Special Education

Our mission is to make sure students who receive Special Services in the Issaquah School District have a voice. Our goal is to assist families in navigating the education system, connect them with resources, provide support and advocate for inclusion.

We work to ensure each Issaquah School District child is prepared for academic success as foundation for a productive life. The world thrives from people who see things differently, and we seek to nurture the different perspectives of Issaquah children through community and support.

The Special Education Committee Strives to Provide:

  • Team Building: We provide networking opportunities to connect parents to other families with students who receive Special Services. Connect with us in our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/IssaquahSpecialEd
  • Advocacy: We represent the interests of special education families to the Issaquah PTSA and the Issaquah School District. We advocate for inclusion and accessibility – in school curricula, activities and more. We aim to improve communications between parents/guardians and district administrators.
  • Resources: We discuss and share information and resources in the community, and invite professionals to speak on related topics. 

Want to help? We’re looking for parents and members of the community to help plan and execute ideas and programs. If you are interested, please email us at special-education@issaquahptsa.org.

WEBINARS

This a series of short webinars about 10-15 minutes in length to answer 3-4 community questions regarding ISD Special Services. The PTSA goal for the webinar series is to provide ISD families with special education students a resource for answers to common issues. If you would like to suggest a question for future webinars, please email special-education@issaquahptsa.org. We also invite you to join our FB group “Issaquah Special Education PTSA Committee” at www.facebook.com/groups/issaquahspecialed/.

February 2022 Webinar (recorded on 2/11/2022) focuses on these questions –

There is a date (2/28) for a parent listening session mentioned at the end of the webinar but it is being rescheduled. YOU DID NOT MISS IT. More information coming soon!

  • Recovery services is a recurring theme in our last few webinars. I know everyone in the Special Services team has been working very hard to get things organized and running.
    • How is that going from your point of view?
    • If the times available from a school do not work for a family, how can that be resolved?
    • There has been feedback in our parent community at the secondary level that recovery services time is being used more like a study hall than having specific lessons being taught.  Will students be working towards specific goals during their recovery services time? How will progress be measured to determine success?
  • I know that staffing is very turbulent right now and the student population in special services often has a difficult time adjusting to change. Is there a standard process for a transition if a classroom teacher leaves and a new teacher is brought in during a school year? If parents would like to give feedback or discuss difficulties with that process, what is the best way to reach out?
  • In the past, we’ve talked about how families are often uncomfortable with the IEP process. It feels like us versus them instead of a collaboration. I know your team has been working on a way to open communications with the parent community about that topic. Can you give us some details?

October 2021 Webinar (recorded on 10/4/2021) focuses on these questions –

  • Although recovery plans will be individualized, can you provide examples of what services will be available?
  • Where can parents find the standard timelines that ISD follows for IEP-related issues? What can parents do if they feel like the process is taking too long?
  • If a therapist position is open and services aren’t available for an extended period or if a LCR teacher is absent for several days and no qualified sub is available, what is the process for documenting missed services? How are those services made up?
  • Families often only get direct information when something negative happens and it can feel like the burden of finding a solution is placed on the family. Can ISD promote a strength and solutions based approach to communication? Is there anything you are working on to improve connections with families?

August 2021 Webinar (recorded on 8/26/2021) focuses on these questions –

  • Can you tell me about the new role of Assistant Superintendent of Special Services and other administration changes in your department for this school year?
  • Are the special services classrooms and other special services staff positions fully staffed? If not, how is ISD going to make sure all IEP goals can be worked on in terms of staffing, and all related services are provided?
  • We spent a lot of time discussing recovery services during our last webinar back in May.
    • Can you briefly re-explain what recovery services are?
    • Did the recovery services that were offered this summer meet your expectations?
    • What is the latest update on future options for recovery services?
    • Can families request an IEP meeting to discuss recovery services at any time?

Archive:

Resources:

Chairperson:   Betsy Grant  special-education@issaquahptsa.org

Stay in the know and connect with other families by joining our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/IssaquahSpecialEd and reach out to special-education@issaquahptsa.org if you want to get involved.