001[music] Good evening. >> Good evening. Welcome to the November 13, 2025 board me board meeting. Miss Kley, will you please call the role? >> Mr. Green >> here. >> Miss Hansen here. >> Miss Rutherford here. >> Miss Fontroy here. >> Mr. Harrell. >> Miss Martin >> here. >> Miss Moore here. >> Dr. Peterson. Miss Baker >> here, >> Miss McCullum here, >> Miss Lamey, Miss Hurst, >> Mr. Bro here, >> Mr. Kuzanne here, >> Miss Rafino Gallagher. >> Thank you. Miss Rutherford will leave our lead our invocation and pledge. >> Please bow your heads. Heavenly Father, we come before you today as we gather for this evening, asking for your guidance and wisdom to work together effectively and the humility to value each person's perspective. God, please grant us clarity of thought and unity of
002purpose as we discuss the needs of our schools. Help us to listen to one another with open minds and hearts and to speak with kindness and respect. May our decisions be guided with truth and may our actions be motivated by a love for the students and families we serve. We ask for the discernment to make the best decisions for the greater good and safety of everyone involved in our schools. Father, I also ask for the protection of our Louisiana Army National Guardsmen, especially the 769th Brigade Engineer Battalion who is serving in Washington DC right now. Most importantly today, I ask for a moment of silence and continued prayers for the family of Carson and Abne kindergarten who passed away in an accident on Tuesday. In God's name we pray. Amen. I pledge algiance to the
003flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you, Miss Rutherford. Would any board members like to recognize visitors? I see Miss Baker. I want to recognize um Miss Kim Gardner today. I along with um couple other board members went to the leader in me. What was that? A conference? No, what was it? >> A book launching. Okay. Well, that it was more than that. But to have the privilege of it started out actually with um Mr. Green's daughter who is probably going to be president of the United States at some point. But she let she started it off and when to have to have the pleasure of seeing this program, you know, this curriculum that
004we all voted on in motion in real time was such a gift. I I to be able to see it working and to be able to see these amazing kids and the and the work that they do and the leadership that they have claimed to be their own. I mean, it's not to say that kids aren't going to have their problems and schools don't have their problems, but it was just thank you. Thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for for just really pushing it and thank you for believing in kids because it was so evident. It was just so evident today and impactful. So, thank you. >> Awesome. Any others, Miss McCullum? >> I won't say any more about that, but I'll just say ditto because it was amazing to see
005that. And and I ought to also uh you know, I have six schools in my district. I I think Mr. Bro is the only other one that has quite that many, but I was able to attend four of their veterans programs. And I just want you guys to know that every single one of them, my heart was just warmed and I had chill bumps uh to see these young people uh respect and give respect and share how they felt about our veterans. And then I was blown away about how many veterans that we have in our community that are grandparents or parents of our school children and and they they all attend. I mean there the attendance at all of these was was just outstanding. What resonated with me the most though was at uh
006the middle school at Galsson Middle. uh the children at some point in time were given an assignment to write an essay of their um of what they felt about veterans and why was it important to celebrate veter veterans and I as I told Mr. Jabia and miss and Dr. langua. I was blown away. I I can't even write like that. I'm my mind is math and science and I can't write. I wish I could, but these are fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. And then I went on to Fountain Blue Junior High and their students were assigned to write poems about veterans and I was blown away again and I was just it was just so impressive. Today's events were so impressive. Uh I was at Gail Middle. I know Mandaval Elementary. I've seen their work
007with Leader and Me also last year and I know they blew everyone away just as Gail Sloan did. It it is it is wonderful to see the great things that that is going on in our schools and and what our teachers are doing to bring these students to uh their highest level of ability both ac uh academically as well as in their leadership skills. It really is. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any others? See none, Mr. Jabby, or your update? >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Green. Appreciate board members, uh, as M. McCall stated, I'm just so thankful. First off, thank you to our veterans. Again, I know we did our program last week, but thank you to all of our veterans and their families for their sacrifice. Uh, but a big shout out to all
