Dan Kelly's Response to the CAC Questionnaire
Questions from SFUSD Community Advisory Committee for Special Education
1. Do you believe that children with disabilities have a right to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment?
Yes
2. Are you close to anyone who has a child with disabilities?
Yes, quite a few
3. How familiar are you with the basics of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act?
Very Familiar
4. What steps will you take to see that the federal government fully funds IDEA and that the State of California directs all of the money to school districts for special education purposes?
I have lobbied for this funding directly in Washington DC many times and we have received some increases as a result and I will continue to push for full funding.
I have also lobbied for Federal reimbursement to the District to support the cost of medically necessary services, and have been active in preserving our right to do so when Federal regulations were changed by the Bush administration to make collection nearly impossible.
I have also lobbied for Federal reimbursement to the District to support the cost of medically necessary services, and have been active in preserving our right to do so when Federal regulations were changed by the Bush administration to make collection nearly impossible.
5. How will you ensure that appropriate services are provided for our children, particularly our most vulnerable children, in the reality of meeting budgetary demands?
I support efforts to provide the most appropriate services to children in the most appropriate settings
I support clustering of special needs students with similar programatic needs at specific sites that can then be given the needed enriched resources. rather than attempting to provide every service at every site. But I do not support isolation of students into self-contained Special ed only environments unless the students' needs require that.
I support clustering of special needs students with similar programatic needs at specific sites that can then be given the needed enriched resources. rather than attempting to provide every service at every site. But I do not support isolation of students into self-contained Special ed only environments unless the students' needs require that.
6. What qualifications and experience are you bringing to the board that will help enhance new vision and positive academic achievements for all students despite a continuing lack of necessary funding sources?
Aside form my service on the Board of Education since 1991, I have been a pediatric health care provider for more than 30 years and understand the wide range of abilities and needs that children possess. As a result, I feel that the lines between 'normal' and 'abnormal' are artificial and inhibiting to our thinking and teaching.
I also work with the Disabled Sports USA Far-West chapter as a Ski Instructor every winter, providing adults and children with the skills, knowledge and support to enjoy outdoor sports in a completely included environment.
The biggest impediments that many people with disabilities face are ones caused by low expectations on the part of others.
I also work with the Disabled Sports USA Far-West chapter as a Ski Instructor every winter, providing adults and children with the skills, knowledge and support to enjoy outdoor sports in a completely included environment.
The biggest impediments that many people with disabilities face are ones caused by low expectations on the part of others.
7. What is your experience with Special Education?
My earliest experience was being placed in a stand-alone multi-grade Special Ed class at my own request when I was a first grader. I had noticed that a friend in that class was learning to read quickly whereas I was not, and so I simply asked the teacher to let me switch. It was the height of the Baby Boom and the class met in a converted Janitorial storeroom. I loved it because of the close attention we got and because the students all seemed unique and interesting, but I still couldn't learn to read. In later grades I was in pull out and after school reading intervention programs until fourth grade when it finally 'clicked'.
This, and many other personal experiences of friends, family members and clients have given me a deep appreciation of what individualized educational services can do, but also a deep understanding of the difficulties facing families as they try to assure that their childrens' needs really are being assessed accurately and met adequately.
This, and many other personal experiences of friends, family members and clients have given me a deep appreciation of what individualized educational services can do, but also a deep understanding of the difficulties facing families as they try to assure that their childrens' needs really are being assessed accurately and met adequately.
8. Please tell us what you think about the full inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Do you think that all schools in SFUSD should allow children with disabilities to be educated in classrooms alongside their non-disabled peers?
Full inclusion is an important and healthy strategy, but it is not a money-saving strategy nor an excuse to reduce support. Both general ed and special ed students benefit from being taught together. I believe that every school should be able to serve most students with identified needs, but some children need specific programs and accommodations that can not be adequately provided at every site. For example: some children with hearing loss or autism spectrum disorders will be much better served if we concentrate skilled staff and physical accommodations at certain General Ed sites that then become 'magnet centers' for the specific needs children. By enriching these sites we can provide children with a richly supported, included experience.
9. What are you willing to do and how far are you willing to go to ensure every child in this district, with or without an IEP, learns to read, write, problem solve, and use math to a level where they will pass the graduation requirements and help them have a successful life?
I have always supported the continued use of General Fund money to enrich the Special Education budget, and will continue to do so. However, we need to secure better funding from Washington and Sacramento for the most effective services for our children. Otherwise the tension between Special Ed and General Ed will continue.
In the long run, we should work for an end to a distinction between the two programs, establish common educational goals for all children, devise individualized educational planning for all children, and provide adequate resources to make those goals and plans real.
In the long run, we should work for an end to a distinction between the two programs, establish common educational goals for all children, devise individualized educational planning for all children, and provide adequate resources to make those goals and plans real.
10. How will you deal with entrenched bureaucracy if it interferes with service delivery to students?
Solving this puzzle is one of the major roles the Board tries to address.
District Staff have to comply with reams of often contradictory reporting and verification procedures that exist in State and Federal Law, and sometimes in Board Policy. The failure to cross those T's or dot those I's can be dramatic loss of funds and services. This means that he flip side of Entrenched Bureaucracy is Administrative Accountability and Political Oversight.
Understanding this does not mean we accept it, and it is our job as Board members to hear the concerns and impediments that bureaucracy creates and try to reduce them wherever we can. In part, that is why we have a CAC for Special Ed, that is why we have open meetings and take testimony on new concerns at every meeting. Thatis one of the reasons I ran for office and still enjoy serving.
Dan Kelly
District Staff have to comply with reams of often contradictory reporting and verification procedures that exist in State and Federal Law, and sometimes in Board Policy. The failure to cross those T's or dot those I's can be dramatic loss of funds and services. This means that he flip side of Entrenched Bureaucracy is Administrative Accountability and Political Oversight.
Understanding this does not mean we accept it, and it is our job as Board members to hear the concerns and impediments that bureaucracy creates and try to reduce them wherever we can. In part, that is why we have a CAC for Special Ed, that is why we have open meetings and take testimony on new concerns at every meeting. Thatis one of the reasons I ran for office and still enjoy serving.
Dan Kelly
