Tuesday, December 8th

The day started off with the manifestation determination meeting for the incident from last Friday. It was determined that the incident that resulted in a 10 day suspension was not a manifestation of the student's disability and a functional behavior assessment and a review of his placement is not in order. The end result is that the student will face the 10 day suspension unless the school administration decides to change their decision and reduce it. If they don't reduce it, I have to arrange for home instruction to begin on the 5th day of the suspension.

About 10 minutes into the meeting, it is interrupted and I'm informed that there is another risk assessment over at the high school and there is no one else around, so after my meeting I have to head on over to do the risk assessment. The meeting didn't actually take very long and within 45 minutes I find myself meeting with a student in their guidance counselor's office. The outcome of the assessment is that the student did not present as a danger to themselves but seems to be in need of counseling. I wait for the student's mother with the student and counselor and we all meet to discuss what has happened and provide them with a list of resources. From the meeting it seems that the mother could also use the resources herself.

Following this, I return to my office and play phone tag with a number of people and respond to some emails about my lawyer-involved case. I speak to a department head about one of my students who is being a bit obstinate. I also talk to another guidance counselor about a student of mine who is having difficulty in their math class. The guidance counselor brings up the idea that the student might need some counseling for stuff that is going on at home. I tell her that may be the case but it would be better to refer the family to outside counseling resources.

Now it isn't a matter of my not wanting to counsel the student. It is a matter of what in-school counseling is about and it is easier to define what it isn't than what it is. It isn't psychotherapy. IEP related counseling is to address issues that impact school performance. There are so many students in schools that could benefit from counseling, both regular and special education, that you would need to employ a fleet of counselors but it is over-prescribed for what it is in school. There are some schools that have instituted school-based counseling clinics as part of district services but they are few and far between and take place after school day hours. My heart goes out to the student but he would be better served by obtaining services from within the community since it is a family situation. In fact, the whole family would benefit.

After this and a lunch, I start typing yesterday's risk assessment. I'm only partly finished when it is time to staff a student that I tested. The student is clearly eligible but the issue remains what to do for the student. This is again one of those situations where the student needs more treatment outside the school setting than within because that is where the resources lie. The student doesn't need an out of district placement; the student needs appropriate treatment for their condition.

Following this I talk with a few of my coworkers about some of the crazier situations that are coming up and how it seems to be tied partly to this time of year. After this it is time to race home. I have a personal day on Wednesday but I'll pay for it on Thursday.