008of our schools who did a tremendous job. And a huge shout out to our eight high schools whose color guard went around the parish to our feeder schools and helped with the colors around the district. So, thank you to all of our ROC's uh our cadetses who uh went around and all of our our commanding officers that brought their kids around to help at all of our feeder schools. So, I really do appreciate that. Um, this week we got to surprise our three new students of the year for this school year and I was just blown away by them. So, let's check out a little video of our new students of the year. I just want to introduce to you guys the St. Timmy Parish fifth grade student of the year. HOW ABOUT [applause] [cheering]
009I was walking down the hall and I just got really excited and see all my friends congratulating me. >> We're so excited and just the fact that other people recognize what a great kid he is is the biggest compliment we can receive as [music] his family and parents. >> You are the Saint Parish 8th grade student of the year. >> Congratulations. You buddy. You represent 2500 eighth graders across this district and I just can't be more proud of you. I'm so proud of you. So proud of you. Congratulations. Congratulations. >> I'm just really happy that I even had the opportunity to do this and I'm really proud to be able to represent everyone. that this award [music] shows not just how talented you are academically, but just all the things that you do and the
010fact that yes, you can play the bass, you can play the tub, you can act, [music] you can do all these things, but part of that is because of your heart and passion. >> It is my honor to let you guys know that is a Saintian Parish public school 12th grade student. [applause and cheering] All right. >> I am so excited. So, being raised in St. Tammy Parish, [music] I've just had the most incredible experience. And now, as a senior, I feel incredibly honored to represent our whole parish. >> All her hard work is paying off. It says that she's being recognized for all her dedication, hard work, and commitment to community in their school. >> Our motto this year is launching excellence, y'all. I think we all can agree that Basia does that every
011day. Congratulations. I'm proud of you. You're launching. [applause] >> I just want to let you know congratulations. Super proud of you. It is my pleasure to give you this. >> Thank you so much. [applause] >> Three three amazing kids. Uh we were able to have their families there with us and surprise them and everybody kind of kept a secret. So it was a great day uh great two days. Uh Beasia had a meeting I don't know she sits on Bessie as the student uh the student from the whole state of Louis the only student in the state of Louisiana sits on Bessie and uh she had a special meeting on AI on that Monday. So we had to move her to Tuesday. So we everybody was able to keep the secret. So it was it
012was just a great two days. So I just want to wish them the very best. I'm really excited about this year's state competition. I know they're going to wow a lot of people. Um, as I've told you, our our future focus nights are rocking and rolling. We did Slot High last night. Uh, we'll have three next week. We'll have Northshore, Salmon, and Cington High School all next week. So, if you can make it to any one of those, uh, that would be fantastic. They've been very well attended. The the students totally run the entire event. Most of them use their lighthouse teams to run the event. Uh, and I'm just there as support and to answer any questions and help them out any way I can. So, if you got time next week, that would
013be fantastic to come on by. Um, next week, our our Covenant High girls basketball team got to make a special trip. Uh, and so I don't want to ruin the surprise. So, let's check that out. [music] >> It was very exciting. I mean, not many people get this opportunity, so it was a great experience to like be able to see the inside of the locker room and watch the players practice. >> We came here, we watched uh our LSU girls basketball uh practice and we saw what it takes to actually play at [music] this level, the type of discipline and um hard work that they put in. >> It was good seeing them practice and how hard they worked. like it was no joking around and they worked as a team. >> It makes me
014want to be consistent because you could tell like they go out there and actually like come out here like a lot and put in a lot of work. It makes me want to [music] like go harder. >> I see them on TV and stuff and like to see them in person. It's just more exciting. >> It was such a great experience to meet FJ Johnson and do Tik Toks [music] with her and get a signature like her just interacting with us. Great experience. Not many like players like [music] interact with the people that support them. So it was a great experience. >> She love the people that support her and she don't just like walk over her supporters. She actually spend time with them and talk to them and get to know them and stuff.
