Thoughts on the AUSD Special Ed Strategic Plan?

In 2018 the Board approved a three-year Special Education Strategic Plan. Based on your knowledge of AUSD, what do you think are the most achievable goals outlined in this strategic plan and which would pose the biggest challenges to implement? 

Just like our upcoming district-wide Strategic plan, the SpEd plan sets the tone for conversations and sets expectations of the goals and most of all it calls out the culture we want to have. I reviewed the strategic plan in August and was impressed at how thorough it was.

But once any plan is created, it then becomes all about implementation of the plan, and it is unclear to me what steps have been taken to ensure this has occurred since it was created. 

The most achievable goal is the communication goal - it has a robust set of actions that if done right are little cost with a huge impact.

The ONE that is least achievable - is the monitoring and compliance - without stated benchmarks and real measures in place to determine if actions are being met. I am concerned that there are no stated benchmarks for accomplishing the goals and that the goals were not measured against real data from the district

It is my understanding that the district has hired an outside organization to advise on how to make the plan measurable and accountable to what is really happening for our families

Going forward, I would like to see the efforts of the steering committee overseeing the plan take place as part of a public meeting, and have organized and recorded meetings and, in keeping with transparent government, the public should be made aware of when they are taking place and have the opportunity to participate.

While there are aspects of equity eluded to throughout the plan, I’d like the next one to include an explicitly dedicated section to address equity calling out areas like significant disproportionality, graduation rates, transportation and representational staffing. And the plan should also create benchmarks on how to reduce the need for litigation when it comes to special education.