, who remains reluctant to identify names. The committee thanked Simkin for speaking.
Representatives of SEPAC — Jen Solak (co‑chair), Jessica Kemp (co‑chair/treasurer), Kristina Snyder and Missy Tarjick — delivered a year-in-review and urged the committee to visit special-education classrooms and to include a SEPAC member on interview teams for new hires. “Our children are not burdens, they are investments,” Solak said, urging a shift in how the district views students with disabilities.
SEPAC listed recurring problems families reported: inconsistent or missing documentation, challenges communicating with special-education administration, limited specialized services and alleged violations of IEP timelines under federal law. Missy Tarjick said many families remain “deeply concerned” that students are not getting consistent supports.
District administrators acknowledged the concerns and described steps to improve. Monica Zanin said the district has special-education teachers in charge of IEPs and will add special-education coordinators working with every school next year; she reported about 170 elementary IEPs and roughly 320 IEPs districtwide. Superintendent Aaron Dean said the district “has owned it,” thanked SEPAC for bringing issues to light and said the administration will present findings from an audit and a plan of action.
The committee did not take formal disciplinary action during the meeting. Committee members and SEPAC agreed to continue conversations; SEPAC asked for a designated committee liaison and greater access for committee members to observe classrooms and district programming.
The next procedural step said on the record was the district audit and its forthcoming findings to be presented to the committee; SEPAC and the committee indicated willingness to continue meeting on the issues.