015>> You know, seeing somebody for the first time actually being able to, you know, touch them, shake their hand, actually puts things in perspective uh to just to let you know kids know that they actually can attain, you know, the dreams. >> [applause] >> really appreciate LSU and Covington High setting that up and making that happen. What a great experience for those girls. And uh and they are, you know, they are perennial national powers every year. So to be able to to be out there and see uh just the the physical size of those girls and how tough they are, uh I know it it's going to mean a lot to them. So thank you both uh both groups for making that happen. And last but not least, uh just today, uh we had a
016chance, uh Lion Elementary invited anybody from central office that wanted to come over and eat lunch today, uh with the kids from Lion. They did their Thanksgiving, uh dinner today. And so, we really appreciate Miss Fashion and the staff uh welcoming us today. So, quite a few of us went today. So, I just want to tell them thank you for having us today. And it was a pleasure to be there with them. So, that wraps me up. Mr. Green. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chie. Any questions for the superintendent? Seeing none, I'll move to the consent agenda. Would any board members like to remove an item from the agenda? The consent agenda. I see none. Let me read that. [clears throat] Item B is approval of minutes for the special meeting held September 4th, 2025.
017Item C, approval of minutes for the regular meeting held September 11th, 2025. Item D recommends acceptance of revisions to board policy IDFC, cameras and special education classrooms. Item E recommends acceptance of revisions to board policy IDF, education of students with exceptionalities, seclusion, and restraint. [clears throat] Item F recommends substantial completion of Coington High School renovation of consumer science prostr classroom STPS project number P 0347. Item G recommends acceptance of the low base bid and alternate one submitted by MCC Tricson Group LLC in the amount of $1,715,000 for the HVAC repair replacement of Brock Elementary School SDPS project number 1902. Item H recommends acceptance of the low base bid submitted by Wilco Construction LLC in the amount of 348,000 for the welding boost at Slideel and Northshore High Schools STPS project number 1963 and 1966. Item
018I recommends acceptance of the final revised budget for fiscal year 24 and 25. And do I have a motion? Mr. Kuzanne. Do I have a second? Miss Moore, any comments from the public? Any from the board? Please vote. And that motion carries unanimously. Uh, agenda item three, Mr. Alfonso. >> Appropriate retirement. Thank you, President Greens, superintendent Jabian board. Appropriate retirement resolutions on the following certificated personnel subsequent to the October 16, 2025 meeting. Diane M. Wells Little Pearl Elementary, 30.56 years. 29.56 years in St. Tammy Parish. Norma S. Ganesho Magnolia Trace Elementary 23.24 years. All in St. Tamony Parish. That's for a total of 53.8 years. Do I have a motion? Mr. Bro, second by Miss Baker. Any comments from the public? Any from the board? Please vote. That motion carries unanimously. Item B. Thank you
019again, President Greens, who attend Jabian board. Appropriate retirement resolution on the following employee support services personnel subsequent to the October 16, 2025 meeting. Joanne R. Miller, central office, 30.29 years, all in St. Tamony Parish. Cyrus L. Berseron, Harrison Curriculum Center, 15.83 83 years all in St. Tammy Parish. That's for a total of 46.12 years and combined both uh certificated and employee support services total of 99.92 years of service. >> Do I have a motion? Miss Hansen, second by Miss Rutherford. Any comments from the public? Any from the board? Please vote. >> [clears throat] >> That motion carries unanimously. Uh, next up is three minutes. Uh, David Merrick. >> My name is David Merrick. That's my daughter Annabelle Merrick. She's 11 years old. I'm gonna try to be respectful as possible, but I'm I'm asking for
020change. January 2023 in a It had a young man looking up hers and other young ladies things. Reported it. Even had a target letter saying wanted to have sex and my daughter's name was on that. I tried not until this year to get my daughter's statement that she was required to make and I can prove that she was asked to make a statement. Guess what? First one I went to the school, they didn't have it. It took me to come in to meet with Mr. Mike Wills. And guess what? The statement is not my daughter's statement. It's a Ford statement. Fast forward, I emailed Frank Jabby and and uh Beth Smith out at Leroy School. Little boy told my 11-year-old daughter, she was eight back in then. Now she's 11, almost 12 to bend over,
