From: PENT
Director
Sent: Wednesday,
July 02, 2003 9:46 AM
Subject: New
Reports on FBA and Discipline Some of Us May Want
The following information is from the NASP legislative
update list serve, and I thought some of us might want to read about it.
"Bazelon Report on Effective
Behavioral Interventions"
A new report by the Bazelon Center
for Mental Health Law, "Suspending Disbelief: Moving Beyond Punishment to Promote
Effective Interventions for Children with Mental or Emotional Disorders"
(available at www.bazelon.org
/publications), states that when used correctly, functional behavioral
assessments (FBAs) and positive behavioral
interventions and supports (PBISs) decrease the need
for harsh disciplinary actions, since they effectively curb aggressive behavior
in emotionally disabled students.
Further, schools employing specific targeted services and
supports for children with behavioral or emotional disorders have effectively
reduced the number of suspensions and expulsions of those students, says the
report. First required under 1997
amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), FBAs and PBISs were
"deliberately" included to reflect the importance of evidence-based
practice when educating children with disabilities, the report says."
PENT Folks: I have ordered this and will
review it and forward important information from the report to you in the fall.
This may be helpful as we defend the use of FBA based behavior plans with
students who have behavioral and emotional disorders. As we know, FBA began
with students with severe disabilities. We need this research in order to show
the research-base of our approach. If you want to read about this document, or
order it for $7 yourself, go to: http://store.bazelon.org/ss-index.html
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ANOTHER REPORT SUPPORTS DISCIPLINE PROVISIONS
GAO: Additional Guidance on Discipline Provisions Necessary
The General Accounting Office (GAO) is recommending that the
Secretary of Education issue supplemental guidance to state and local education
agencies to assist them in implementing IDEA's
disciplinary provisions.
PENT Folks: The GAO is the office that does
research for both House and Senate and has some excellent researchers in
Education that I have co-presented with. I always play close attention to their
information. Non-partisan by the way. If the Sec. of
Education issues further "guidance" it will inform our practice even
further after the final IDEA comes out.
So here is what GAO says, summarized below:
In response to a request from Senator Ted Kennedy, the
Ranking Minority Member on the Senate HELP Committee, to determine where
disciplined special education students are placed, the extent to which local
school districts continue educational services for these students, and how the
U.S. Department of Education (DOE) provides support and oversight for special
education disciplinary placements, GAO conducted a study, using surveys and
site-visits, of special education disciplinary placements in three states-Illinois,
Maryland, and North Carolina.
In the 2000-01 school year, more
than 91,000 special education students were removed from their educational
settings for disciplinary reasons.
Although DOE provides oversight and guidance to states and districts on
IDEA disciplinary placements, some state and local officials surveyed told GAO
that the some of the information has not been specific enough.
PENT Folks: "Special Education: Clearer
Guidance Would Enhance Implementation of Federal Disciplinary Provisions"
is available on the Web at www.gao.gov then
type in "Discipline" in the left side search box... The whole
document or the executive summary and letter to Kennedy can be downloaded in
adobe.
Hope these will be useful to some of us.
Regards,
Diana Browning Wright
PENT Director