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Legal Interview - Darren Best

The document summarizes an interview with Christine Breen, the Director of Student Support Services for Minnetonka Public Schools, regarding legal issues in education administration. Christine advised building relationships with special education directors, who are knowledgeable about legal issues. The top three things for new principals to know are district policies, using the law to make child-centered decisions, and understanding issues like IEPs, 504 plans, and discrimination. One legal issue Christine managed was manifestation determination for behavior issues. This involved gathering student information to determine if the behavior related to their IEP and if the IEP was properly followed. Most cases resulted in IEP changes to meet student needs in the least restrictive

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80 views

Legal Interview - Darren Best

The document summarizes an interview with Christine Breen, the Director of Student Support Services for Minnetonka Public Schools, regarding legal issues in education administration. Christine advised building relationships with special education directors, who are knowledgeable about legal issues. The top three things for new principals to know are district policies, using the law to make child-centered decisions, and understanding issues like IEPs, 504 plans, and discrimination. One legal issue Christine managed was manifestation determination for behavior issues. This involved gathering student information to determine if the behavior related to their IEP and if the IEP was properly followed. Most cases resulted in IEP changes to meet student needs in the least restrictive

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Running head: TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 1

Legal Interview

Darren Best

Minnesota State University, Mankato

April 30, 2020


TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 2

Legal Interview

I had the opportunity to Interview Christine Breen, Director of Student Support Services

for Minnetonka Public Schools.

What advice would you give to a new administrator regarding legal issues in

administration?

Christine’s advice here was to abide by legal statute and make friends with the director(s)

of special education. They deal with legal issues often, know the law, and are trained to support

building principals in how to abide by it. I appreciated her statement that principals do not need

to know the law but need to know who to turn to when legal issues arise.

What are the top three things a new principal must know about school legal issues?

First of all, a principal must know the district and building policies and practices. Lean on

these for decision making. Christine also talked about using the law to help make child centered

decisions. This is the route most likely to lead to positive outcomes for all. Second, she talked

about making sure administrators listen intently, ask clarifying questions, and truly seek to

understand the perspectives of all stakeholders before making judgments regarding legal matters.

Third, is to know the latest information regarding IEPs, 504 and issues of racial and gender

discrimination. These are topics that are coming up frequently in legal conversations in

Minnetonka Schools right now.


TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 3

Describe an educational legal issue you had to manage

Christine mentioned one fo the major acts in special education is manifestation

determination. This is true especially at the secondary level. I’ve known about the idea of

manifestation determination but not had any specific knowlege of the process. Her responses

were enlightening to me.

What facts did you have to know/gather for this legal issue?

Christine and her team had to gather information to determine if the behavior in question

had a direct and substantial relationship to the child’s IEP and if the IEP was followed. If the

behavior is a manifestation, the team will discuss any changes to the student’s IEP whether that

be additional support, change in placement, or otherwise. If the behavior is not a manifestation,

the team and school can take further disciplinary action as deemed appropriate by the established

protocols. It was interseting to me that she also said that changes could be made to the IEP even

if the behavior was not a manifestaion of the student’s identified need.

How was this educational legal issues resolved/concluded?

Christine mentioned that the vast majority of manifestation cases in our district result in

the team concluding that the behavior was a manifestation of the student’s disability. In most

cases the IEP team then makes changes to the plan so that the student’s needs can be met in the

most restrictive environment. I asked further about change in placement and she told me that in

order to change placmeent, the student behavior needed to involve drugs, a weapon, or sever

bodily injury.
TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 4

Who do you involve when navigating educational legal issue?

Those involved in these meetings include: the principal, counseor, IEP team, dean of

students, and director of student support services. Somtimes (often in special education cases)

legal counsel is necessary. She also mentioned a director of human resources could he involved

as well. This was eye opening to me as this type of legal meeting can get quite expensive very

quickly.

How does your district ensure that racially predictable outcomes in special education and

discipline referrals are addressed?

Christine told me that our school district has been cited recently for overrepresentation of

black students in setting III programs. She acknoledged that the number of black students is

larger than it should be and that the district is providing some training in culturally responsive

practices are being offered. We could certainly benefit from additional traning. She did

commend her staff for being well trained in matters related to special education. She told me that

the legal counsel for the district recommended creating a rubric for suspensions. This would

prevent variation in disciplinary action based on the principal administering the discipline. This

work is scheduled to be done this summer and fall and in place by 2021.

Christine is a great resource for our district and has a lot of experience in legal matters

and matters regarding special education. As I move toward principalship, someone like her will

be a huge asset on my team.


TITLE OF YOUR PAPER 5

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