School Board to Consider Boost to Special Ed

A potential boost to special-education services, new criminal-background checks, a study about racial/ethnic diversity and a grant related to environmental sustainability will be discussed at the school board's meeting Thursday night.

According to the meeting agenda, staff have recommended that the board approve an increase to the district's special-education student and classroom needs. The adjustment would result in an increase of $45,780 for salary and benefits.

If approved, would get a 1.5-hours-per-week increase for special-education instructional assistance, due to additional support needed in the classroom. Webster Elementary School would be allowed to hire a new special-education instructional assistant who would work six hours per week, in light of the need for additional aide support. Also, an instructional assistant for the district would work seven hours per week instead of six, to provide additional school-bus supervision.

McKinley would also benefit from a $15,000 grant provided by HMC Designing Futures Foundation. The nonprofit scholarship organization intends for the grant to be used primarily at McKinley to fund workshops and a handbook relating to environmental sustainability. However, information gleaned from the workshops and handbooks would be shared across, and thus beneficial for, the entire district, according to the staff report.

The possible implementation of new criminal-background checks, per a recommendation from the California School Boards Association, stems from the July 1 passage of AB 346. The new state law requires that, prior to being paid or volunteering, non-certificated individuals who work with students in a interscholastic athletic program or related student activity program pass a criminal background check with the Department of Justice or Federal Bureau of Investigations. Currently, background checks apply to those who coach, direct or supervise such activities.

Also on the agenda is a proposal that the district partner with the University of California, Los Angeles' Department of Education and Department of Psychology to evaluate the potential psychosocial benefits of racial/ethnic diversity in middle schools located in urban areas. School board staff have recommended the proposal.

Finally, the school board will consider revising its head-lice policy. "In our existing policy, a student who has been examined by staff and found to have nits in his/hair is sent home from school," the staff report reads. "With this new policy, a student will only be sent home from school with active head lice."

The school board's meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the .

Correction: As usual, the meeting will start at 6 p.m., not 9 a.m.