Knox County Schools (KCS) Board of Education took another step towards approving a series of recommendations by the Knox County Special Education Task Force designed to improve service for special education students.
KCS board member Betsy Henderson brought forth a resolution at Tuesday night’s work session to follow through with those five recommendations made last month to address the district’s cultural problems with special education.
“I think it’s important to recognize the work of the task force and I think this resolution really codifies that the board supports that work. I think having the board stamp of approval works hand in hand with the work Jason (Myers) is doing and the work that his office will be doing in the future. I think we have an opportunity to be the best and give our students the education they deserve. Just because they have a disability shouldn’t mean they should have a disadvantage, especially for our students,” said Henderson.
Henderson’s resolution contains four action items that are intended to formally reaffirm the board’s support of the recommendations and the district’s work implement them in the future.
- Establish clear guidelines and communication for all staff.
- Equip staff with the needed resources, including the necessity to bring in an outsider to support the district and craft best practices.
- Change how the district approaches lawsuits by employing those best practices.
- Establish a counsel to ensure the district is completing those goals.
“I really appreciate the work you did on this and the work that the task force did on this and the superintendent and just everyone that is involved in this entire process,” said board member Kathrine Bike.
Bike also questioned how the resolution would impact the special education changes that have been implemented following a district deep dive review of policies, procedures, and practices of the KCS Student Success Division.
“This is basically ‘hey, we support the task force recommendations, and we want to implement those,’ and directing the superintendent in whatever that looks like to implement that plan,” said Henderson.
Board members are expected to vote on the resolution Thursday.
Critical Point for the District
Henderson’s recommendation aligns with additional changes Superintendent Jon Rysewyk’s administration brought before the board to improve services to special education students known as the KCS Way for Special Education.
The district is additionally proposing board members approve a contract to provide schools with educational assistants in special education to support staff along with service providers like school psychologists. The district also plans to ask board members to approve hiring a Student Success Accountability Officer to provide insight into laws and best practices to serve special student populations.
Rysewyk told board members these proposed changes are coming at a critical point for the district.
“When we mean success for every student, we really mean success for every student.” said Superintendent Rysewyk. “We know that this work is hard, but we know that it’s the right work and until all of our students are achieving at the level they need to and have those obstacles removed, we’ll continue to work on continuous improvement.”