021touch your toes, and let me show you where Royce goes. Referring to his private part. Now, I want you to picture. I know y'all got daughters, granddaughters, all that. How would you like it, little boy? Say that. I know we can't control what kids say. You fast forward. The [clears throat] same little boy sat there and broke a red ink pen, damaged her shirt, damaged some other clothing. I mean, other of her belongings, and two other young ladies. You know what? That little boy gets an ISS. And I know y'all remember me from a few years ago fighting for two of my kids. One of my sons who looked up something of his interest, only his interest, and he gets suspended. But a young young boy that damages and sexually harasses young ladies gets in
022school detention. All right, that's wrong. Look at what's going on in Lafru Parish. I don't teach my kids violence, but I promise you this. I'mma teach my daughter to defend herself. You understand? Cuz I'm not going to have my daughter raped because you know what? And it's the same little boy. Guess what? in art class. I had to go up just the other day because I got got a call from Miss Providence and this same little boy was involved basically calling my daughter a And guess what? Ask my daughter. You're more than welcome to how many times this same child is in in school detention. It's same. You fast forward. Do I Frank, I'm going to tell you, do I feel like they're targeted? I did a a post on the community page. It's unbelievable
023the amount of comments from parents where if we stand up for our kids, our kids get targeted. Guess what? My ch my kids along with my friend's kids sits there. If you're facing our house, the fourth and fifth house to the right and they've been on this same bus since 2018. Our our driveway is on a deadend road. So nobody tries now because supposedly due to overcrowding. They're made to now because overcrowding go to let me ask give me a little bit more time please >> just a little bit more so we're trying to be very mindful >> I understand I understand there's not a whole lot >> I give you 15 more seconds >> all right but long story short director and the assistant director lied to the parents sitting there saying they just
024found out that we were given less than 12 hours notice of a bus change and it went from our kids getting picked up at 6:45 to now 7:30. All right. The director of transportation, Mr. Mr. Burmaster told me, Mr. Mer and told me in front of another dad over the phone, you're more than welcome to come down to transportation. It's all public record. You can obtain this. All right. Just because of my distrust. Just because my distrust, I was threatened, >> but we calling the police for trying to obtain public information. All right. Thank you. [clears throat] >> Uh, Miss Underwood. >> Oh, that's right. [laughter] I was warming up for you. >> Good evening. My name is Stephanie Meyer Underwood. Normally, I'm up here as the executive vice president of the St. Timmy Federation,
025but today I'm wearing a slightly different hat. I'm here as a candidate for the TRSL District 2 board seat. I spent years serving the school system and the people who make it run, our teachers and school employees. But that commitment began long before adulthood. When I first ran for student council president in 8th grade, I took that campaign very seriously. My mom's friend made me signs. I had my own slogan. And after I won, I created Friday tie day to raise money for the school. I had to negotiate with the principal and explain why it mattered and get his approval. And yeah, it took more than one meeting. When nearly the whole school participated, I learned something important. Advocating for positive change has always been a part of who I am. Before becoming a teacher,
026I completed my alternative certification through LRCE, and began my MBA, which I finished while teaching. Over the past 12 years, I've taught grades 2 through six, sponsored student clubs, and work to support classrooms across our district. In 2021, I was elected executive vice president of the St. Tammy Federation. And in this role, I advocate every day for the teachers and school employees who keep our district strong. Some of what I do includes managing our office, overseeing finances and payroll, handling TRSL contributions, and reviewing the district's budget to help ne negotiate fair, fiscally responsible raises. In addition to my local role, I also serve as a vice president for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers where I have input on statewide spending and budget decisions. This experience has strengthened my ability to evaluate budgets, plan and plan
