Howard County SECAC Minutes
September 11, 2019 General Meeting 7:00pm-9:00pm
Wilde Lake Middle School Cafeteria
ORDER OF BUSINESS
1. Call to Order: 7:06pm
2. Welcome and Introductions
a. Purpose and Vision: The Maryland State Code of Law (COMAR), Section 13a.05.02.13.I states that each school system in the State of Maryland will have a Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee (SECAC).
b. SECAC is a committee established by the local school system to seek meaningful input from parents, community partners, service providers, educators, and administrators on local issues relative to the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and the achievement of students with disabilities.
3. Approval of Minutes
a. Action Required: Motion to approve minutes. See attached minutes
i. Minutes approved and passed
4. Guest Speaker
a. Think College: Transition is a multi-step process and it is never too early to start. Amy D'Agati, a representative from Think College, will be sharing insight into the transition process, including self-determination and other skills necessary to attend a post-secondary education program. She will also highlight the various post-secondary programs that are currently available for children with disabilities.
b. Amy Dwyre D'Agati, TA Specialist -, University of Maryland, MD Work Based Learning Collaborative, Office: 301-405-8428, adwyre@umd.edu
5. Board Reports
a. Co-Chair
SECAC Grant: We have been funded $2,500 for this school year. We would like to send parents to special education workshops or trainings to build the capacity of our parent’s knowledge. Upcoming workshop on October 24th Wrightslaw. Please email secacchair@gmail.com for an application.
Job description update:
HR Advisory Committee will be reviewing 25-30 job descriptions in the hopes of attracting qualified personnel particularly those working with special education students
3 meetings: October 1, 16th and November 4th,
SECAC representative: Stephanie Carr
New HCPSS Hirees:
Shannon Fuller (IF) and Amber Haney (RT) for the PreK-12 Reading Intervention Access and Opportunity
Yvonne Cox: Instructional Facilitator K-12 Instruction (intervention)
Kendra Johnson new Community Superintendent to the School Management and Leadership Team
Dates to remember:
10/7: Town Hall with Dr Maritrano (at our general meeting) please email all questions to secacchair@gmail.com or post on Facebook Page by September 27th to enable us to coordinate by topics
10/12 8:15-1:00pm Howard High School. Parent Empowerment Forum: Keynote speaker; breakout sessions and lunch meetings. SECAC will have a poster please pass the word
Odds and Ends:
- Second annual bus practice for RECC children was August 27th and a large success
- Parent survey cards and SECAC flyers out at IEP meetings system wide in October
- Redistricting: If anyone brings up redistricting, please send all comments to email address: redistricting@hcpss.org
6. Committee Reports
a. Policy- Marcia Morales spoke on Equity, Inclusion policy. Just begun their meetings
b. If you would like to serve on a policy committee, please email SECAC
7. Department of Special Education Reports
a. Executive Director- introduced themselves, shared about upcoming Parent Empowerment Forum (see above)
b. Contact information:
Terri Savage, Executive Director, Special Education
410-313-6656
Janice Yetter, Director, Special Education
410-313-5350
Ann Scholz, Parent Coordinator, Family Support and Resource Center
410-313-7161
Trish Gunshore, Special Education Parent Liaison,
410-313-8873
8. Board of Education Reports
a. Christina Delmont-Small
Special Education Non-Public Schools Board Liaison
christina_delmont-small@hcpss.org
Shared information about her role as non-public schools board liaison and hearing specific concerns.
b. Vicky Cutroneo
Board Liasion to SECAC
Bullying work session December 11. Redistricting: collecting testimonies and reading it all! Please send to redistricting@hcpss.org
9. New Business
a. Homewood School request for gifts for teachers. SECAC is unable to do gift cards so we are looking for donations for Homewood school as they have no PTA (Staples, Target, Office Depot, Walmart for school supplies).
b. Open forum/parent questions
i. - Question on Sports for incoming freshmen. Allied Sports announcement by Department of Special Education. Every High School has access. Will let non-publics know too
ii. - Question on communication being sent out to non-publics. Ann is working on sending newsletter to non-publics
iii. - Question on getting the word of SECAC out. Why weren’t parents informed of this sooner? We have worked on building relationships with the Department of Special Education and they have agreed this year to have our flyers available at every IEP meeting. We are also reaching out through every PTA by attending their general PTACHC meetings to inform PTA presidents of us.
iv. – Hanover Hills has a Resource and Wellness Fair on October 5, 10-2.
10. Next Meeting Dates
a. October 7, 2019, November 13, 2019, December 11, 2019 - End of the Year Social Event, January 8, 2020, February 12, 2020 - 2nd Annual Advocate Night, March 11, 2020, April 15, 2020 - SECAC Awards planning, May 13, 2020, June 10, 2020
11. Adjournment: 9:00pm