Special needs parents meet with HCS superintendent

A support group of parents whose children have special needs met Tuesday night with Superintendent Teresa Morgan, following up on a similar gathering held in February.

At the time, parents were concerned about training for Hardin County Schools staff, vertical alignment of curriculum, safety, bullying and transitions between grades, schools and to life after graduation.

On Tuesday, she brought out the papers with their concerns and asked the parents for feedback on how they've done. The response was mixed with some parents seeing progress and others wanting more done.

On many of their concerns, Morgan asked them to follow-up with an email so she could look into specifics.

In the 2016-17 school year, 2,122 students in the district, about 15 percent of students, were part of the special education program, according to KDE data.

The support group has met monthly since last September and a Facebook group helps parents connect and find resources.

Bonnie Linscott and Holly Burns started the group. Burns has a 6-year-old with autism and Linscott wanted to help families.

The group meets in Radcliff, but Burns said there's also interest from residents in the Elizabethtown area for meetings. She encouraged those in attendance to get involved with the group to make it consistent.

"We need all the support we can get," she said.

To join the online support group and for information, go to its Facebook page, Special Needs Families Hardin Co Connect.

Burns said Tuesday's meeting is a way to increase communication between the school system and the special needs population.

Parents with students in elementary, middle and high schools throughout the county attended the meeting. Some teachers also attended.

After the February gathering, Morgan said she held a meeting with "low-incidence" teachers, those with students who have severe intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities and/or severe behavioral disorders. She shared with them the concerns voiced at the support group.

Morgan said her priority was to start with the high schools because of the age of the students and the concern parents have with exiting school.

Since the last meeting, Morgan said teachers have been read rights for a student's individualized education program and students are allowed to visit new classes and meet new teachers two days before a new trimester begins.

Overall, she said the district was striving for consistency among the three high schools.

In February, some parents said they were concerned their children wouldn't be able to earn the district's work ethic certification. Morgan said Tuesday students enrolled in the low-incidence classrooms can apply for the certification.

Jennifer Foster has a son at North Hardin High School and she spoke for the high school parents. She said they would like to see a more diverse set of classes open to all students that also are appropriate for low-incidence students. They also wanted a specific curriculum for teaching life skills.

At the elementary level, Burns said parents wanted to see more training for support staff and general education teachers and more help with transitions between grades, teachers and schools.

"It's not as easy as we had hoped," Burns said.

The elementary parents also said they would like to see better coordination and communication of providers.

"Parents may not understand they can have an outside (occupational therapist) come to a meeting," Burns said.

At the end of the meeting, Morgan said it was helpful to hear from the parents.

"It tells me what we can continue to work on," she said.

The parents said they appreciated Morgan's willingness to meet with them.

"It shows how much you care," Foster said to the superintendent.