027responsibly and also to advocate for policies that protect educators and school employees. And to all our teachers and school employees, just as I advocate for you and your workplace, I want to continue advocating for you when it comes to your retirement and your future. Protecting TRSL means protecting your peace of mind. Last month, Yes. Yes elections mailed all all eligible TRSL voters a unique pen needed for to cast your vote. If you need assistance with your pen or voting process, please reach out directly to TRSL. If you have already voted, thank you. If you haven't, I encourage every active teacher and school employee in St. Tam, Washington, and Orleans parishes to participate. You can vote by phone. You can vote online, which I hear takes less than a minute. and or you can return your
028ballot by mail. Just remember, all voting, including mailed ballots, must be received by November 28th at 4:30 p.m. I am running because I believe in you. I am dedicated to service and committed to you and committed to protecting the retirement system that educators have earned. I respectfully ask for your support and for your vote. Stephanie Meyer Underwood, TRSL board, District 2. Thank you. Look at that time in a she practiced. [laughter] >> Board President, good evening. Board President Green, board members, Superintendent Jab, and administration. Uh, Brent Osborne, Federation President. Just a few updates. Um, want to wish all the playoff teams uh, good luck and success. I used GoFan and got charged a dollar to uh, get my ticket for Pearl Rivers, uh, game on Friday. Um this morning I saw a post by the
029Mandville High's coach. Um it was talking about things they're trying in Florida to um make things better for coaches. Um given that they're falling behind regional competitors. Um [snorts] beyond pay though, I think we need to look at ways to restructure and renew not only athletics um but also all of our um arts um extracurriculars. Um these are things some of these are the reason kids come to school but they also enhance um success in the classroom. Um this week we rolled out a survey as a part of our let teachers really teach campaign. Um the idea is to generate data that we can help uh use to help move forward. We also will be rolling out an app for all of our members. Communication is critical um to any organization. This will give us
030the ability not only to uh communicate to all members across the board, but we can also target specific groups uh by job class, job title to get, you know, the real pulse and um transmit information. When we kicked off the campaign, I shared a video from a young teacher named Sage in Jefferson. And that video was posted on October the 17th. At this point, it has over 130,000 views, 97% of which are from people outside of my follower group. When you look at the um comment section, it's people from all over the country. She was talking about how unsustainable the workload of teachers has become. And so her words in Jefferson resonated with our folks in St. Tamony, but also Florida, Nevada, everywhere. So my question is, how did we get here? You know, it's
031been over two decades since No Child Left Behind. If we're all fed up, and that includes parents, administrators, students, teachers, schoolboard members. If we're all fed up, how do we get here? We have the numbers. So, I think we're just suffering in isolation in small groups. I think if we get organized that we can actually make a difference. Some uh chose to be a little bit cynical, and I understand the sentiment. In response to her speech, they said, "And then what happened?" I'm guessing nothing. So, one speech is not going to change things. Again, it's about people from all walks of life that matter in this whole thing we call public education getting together and demanding change. The people that are the decision makers, our representatives, and yet they're not representing us. So, this is
032it, folks. To me, it's now or never or public education collapses. So, I hope that you'll look for ways to help us and contribute ideas. Um, stay tuned. Thank you. >> Thank you, [clears throat] >> Harold. Um, can't quite pronounce the last name. [clears throat] >> What's your name, sir? >> Harold Begno. >> Okay. Um, I'm here speaking on behalf of concerned parents of child safety. Um I'm a parent. I live on Lee Road off uh Fair Haven and we were just recently having to have our children change bus because of overcrowding. Um the purpose of overcrowding, what I'm understanding was there was the bus that they was on. My child been going to Leo school and he's been riding the same bus since day one, since he started kindergarten. He's now in sixth grade.
