Folsom Cordova - Kern County Superintendent of Schools: Advocates

70 Pages·2012·1.84 MB·English

Folsom Cordova
Unified School District
Revised Special Education Review
February 3, 2012
Joel D. Montero
Chief Executive Officer
Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM
February 3, 2012
Deborah Bettencourt, Superintendent
Folsom Cordova Unified School District
125 Bidwell Street
Folsom, CA 95630
Dear Superintendent Bettencourt:
An initial final version of this report was issued on October 25, 2011. This revised final version was
developed to response to concerns about the inaccurate data provided by the district regarding due-
process hearings. The changes are in blue text and begin on the last paragraph of page 14.
In July 2011, the Folsom Cordova Unified School District and the Fiscal Crisis and Management
Assistance Team (FCMAT) entered into an agreement to provide a review of the district’s special
education programs and services. Specifically, the agreement states that FCMAT will perform the
following:
1. Organization study of Special Education Department, to improve communication
internally and externally, from central office to school site.
2. Review administrative staffing structure and make recommendations to improve
efficiency, if necessary.
3. Review legal fee costs and make recommendations for cost containment.
4. Review status of CDE special education complaints and make recommendations
to reduce, resolve and prevent.
5. Review role of principal in special education delivery system and how to develop
consistency between school sites and central office.
6. Review special education procedures and policies to assure current and consistent
district wide.
7. Review role and responsibilities of program specialists and make recommendations
to align with Education Code.
8. Review role of special education teachers in regards to case management of refer-
rals, timelines, process and procedures to assure appropriate timeline and services
are being provided to students with exceptional needs.
FCMAT
Joel D. Montero, Chief Executive Officer
. .
1300 17th Street - CITY CENTRE, Bakersfield, CA 93.301-4533 Telephone [phone] Fax [phone]
422 Petaluma Blvd North, Suite. C, Petaluma, CA 94952 Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] www.fcmat.org
Administrative Agent: Christine L. Frazier - Office of Kern County Superintendent of Schools
9. Review criteria for providing extended year and related services, including
transportation and 1:1 aides and make recommendations to assure consistent
application of criteria during the IEP process.
This revised report contains the study team’s findings and recommendations.
On behalf of FCMAT, we appreciate the opportunity to serve you and extend our thanks to all the
staff of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District for their cooperation and assistance during
fieldwork.
Sincerely,
Joel D. Montero
Chief Executive Officer
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of contents
About FCMAT .........................................................................................iii
Introduction ............................................................................................1
Background ......................................................................................................1
Executive Summary ........................................................................3
Findings and Recommendations .....................................................5
Communication ..............................................................................................5
Organizational Structure ...........................................................................11
Legal Fees .......................................................................................................13
Compliance Complaints .............................................................................17
Role of the Principal ....................................................................................21
Policies and Procedures .............................................................................23
Role of Program Specialists ......................................................................27
Case Management Time Lines and Policies/Procedures ................29
Extended School Year ................................................................................31
Transportation...............................................................................................33
1-to-1 Instructional Assistants ..................................................................35
Appendices ............................................................................................37
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ABOUT FCMAT
About FCMAT
FCMAT’s primary mission is to assist California’s local K-14 educational agencies to identify,
prevent, and resolve financial and data management challenges. FCMAT provides fiscal and
data management assistance, professional development training, product development and other
related school business and data services. FCMAT’s fiscal and management assistance services
are used not just to help avert fiscal crisis, but to promote sound financial practices and efficient
operations. FCMAT’s data management services are used to help local educational agencies
(LEAs) meet state reporting responsibilities, improve data quality, and share information.
FCMAT may be requested to provide fiscal crisis or management assistance by a school district,
charter school, community college, county office of education, the state Superintendent of Public
Instruction, or the Legislature.
When a request or assignment is received, FCMAT assembles a study team that works closely
with the local education agency to define the scope of work, conduct on-site fieldwork and
provide a written report with findings and recommendations to help resolve issues, overcome
challenges and plan for the future.
Studies by Fiscal Year
90
