I emailed this individually to each member of the Senate Education Committe. This fight is far from over, so we need to keep advocating.
Hi,
Please take the time to read this email, I believe I have a unique perspective and it is worth your time. I have spent 30 plus years in Iowa as a teacher and administrator. During that time I have been a special education teacher (Burlington and Des Moines), behavior interventionist (Des Moines), building administrator (West Central Valley and Newton), district special education director (Newton and Cedar Rapids), and an AEA special education director (Prairie Lakes AEA). I retired from Cedar Rapids in 2022. In total, I have served 47 districts as well as numerous private schools.
When I was approached to go to the AEA in 2012 I initially was very reluctant to even discuss the option. My experience with the AEA with special education had not been positive for me in my district work. Not with the staff that directly served in our buildings, but with the administration, who I felt were much more focused on compliance than getting actual results with students. I also felt this was an issue with the DE, who I believe spearheaded this philosophy.
At Newton, we did several things that were innovative and had proven results, but we were told we could not continue to do these things because they violated the DE rules. These were such things as general education teachers providing SDI and special education teachers providing SDI while teaching a core class. When I got to Prairie Lakes AEA I had a district who had shown tremendous growth in reading at their middle school, so I went to visit the building one day as I was driving through town. The principal was very nervous and clearly didn’t want to talk about what they were doing to get the results they were getting. I finally convinced him I had no interest in being the compliance police and he shared the plan they were implementing. It was innovative and effective and I assured him I would not be shutting it down.
As a result of those experiences I created a video that was a call to action around special education in our state, which can be found at this link.
For the past decade, there has been movement at the federal, state, and AEA level to support practices that are focused on results rather than compliance. But, we still have a lot of work to do. We still engage in practices in this state that keep us from getting the results we should be getting. As I read this bill, I am certain it will send us back to the days of compliance and putting special education services, funding, and students into a silo of ineffectiveness.
For example, one of the proven models that has gotten results for many students with IEPs is to double the core. I was very interested in implementing this model, but it could not be done in this state due to licensure and funding restriction issues. I could not pay a core teacher out of special education funds even if they had a special education teaching license. In other states, you can use special education funds to hire a core teacher in math or ELA or with a reading endorsement. Then you can use the core teacher to provide specially designed instruction to students with IEPs in a core class setting. The other benefit of this model is that you can serve non IEP students in that setting as well, as long as the students with IEPs are getting the services they need. Unfortunately, although we have special education teachers who are highly qualified in content areas like reading and math, it is alarming how many special education teachers at the elementary level do not have a reading endorsement or how many special education teachers at the secondary level who provide instruction in math have no endorsement in math or even have a background in math.
One of the biggest barriers to success in special education in our state is the lack of certified special education teachers. The state has done nothing to address this issue and we are currently hiring folks who are not qualified candidates, are not quality candidates, or we are going without special education teachers entirely. There is nothing in this AEA bill that addresses this issue. The idea that districts are going to use the money they currently send to the AEA to hire more special education teachers is ludicrous. They will need to use the money to continue the consultative services they currently receive from the AEA and there aren’t teachers to hire even if you had unlimited amounts of money!
Let me be clear that I am not saying we don’t have a critical problem with special education in this state (and in this country). What I am saying is that this bill does not address the root cause problems we are enduring. We absolutely need to do a comprehensive study to look at available research to see what works, analyze our current system at the AEA, district, and state level, and then take the time to create a plan with input from all stakeholders that leads to an implementation plan with a timeline that makes sense.
I am happy to talk more with you about my experiences and perspective. My email is wendyparker9533@gmail.com and my cell is 641-417-8586.
Thank You,
Wendy Parker