Renee M. Smith-Quinn rsmithquinn@op97.org March 26, 2010

1. The Interaction between Family-Professional Involvement, the IEP, and Disproportionality in Emotional Disturbance Renee M. Smith-Quinn rsmithquinn@op97.org March 26, 2010

2. Agenda

5. Individualized Education ProgramIEP • The single most important student related meeting any school ever convenes • Required for every student with a disability who meets the federal and state requirements for special education • Assess method in which disability affects student’s learning • Develop goals and objectives • FAPE • LRE

6. IEP IEP Components • Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance • Documentation of evaluation results • Annual goals and objectives • Educational accommodations and supports • District and state academic assessments • Participation in general education • Educational services and placement • Transportation • Transition • Extended school year services

7. Research • ED is one of the “high incidence” categories, which is determined based on judgmental assessment, unlike “low incidence” categories, which are primarily determined with medical diagnosis. • Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors • Inability to develop or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers, adults/school personnel • Inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances or in response to the learning environment • General or pervasive mood of anxiety, unhappiness, and/or depression • A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems There are nospecifications indicated as to the severity, intensity, or duration required in the five criteria used to determine eligibility of ED. Eligible students must meet at leastone criteria. Donovan & Cross, 2002; Harry & Klingner, 2006; U.S. Department of Education, 2007)

8. Why is this important?

9. Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study(SEELS), National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), and National Adolescentand Child Treatment Study (NACTS)Bradley, Doolittle, & Bartolotta, 2008

10. Students identified with ED

11. Research • Academic achievement positively influences, families, schools, and communities. • Parental sense of self-efficacy • Language of teacher and school • AA family involvement • Confusion of ethnicity • Teachers’ views DePlanty, Coulter-Kern, & Duchane, 2007; Giles, 2005; Hill & Craft, 2003; Hill, Castellino, Lansford, Nowlin, Dodge, Bates, & Pettit, 2004; Jeynes, 2003; Lawson, 2003.

12. Research

13. Notice of Procedural Safeguards for Parents/Guardians of Students with Disabilities • Prior Written Notice • Parental Consent • Absence of Parental Consent • Evaluation Procedures • Private School Placements • Discipline of Students with Disabilities • Complaint Resolution • Mediation • Due Process Hearing • Educational Surrogate Parents • Educational Records Transfer of Parental Rights

14. New Special Education Teachers’ and Related Service Personnel’s Support of Families with Community Agencies and IEP Procedures • Question: What are perspectives of new teachers support of families with community agencies & IEP procedures? • Participants: 3 Teachers (1-3 years experience) 1 Social Worker • Methodology: Semi-structured interviews, 25 questions • Results: Believe in frequent contact with families *Believe in referrals to community agencies *Rarely addressed IEP procedures *Believe they possess the knowledge to support families *Better Teacher Education Training *Field experiences: community agencies, professional development, mentoring

15. Research Cultural Identity • Knowledge of culture provides a sense of power • Maintain sense of identity & self perception • View & evaluate others’ behaviors • Stylized Movements • (Neal, McCray, Webb-Johnson, & Bridgest, 2003) • Aggression, achievement, and need for special education • (Delpit,1997)

16. Outcomes *Incentives for comprehensive, coordinated community services • Effective teacher education programs • Early intervention programs • Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports (PBIS) • Response to Intervention (RtI) • Wagner, Kutash, Duchnowski, Epstein, & Sumi, 2005

17. Research *1. What are the AA and non-AA families’ perspectives of their relationship with school professionals regarding their children with ED? • 2. What are the school professionals’ perspectives of their relationships with AA families, non-AA families, and other school professionals? • 3. How does limited family-professional involvement contribute to the disproportionality of AA in the disability category of ED?

18. Methodology • Selected Suburban Elementary School Districts with varying degrees of ethnic and racial diversity among staff and students. • A conscious effort was made to select a district with few AA families in order to ensure perspectives of non-AA families would be included • Superintendents and/or Administrative staff selected participants • Three families (2 W, 1 AA) and fourteen school professionals (13 W, 1 AA) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview instrument

19. Methodology • Semi-structured Interviews were the qualitative method employed. • Domains of the instrument were: • Beliefs of roles • Family collaboration and involvement • Advocacy issues • the disability label • the special education process • Barriers and challenges to family involvement

20. Anticipated Results • Non-AA families believe they have a collaborative relationship with school professionals, but must fight for the needs of their children. • AA family believes the education professionals have her grandson’s best interests and she will do whatever is suggested by them. • Education professionals are disappointed in the lack of involvement of AA parents. Most of the children in classes are AA males. • Families and professionals share similar beliefs regarding individual roles, collaboration and involvement, and acknowledge the benefits of the special education process.

21. Discussion The data from this study has yet to be analyzed. All participants were engaged in semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed. The results of each will endure a constant comparison to identify common themes and provide information to contribute to the literature, especially regarding the beliefs of African American families. Observations of participants during IEP meetings would provide a better gauge of family and professional interaction, as would a review of the special education records of the students.

22. Implications • This study was limited in the following areas: • Diverse professional staff were not utilized as participants • Only a small sample of family participants were utilized • Less structured interviews might provide more insight into families’ perspectives • Repeated interviews might yield more robust information from families and professionals • Only female family perspectives were utilized and • Only one male professional was interviewed. Future research should include more AA participants, families and education professionals. A conscious effort should be made to include more male participants

23. Get Involved • Top Down • Bottom Up • Professional Development • Mentoring for AA Males • RtI • PBIS • Evidence-based Practices • Reduce or Eliminate Disproportionality of AA in ED