Meeting Minutes
Bay Path SEPAC Meeting Notes (UNapproved minutes as of 9/8/17)
Meeting Date: June 20, 2017
Members Present:K.Mier-Fengler, T.Hibbert, K.Dumas, S.Chute
Administration Present: N.Alpine
1. Minutes of 03/03/17 meeting were reviewed and accepted with a clarification (item 4a).
2. Board/Committee Reports: none
3. Old Business:
a) Communications update: BP SEPAC FaceBook Group has been generated and is utilized.
b) Discussed status of past issues with Progress Reports (re: quantitative reporting of benchmarks). N.Alpine indicated that training has been or will be administered by Carol Kazinsky (sp).
4. New Business
a) Officer Elections:
Sought to fill President, Recording Secretary, and 3 Member at Large Positions for 2017-2018. Nominees were unopposed; all were in favor. Results are:
- President: Kristin Mier-Fengler
- Recording Secretary: Kelly Dumas
- Member at Large: Sherry Chute
b) Determined Presentations and Schedule for 2017-2018 academic year.
Early September 2017: Basic Rights in Special Education (by FCSN)
Late September 2017: What to Expect at Bay Path; Ch 688 (by Bay Path staff)
March 2018: Transition Planning or Transition-Infused IEP (by FCSN; followed by brief meeting)
(Action: N.Alpine to book speakers)
c) Determined that PAC meeting frequency will be quarterly: September, January, March and June.
First meeting of 2017-2018 academic year will be in late September, 2017, subsequent to Basic Rights presentation. Meeting to include “what to expect” and Ch 688 info presented by Bay Path.
(Action: K.Fengler to schedule.)
d) Going forward, Bay Path SEPAC brochures will be distributed to 8th grade parents of SpEd Students at the Transfer Meeting, and to all parents at Team Meetings. (Action: K.Fengler to submit final brochure to N.Alpine for printing in the fall)
e) N.Alpine reminded SEPAC that they are expected to conduct an annual parent survey; submitted a proposed survey to the group to consider. (Action: K.Fengler to seek PAC input and submit finalized survey for distribution)
f) Open Forum: Discussion of Transition Presentation given by the Federation for Children with Special Needs. Group noted inconsistencies between how Transition Plan (TPF) is to be generated per FCSN vs. how things are actually done at Bay Path. Discussed a few ways to make things align better with intent of TPF. TPF needs to be completed prior to the IEP meeting, in order to ensure a transition-infused IEP. Attendees indicate that TPF is sometimes done at the end of IEP meetings; sometimes not at all; sometimes student/parent input is sought in advance. Ideally per FCSN, TPF meeting should be a separate meeting. N.Alpine indicated that it will not be a separate meeting, but an extra block of time could be scheduled at the beginning of IEP meetings, to better ensure consideration of transition (postsecondary) goals in the IEP. Need to ensure that Action Plan portion of the TPF is a collaborative effort, and determined during the Transition Planning Meeting, consistently.
5. Next Meeting Agenda: Approve minutes, old/new business (“what to expect”/Ch 688, survey status, presentation status, CPR), agenda and date of next meeting(s), open forum
Minutes respectfully submitted by __________________________
Minutes approved Date: ______________
In favor ___, opposed____, approved with changes____.
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Bay Path SEPAC Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: March 3, 2017
Members Present 3/3/17: N.Alpine, K.Mier-Fengler, T.Hibbert, D.Tucker, J.Gaucher, K.L'Hereaux
1. Minutes of 1/26/17 meeting were reviewed and accepted without changes.
2. Board/Committee Reports: none
3. Old Business:
a) K.Fengler investigated if a faculty member can serve on the board of a SEPAC; so far, it looks like only parents can hold an office. Faculty and community are welcome to be members.
b) N.Alpine contacted PQA (Matt Nixon) who indicated that IEP Progress Reports can be sent home quarterly, but not necessarily on the date that report cards are sent home.
c) K.Fengler generated new website for BPSEPAC, and submitted it to J.Kloter who in turn sent it to N.Alpine. N.Alpine indicated that she sent it to IT for linking to Bay Pat website.
d) N.Alpine was to schedule Transition presentation with FCSN. Further discussion ensued regarding combining it with a Transition Fair in the fall, but neither to occur at Parents Night. To be discussed further.
e) Draft SEPAC brochure was accidentally sent home to parents. Intent was for it to be printed to discuss at this meeting; brochure was reviewed, discussed, revised, accepted with revisions.
f) SEPAC bylaws were reviewed, revised, and accepted with revisions.
