Knox County Schools has laid out its new path for special education, and the parents closest to the issue are ready for what comes next.
The strategic plan for special education, which outlines how teachers and leaders will change the district's culture and improve academics, was released Sept. 10 after years of back-and-forth with parents. It's been a priority for Superintendent Jon Rysewyk
since he took the helm in 2022.Four parents with students receiving special education services sat down with Knox News to share their thoughts on the plan and how it will impact their children.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Knox News: Before hearing the presentation, what expectations or concerns did you have about the plan? Did the details
presented address any of those concerns?
Sandy Bush, mother to a 14-year-old with medical needs: There is a lot of good stuff in there. As long as they implement it, I think it'll be really good. I'm always looking at things through the lens of my son, who is pretty profoundly disabled. I do notice throughout a lot of it seems to be geared toward higher-functioning kids with IEPs (individualized education plans). I wouldn't want to necessarily take anything away from what they've done, but I do wish they included some more measurable goals for kids that are not going to be independent.
Shannon Efteland, whose middle son has Down syndrome: It was more thought out and more robust than I expected it to be. I will give them credit for that. I think it could be a really good working plan and I want this plan to succeed. My concern is whether the things that they have chosen to measure will actually tell us whether it's succeeding for the students with disabilities and for the teachers who are serving them.
Alexis Rhodes, whose son has autism and dyslexia: I had low expectations. It's clear, at least to me, that they don't get it. They don't understand the overall issue. Either they don't get it or they don't intend to meaningfully fix it. I feel like the vast majority of what led to this plan was not really included. It missed, for me personally, almost every mark.
Jennifer Zielke, mother to a nonverbal 6-year-old with autism and cerebral palsy: My first reaction sitting there was, KCS is finally recognizing that special education needs some sort of a districtwide plan. That was immediately followed up by the fact that it's not really providing any concrete answers. It's measuring district activity more than it is whether a child is actually receiving appropriate and timely services. It felt like there was a lot of metrics, but not anything that was accountable.
I'm glad that they're trying to make some progress, but until they actually publish something that says, "If this fails, this is what we're going to do, or this is who is going to be responsible for this and this is how we're actually going to measure it," it's just another promise, which is what parents in Knox County Schools are living on. It's just been empty promises.
Knox News: As you listened to the presentation, did any new questions or concerns emerge for you? Did anything stand out to you?
Efteland: The outcomes that they've chosen to measure, these are things that are easy to count and easy to change, but they don't actually tell us whether the IEPs are more individualized, whether they're more accessible, more collaborative or more effective for the students. And especially, it seemed a lot like the students who don't have the capacity for high academic achievement were almost entirely lost out of what they're measuring in that plan.
I do think that there is a demographic of students who could be more successful. And no one is presuming competence. No one is assuming that they can learn these things even though they probably could if they had more individual support. In order to increase their math and their ELA and their diploma options, are we actually going to be providing them more services and supports directly so that they can be successful?
Zielke: Dr. (Brad) Carr had said, "I was asked how will we know this is working for our students?" And his response was, "Your student is going to come home and tell you." And the first thing out of my mouth was, "Does he not realize that a good portion of the population that has an IEP could be nonverbal?" That's not an option. KCS should not be reliant on a student being able to come home and tell you something. They should be transparent with what they are reporting.
Knox News: After hearing the plan, what questions or concerns remain unresolved for you?
Bush: I guess half of me wants to be optimistic and knows that people can do better. And the other half of me is like, "Why would I think things are ever going to be any different than they've been?" I mean, (my son) in high school. He started in the pre-K, he's in ninth grade. This is the pattern that we've seen at different schools with different staff.
Efteland: I think there's a possibility that what they're measuring could give them a false sense of success without them actually doing anything. I worry more about nothing changing. And that in itself is damaging. There's so many parents that have been holding out for some change. Our students can't wait.
This (plan) is more of looking from the top down, and we need to be looking from the bottom up instead of the top down. We need to be looking at what does it look like for the student, what does it look like for the teacher and how do we support that? Because that's where the work is being done.
Rhodes: What is not included in it is more important than what is. It's the culture, it is the day-to-day experience that our kids have in school that is the primary concern. Are they being meaningfully educated? Do they have meaningful relationships? Are they being excluded? They weren't even really touched on very much. Good academics can only come after those things are met. After those basic needs are met, then can we sit there and focus on high-quality instruction. Because what is high-quality instruction without meaningful relationships, without inclusion?
Success cannot be defined, measured and validated entirely by the same district whose existing outcomes prompted the plan in the first place. We are here because you put us here.
Zielke: (This plan) requires an enormous amount of trust. There's safeguards on paper, but parents can't really see whether those safeguards are actually played out in real life. And then we're also not able to ask our child anything.
I don't think I or any families are opposing any improvement to Knox County's plans. Any improvement is honestly great, but we're just kind of asking that KCS prove the improvement where it matters. I'm hoping that what they released is a starting point, but it's not their actual whole plan. I support the need for a serious special education plan, but that? I just don't think it's very sufficient in its current form.
Caitlyn Meisner is the K-12 education reporter for Knox News. Email tips and story ideas to caitlyn.meisner@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: KCS parents are optimistic but worry special ed plan is 'just another promise' | Exclusive