033uh they picked up a different road on the actual route and now they took our kids off which is Fair Haven. I don't know if y'all understand the the history of Fair Haven. There was a hill on Fair Haven. People used to drive down that road super fast so their cars could leave the road. Uh till this day there's people still driving to that speed. We never see St. Tamony Parish cops patrolling the area. Now that the bus comes from a different direction to pick up our kids, our bus uh the kids now have to cross the street in front of the bus to get on the bus when before it would come from the direction where all they had to do was get on the bus. So, um the the speeding on that road
034is ridiculous. Throughout all day, I done called St. Tam Parish Police to try and see about having something done about it. Uh we was just aware we didn't get no notification stating that this was taking place within not even 24 hours. We didn't even get a like a robocall stating that this was going into effect. We had to find out from a neighbor down the street that our kids were no longer able to ride bus 38 no more. So we're concerned. So my wife, she gets on the phone and contacts transportation of bus and she talks to some lady and my wife, she's very intelligent. She's very smart. She was explaining the situation of safety hazards and how it put everybody with problems because it was just a spur-of the- moment thing. We weren't aware
035of it and all. And the woman hung up on my wife. And I think that's not kind of professional right there. You know, my wife is just explaining the situation concern of her kids being in danger being that they had to switch and now the bus is coming from a different direction, you know. And like it's not just my kids. It was 10 kids total. And now the kids that's all catching the bus, they all have to cross the street. All we're asking is for more safety for kids that are riding the bus. Like before the bus was coming from one direction was able to get up on on the bus without having to cross in front of the bus. Maybe that they can make it a law where the bus driver when he comes
036to a stop the stop signs come open par like parked crooked in the road where there's no way for cars to pass. the street that we live on, they could have figured out a different solution, like a different route to pick other kids up at a different time than other than putting that in jeopardy. If they would actually know the actual history that Fair Haven has, even if they could put a stop sign at okay lane, that would slow the the people down because that's the spot there. We live up on a hill so cars all through night kids with loud exhaust. I could hear them coming from down the road like wide open w you know and just driving way out fast. >> Thank you sir. >> Next is a Harland Locker. Thanks. >>
037Good evening. My name is Harlen Locker. I go to SC school at Woodlake Elementary and I am in second grade. My favorite subject is math because I like adding and subtracting big numbers. My teacher is Miss Vanette. I like her because she gives lots of hugs. My favorite thing about Woodlick is that all the teachers and secretaries are nice. One of my favorite parts of the day is recess. I am using the eighth habit to find my voice. And I am here to talk about recess. I like recess because I like getting exercise. I like playing chase with my friends. I also like racing. We start at the fence, went all the way to the sidewalk and back. After recess, I feel a little bit tired and sweaty a lot. I like to talk to
038my friends at recess. We talk about a lot of different things like math, CKLA, school, and silly stuff like jokes, riddles, Halloween, and would you rather. [snorts] Recess helps me stay inside my circle of control. After recess, I feel calm and controlled. [snorts] This helps me focus and follow instructions right away. I want to have morning recess, middle of the day recess, and end of the day recess. Even a little bit more recess than we have now would be helpful by getting more exercise with my class and helping my class and me with the eight habits. Thank you all for listening to me talk about why I want more recess. [applause] >> Second. A second. >> [laughter] >> Mr. Locker, >> I remember first grade. Um, David Locker, uh, evening board and Superintendent Javier. I
039remember first grade almost like it was yesterday. I attended Clearwood Junior High, the school's first year. We had moved to Slidel in May. Yet, the summer months didn't prepare me for the big change and being in a different part of the country at a new school. The new and different smell of the hallways and classrooms reminded me I wasn't at home. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Gamp, didn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies I was used to. She did teach me to read and how to be a good learner. Our family, being new to the area, attracted others attention. Adults would take notice and ask me about school. What's your favorite subject? My bad answer was always recess. I said it with a bit of resentment about school and being in a classroom having to