80
70
es 60
di
u
St 50
of
er 40
b
m
u 30
N
20
10
0
92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11* 10/11**
*Projected
**Actual
FCMAT also develops and provides numerous publications, software tools, workshops and
professional development opportunities to help local educational agencies operate more effec-
tively and fulfill their fiscal oversight and data management responsibilities. The California
School Information Services (CSIS) arm of FCMAT assists the California Department of
Education with the implementation of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data
System (CALPADS) and also maintains DataGate, the FCMAT/CSIS software LEAs use for
CSIS services. FCMAT was created by Assembly Bill 1200 in 1992 to assist LEAs to meet and
sustain their financial obligations. Assembly Bill 107 in 1997 charged FCMAT with responsi-
bility for CSIS and its statewide data management work. Assembly Bill 1115 in 1999 codified
CSIS’ mission.
AB 1200 is also a statewide plan for county office of education and school districts to work
together locally to improve fiscal procedures and accountability standards. Assembly Bill 2756
(2004) provides specific responsibilities to FCMAT with regard to districts that have received
emergency state loans.
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ABOUT FCMAT
In January 2006, SB 430 (charter schools) and AB 1366 (community colleges) became law and
expanded FCMAT’s services to those types of LEAs.
Since 1992, FCMAT has been engaged to perform nearly 850 reviews for LEAs, including school
districts, county offices of education, charter schools and community colleges. The Kern County
Superintendent of Schools is the administrative agent for FCMAT. The team is led by Joel D.
Montero, Chief Executive Officer, with funding derived through appropriations in the state
budget and a modest fee schedule for charges to requesting agencies.
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INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Background
Located in Northern California approximately 20 miles northwest of Sacramento, the Folsom
Cordova Unified School District has approximately 19,000 students and 1,790 staff members.
The district has 22 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, two alternative
schools, two continuation schools, and a community day school. According to records provided
to FCMAT, approximately 2,500 district students have Individualized Education Programs
(IEPs), and 107 special education teachers serving in the following programs: mild to moderate,
moderate to severe, emotionally disturbed, preschool, language development class and autism.
The Special Education Department and Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) administra-
tive staff is composed of a SELPA director, coordinator, program supervisor, and a behavior
specialist. The department also has four program specialists that are not considered management
positions. In 2007, the district became a single-district SELPA, increasing its special education
revenue by approximately $2 million.
During the past four years, the district has undergone a number of changes including beginning
to transition programs for the severely handicapped from the county office of education to the
district in 2007. The changes in leadership structure that resulted from the district becoming
its own SELPA that year occurred as the district experienced a surge of growth in average daily
attendance (ADA).
In July 2011, the district requested that FCMAT review its special education, programs and
services. The study agreement specifies that FCMAT will perform the following:
1. Organization study of special education department, to improve communica-
tion internally and externally, from central office to school sites.
2. Review administrative staffing structure and make recommendations to
improve efficiency, if necessary.
3. Review legal fee costs and make recommendations for cost containment.
4. Review status of CDE special education complaints and make recommenda-
tions to reduce, resolve and prevent.
5. Review role of principal in special education delivery system and how to
develop consistency between school sites and central office.
6. Review special education procedures and policies to assure current and consis-
tent district wide.
7. Review role and responsibilities of Program Specialists and make recommen-
dations to align with education code.
8. Review role of special education teachers in regards to case management of
referrals, timelines, process and procedures to assure appropriate timeline and
services are being provided to students with exceptional needs.
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INTRODUCTION
9. Review criteria for providing extended year and related services, including
transportation and 1:1 aides, and make recommendations to assure consistent
application of criteria during IEP process.
Study Guidelines
FCMAT visited the district on September 12-15, 2011 to conduct interviews, collect data and
review documents. This report is the result of those activities and is divided into the following
sections:
I. Communication
II. Organizational Structure
III. Legal Fees
IV. Compliance Complaints
V. Role of the Principal
VI. Policies and Process
VII. Role of the Program Specialists
VIII. Case Management Time Lines and Policies/Procedures
IX. Extended School Year
X. Transportation
XI. 1-to-1 Instructional Assistants
Study Team
The study team was composed of the following members:
William P. Gillaspie Ed.D. JoAnn Murphy
FCMAT Chief Management Analyst FCMAT Consultant
Sacramento, CA Santee, CA
Leonel Martínez Anne Stone
FCMAT Public Information Specialist FCMAT Consultant
Bakersfield, CA Mission Viejo, CA

Trina L. Frazier*
Administrator
Fresno County SELPA
Fresno, CA
*As a member of this study team, this consultant was not representing her respective employer
but was working solely as an independent contractor for FCMAT.
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