[music] [music] Hello and welcome to another episode of Discussions with Dr. Morton. I'm your host, DrWaami Morton, superintendent of Cherry Hill Public Schools, and I am so proud and honored today to be joined by a very special guest, Miss Caitlyn
Mallerie, our district's director of special education. Welcome, Miss Mallerie. >> Thank you. Appreciate you having me. >> Excellent. All right. So, today we want to take a deep dive into the topic of special education. I know there are many questions about procedures and how things derive in the world of special
education, and we're hoping that today you can provide our viewers with some tangible information and facts. >> I will try to do so. >> All right. Sounds good. Sounds good. All right. So, I guess first and foremost, it's probably best that we start at the very beginning. So, what is an IEP or an
individualized education program? And can you walk us through the process of how a student might qualify for an IEP? >> Under the law, anyone can make a referral to the child study team if they a parent can write a letter. Um, per our policy, a letter would come directly to
me. Um, we also have referrals that may come through what used to be INRS, now MTSS. Um, but essentially once a child is determined to have a suspected disability, there there are 14 categories in code, right? So we consider it we we look at it as a
three-prongedo approach to eligibility. So the student would have to number one um meet the criteria determined by New Jersey state code for one of the 14 categories of disabilities. Another um requirement for eligibility would be that they need special education
services specifically. So whether it be placement with a special education teacher or a special education teacher pushing in, they they need the actual special education services. And the third uh prong that we talk about is um what is the educational impact on the
student. So we have students with disabilities that either have a 504 plan or they may be in general education. Doesn't mean that they don't have a diagnosis or a disability. It's just that they would need it. It has to have an impact on their their learning. >> Beautiful. Can you can you just tell us tell our viewers the difference between
a 504 plan and an IEP itself because there's there's some difference. >> Yeah, absolutely. And this is a common question that we get asked. So under the law, um, protections are the same. So we're required by law to implement a 504 plan in the same way we are to implement an IEP. However, the biggest difference
is a 504 plan does not offer services for students. A 504 plan would offer accommodations. So for example, extra time. A student may require extra time. And then the IEP would also modify the curriculum. So with IEPs, we often add uh we do add modifications to the
curriculum. So, we may remove questions on a test, for example. But if it's just simply accommodations, it a student can have a 504 plan if they don't need services. Um, IEEPs also go in depth and uh have goals for students. So, those students aren't expected to perform in
the same way in the classroom. >> Got it. And 504 is like a health related concern. >> It can be. Yeah. We also see students that have a diagnosis of ADHD that don't necessarily need special education programs, but they do need accommodations. So, it might be extra time. It might be um you know, anything
that would not necessarily modify the curriculum um or require a special education teacher. >> Let's just go back to the IEP itself and IEP process. Uh so, child study team. So, you have a child study team that actually is intricral in the process of
making a determination and also working with students. Absolutely. Can you just describe what is a child study team? Who are the members of that team? What do they do exactly? >> Sure. So, one of the reasons I I love uh special education specifically in the state of New Jersey is we have a model
like no other state in the country. The child study team is made up of a school psychologist um which has a specific training in implementing um school assessments for eligibility of special education students. We have a school social worker um and then we also have a
learning disabilities teacher consultant. So, the three of them are the primary team. Now sometimes if we suspect um a communication issue, the speech therapist becomes a part of the team. There are occasions where um a behaviorist is a part of the team. But
the three people that I just mentioned are the primary core members of the child study team and ultimately the decision makers. Um often times what what'll happen is, you know, as the director, people think I have autonomy over decisions. Um and I truly don't. um
you know anybody who um is going to implement the law or uh you know recommend a program or any type of modification it would have to come from the child study team and then of course parents are members of the child study team as well. >> So if there's a determination that's made and that child study team has made
that determination uh what happens if a parent disagrees with that determination what is that process? >> Sure. So the state has shifted the process uh slightly over the past couple of years but essentially there's a mediation option that parents can select which would allow us to meet with the
family and have a mediator who is not affiliated with the court system directly. So the hope is that the mediator who's an impartial party can have a confidential discussion with the district and the family to kind of come to a resolution or an agreement prior to
going before a judge. This is not intended to be uh like a like a difficult angry drug process, >> but we rec we recognize that it does take a lot for some families to file for mediation. It can be very intimidating. So, I've had conversations, my
supervisors, case managers have had conversations with families to kind of explain that this is the next step in the process if you disagree with a determination that was made by the team. Can we just talk about uh sort of how you work with uh families and work within the district to ensure that
parents are informed about what's happening in special education and >> Sure. Yeah. So we we've had to get creative. Uh we have approximately 2200 students with IEPs in the district. Um so certainly we understand that communication is very important. I have
my three supervisors. We also have a special education uh teacher coach. We have two coaches. Um, and we communicate regularly with our case managers. Um, we also communicate directly with parents as needed. We have a chain of communication that's uh posted on our website. So, parents kind of know when
and how to contact us. And this can be confusing because they know the principal at the building level. Um, they know certainly know who you are. They may know who I am. They know the supervisors, but they don't always know who to go to. So, we try to communicate um with stakeholders and really