040sit still and listen and think. I worked hard in school and did from average to pretty good. I got through as a compliant, mostly welladjusted kid. I played sports at recess, tag, soccer, basketball, tackle the man with the football, lots of running for sure, all the way through junior high, three times a day. Gary Keller's book, The One Thing, describes how to think about prioritizing time. It might apply to a business goal, a mission, family goals, daily tasks, and even possibly how you might prioritize a vacation. It's based on the question, what's the one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary? The clear demand of the single action releases the tension between the need you feel to achieve a big goal and the anxiety or complexity
041you face to complete it. The input is simple and short in implementation time. And because it's only one task, the most important task, completing it creates a big bang for the buck. And thinking about this as it applies to schools, where do we put huge resources to improve student learning outcomes, student engagement, curriculum, teacher retention, behavior, discipline, school culture? It's a lot. It's expensive. Study after study conducted reveals that the more time provided for play and exercise during the day, the better the outcomes in the classroom. Play and exercise is the one thing. I understand instructional minutes are regulated by the state and there is little decision-making here. One can be creative. However, where can we allow for more play in the day? I know teachers already think like this. They sneak in breaks and
042exercise with fun activities. However, it's teacherled. Studentled independent play allows kids to detach and escape. This would have immense reverberations from teacher morale and retention all the way up in the budget. Is it a pipe dream or is it a solution? I have no doubt that it's the one thing such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Beras. Liarios, union representative. First of all, let me say I agree with little Mr. Locker uh about stress relief from recess. Um unfortunately and teachers, a lot of teachers feel the same way about happy hour. But unfortunately, that's not something that we can advocate for in the schools. I want to read from a document written by Kevin Dwire, the assistant executive director of the National Association of
043School Psychologists. A child runs out of control down the busy school hallway and punches another child who's quietly waiting in line outside her classroom. She starts to cry while the disruptive child continues down the hall, not responding to the teacher's aids commands to stop. Another adult says, "He's special ed. There's nothing we can do. You can't send him to detention. I'll tell his teacher." The aid is frustrated and upset as she comforts the crying child. A child who's labeled seriously emotionally disturbed sets a trash can on fire. When brought to the principal's office, a security specialist is told that it's a manifestation of the child's disability and the usual disciplinary procedures will not follow. The security specialist leaves muttering, "Those kids get away with murder." Both examples are serious wrongful misunderstandings of the procedural safeguards
044of the IDEIDA procedural safeguards of the IDE Act. The IDEIDA procedural safeguards were designed to asssure that students with disabilities receiving special ed and related services were not arbitrarily removed from their parent approved program without consent and we're guaranteed a free and appropriate public education. There is nothing in IDA that restricts schools from disciplining children with disabilities. In fact, some would say by not addressing these dangerous behaviors, the student with special needs is not receiving an appropriate education. Both of the above children may need specialized services to change the disruptive and dangerous behavior and to make sure that whatever discipline is used works in preventing a reoccurrence of the behavior. Disciplining of our sped students is not for the purpose of punishment. Following IDEIDA procedure is a protection for sped students who must be provided
045with faith and the safety of students and personnel must be protected. We hear from teachers and parents every week about their injuries and how they're almost on a daily basis and some on a daily basis injured. Some schools are not following the IDA and state procedures for districts for for the discipline of disabled students. The teacher's bill of rights says a teacher has the right to remove any persistently disruptive student from his classroom when the student's behavior prevents the orderly instruction of other students or when the student is placed impedent or defiant behavior and place the student in the custody of the principal or his designate. A teacher has the right to teach in a safe, secure, and orderly environment that is conducive to learning and free from recognized dangers or hazards that are causing
046or likely to cause serious injuries in accordance with 17 col 4169. I have a um the state policy and procedures for students for disabilities, a copy for each of you and a copy of the complete statement by Mr. Dire of the National Association of Schools Schoolside Colleges for each of you. I hope that you all consider uh looking at each of our schools and seeing which ones need to adhere more closely to IDA for these students. >> Thank you, Miss Barios. Uh that concludes public comment. All schools will be closed November 24th through 28th for Thanksgiving holidays. Offices and sites will be closed November 26 through the 28th and the December committee as a whole meeting will be on Thursday, December 4th. And with no further business, this meeting is adjourned. [music] >> [music] [music]