4. New Business
a) Future meetings will include topics of Special Education practices and policies at Bay Path (past 2 meetings were mostly re: PAC organization). Most future meetings will be held in the evening (6pm) to enable more parents to attend.
b) Discussed adding a subtitle to the BP SEPAC to reduce stigma and to encourage parent participation. N.Alpine indicated that it must be called a "SEPAC".
Action: K.Fengler to determine what other SEPACs do to increase parent participation and to minimize stigma.
c) Next meeting will be in May, to include officer elections.
Action: N.Alpine to determine if May 24, 6 PM is feasible.
d) All agreed to have a social media presence on FaceBook, in form of a "group", not "page".
Action: KFengler to generate FB group.
e) Bay Path's MASSPAC membership allows for one more free seminar this year.
Action: T.Hibbert to investigate and propose additional presentation (possibly the Vision workshop).
f) Discussion as to if students can be part of a SEPAC. Membership is for parents, but students are welcome to attend portions of a meeting to offer their insights.
5. Next Meeting Agenda: Approve minutes, communications/media update, old/new business agenda and date of next meeting(s), open forum
Minutes respectfully submitted by Kristin Mier-Fengler
Minutes approved Date: ___June 20, 2017___________
In favor ____, opposed__0__, approved with changes___5___. (see 4a )
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Bay Path SEPAC Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: January 26, 2017
Members Present 1/26/17: N.Alpine, K.Dumas, J.Kloter, K.Mier-Fengler, M.Philion, D.Tucker
1. Board/Committee Reports: none
2. Old Business: none
3. New Business
a. Purpose/Mission of SEPAC: Brief discussion of purpose of a SEPAC; all were given a hard copy of DESE’s “Guidance for Special Education Parent Advisory Councils”;
Action: all to review prior to next meeting.
At next meeting we will review the former DC-SEPAC mission to see how to modify for Bay Path SEPAC since all parents present were board members of DC-SEPAC and participated in its creation and annual review.
Action: K.Mier-Fengler to obtain DC-SEPAC brochure and bylaws, and propose modifications to adapt to Bay Path.
b. Council Organization: The board will consist of at least two parent members, ideally three. Offices to include Chairperson, Recording Secretary, and (if sufficient volunteers) one Member at Large. Meeting frequency will be quarterly or more often as needed. We will meet monthly until bylaws, communications, and officers are in place. Officer elections will be annually in May.
Action: K.Mier-Fengler to learn if faculty can hold a SEPAC office; locate/update draft webpage.
c. Proposed Presentations: Would like the following presentations, annually. “Basic Rights in Special Education” (by FCSN), “Transition” (by FCSN), Bay Path Special Education Overview for Parents of Freshmen and New Students (by faculty and PAC). Basic Rights is scheduled for Feb 7, 2017. SpEd Overview to occur in the fall.
Action: N.Alpine to schedule Transition presentation with FCSN.
4. Announcements: “Basic Rights in Special Education” is scheduled for 5pm, Feb 7, 2017
5. Next Meeting Agenda: Approve minutes, review proposed bylaws, review brochure, communications/media update, agenda and date of next meeting(s), open forum
6. Open Forum: Most recent IEP Progress Reports were 1 month late; N.Alpine indicated a computer glitch was resolved; progress reports don’t seem to be reporting on goals in a quantitative/measurable manner (discussion to continue).
7. Adjourn: (Motion by DTucker)
Minutes respectfully submitted by Kristin Mier-Fengler
Minutes approved Date: ____3/3/2017__________
In favor __6__, opposed__0__, approved with changes_0___.