emphasize the same process so that we can answer questions effectively and efficiently. I'm a teacher by trade and I'm a parent. So, I always try to keep that in mind when I talk to parents and I expect the same of the people that that are on my team that you know this is someone's child. While we may hold,
you know, anywhere from 60 to 100 meetings a year, any given case manager, >> that is the the most important meeting to that family. Um, so we try to really instill that in our case managers. We're very fortunate. We have a lot of case managers that are are really empathetic
and they do the job because they want to help kids, right? >> You have to you have to want to help kids and >> that's what it's all about at the end of the day. Yes. >> I want to flash back to last year. Uh, I recall when we were doing goal setting and I and I recall uh conversing with you about what you fig what you thought
we needed to focus on districtwide for uh our goals around special education. you focused on transitions and the transitions from one level to the next level for our students with uh special education services. Can you just speak to that a little bit about this? >> Yeah, so we recognize the size of our
district is is quite large compared to some other districts. So we recognize the need to communicate directly with building principles, case managers, and put processes in place to ensure that students are supported when they transition. Um, while it's not ideal to have a student go to a different school
in the middle of the year, they may need services that are offered at that specific school or that might not be offered a program at their current school. So, what we've implemented is a pretty uh consistent process where case managers offer every family that's transitioning an opportunity to go tour
the program. So, once the recommendation is made at the IEP meeting, they're offered that opportunity. um and either the new case manager or the current case manager or a lot of times both will offer the family a tour. Um the other thing we do is we myself and the supervisors meet regularly with the the
principles at each level to kind of expand on different things that they've already put into place to really make the transition process um special for our students with IEPs because they have different needs. It's overwhelming for any elementary student to transfer to middle or middle to high school. Um I
remember it well. It's it's overwhelming. So, imagine layering it with a student with a disability. Whether they have like a processing issue um or they just get overwhelmed by, you know, crowds of people, we give them the opportunity to go um into the building separately or by themselves or
whatever is needed, we offer. So, we've worked with a lot of families to do that. >> It also can be a bit overwhelming for parents as well as they attempt to navigate the process. What advice would you give to parents who are attempting to navigate the process who may be new to special education or even just new to different levels of programs?
>> So, I think the piece is just to reassure them that we're here to help. Your child is assigned a case manager, which again is very specific to the state of New Jersey. So, other states like Pennsylvania, teachers serve as the case managers. Well, anyone who was a teacher or knows a teacher knows that
they have a lot going on already, right? Um, so New Jersey is a state that designates a person to be your child's case manager when they have an IEP. And similarly with a 504, it's your child's counselor. So my recommendation is always be proactive and reach out and
ask questions. There's no such thing as a silly question. And if they don't know the answer, the expectation is they will find out and get back to the parent. We're very big on ensuring communication happens. Um and and just to to communicate, have that ongoing dialogue,
call, email the case manager. Um there's often a misconception that you have to hold a meeting to have a discussion about your child and that's not the case. You can call your case manager, you can meet with the case manager. >> Absolutely. Miss Mallerie, you have a great vision. You've done a lot of great things here since you've been in
district. What are you most proud of? like what stands out in your mind is something that was successful or you're moving in a successful direction and and you're happy about >> just the the building of relationships and the um expectation that um you know special education isn't latigious. you
know, uh, for some reason there's there's misconceptions about the district, but, um, you know, being that that communicative voice with parents and my supervisors and ensuring that they're communicating with parents and the case managers. So, I' I'd like to
think that's one of the things that I've brought to the district and my position coming back to the district has been huge because I'm a whole additional person now that that can implement these processes and ensure that communication is happening and making it less scary.
It's it's an ongoing process. We have students that are newly classified, students who are declassified. So, we try to continue to have that um morale, if you will, in in our programs. and I have an opportunity I have a bird's eye view. I have a chance to watch you work with uh many different people including
district CPAG and other groups as well. So kudos to you for that. >> Oh, thank you. Yeah, >> I'm sure to continue this part and >> communication. Yes, it's we're never, you know, we say this all the time, we're not always going to agree, but how do we get to a place of understanding because we're we're not two separate
sides. We want the same thing for the students. We and and we try to get everybody to understand that because it's true. We do what we do because we want to help kids. >> Fantastic. Th those are all the questions I have for today. I don't know if there's anything else that you want to share. >> I really appreciate the time and you
know again I would just you know implore people who who don't understand or have questions to reach out. We have a question option on our website. You don't have to necessarily say who you are, but you can submit a question and within 24 to 48 hours, we'll get back to you with an answer and then we'll post
it on the website. So, >> we want to try to make different ways for parents to feel comfortable to have that communication because it can be overwhelming. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. >> Well, thank you so much, Miss Mallerie. This was a very fun and great discussion. I'd like to thank you all
for uh viewing and joining us today and uh stay tuned for more wonderful discussions with Dr. Morton. Thank you. >> [music]