Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 2/8/2022
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY – The Hampshire Regional Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is looking to reignite better support, networking and education to parents and guardians of K-12 students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 in the district.
Adam Cortis, the chair of Hampshire Regional’s SEPAC, told Reminder Publishing that the goal at the moment is to try and find more parents who are willing to join the organization, as there has been little traction from residents so far.
Cortis has a child who has been a part of the special education program in the Hampshire Regional School District for the last six years, and during that time frame, the SEPAC organization in Hampshire Regional has been virtually nonexistent. “As a parent, it’s a difficult situation to navigate,” said Cortis, explaining the special education situation. “None of this natural, so everything you have to learn is kind of being done on your own, and SEPAC groups typically support people like that.”
The overarching goal of a SEPAC organization is to facilitate communication between parents and school administrators to promote respect, support and appropriate education for all children with special needs in the community. “It’s a monthly meeting where you get together with like-minded individuals … and you can sort of lean on them and learn,” said Cortis. “I didn’t have that available to me.”
The growing usage of Zoom calls over the course of the pandemic allowed Cortis to participate in other SEPAC organizations and learn about the idiosyncrasies that make them so valuable. With these experiences under his belt, Cortis is currently trying to rekindle the SEPAC organization for Hampshire Regional – a project he has been pursuing for the past year and a half.
“It really hasn’t been successful at all yet,” said Cortis, referring to people’s lack of interest so far. “But it’s not the end of it for me … I’m going to continue to drum up some interest.”
SEPACs within school organizations are required by state law, according to Cortis. Hampshire Regional has had a chair in the past, but that was mainly to fulfill the state obligation. The group was never fully operational in the district, and meetings were never conducted, however.
One of the requirements from the state is to have an annual basic rights workshop to give parents and guardians information about IEP programs and what the state offers and requires. Cortis conducted this workshop on Feb. 9 over Zoom, with the hope that people who are interested in joining the council would attend the meeting.
According to Cortis, SEPAC acts as a parent advisory council that has a direct link to the five Hampshire Regional schools and school committees “The idea is you can meet privately outside of the school and discuss topics of interest,” said Cortis, adding that topics could be positive or negative. “And then the SEPAC group would take that to the school, whether it be principals, superintendents or school committees. It depends on the issue.”
Cortis envisions SEPAC as a support group and network that is open to anyone in the community, even students. When planning is being conducted within special education programs, SEPAC would be an organization to lean on and talk to for support and information.
The SEPAC at Hampshire Regional is a unique format, according to Cortis, mainly because it covers all five schools in the area. Most SEPACs in the state cover just one school. Because of their broad reach, Cortis is surprised that there has not been any interest in creating a more formal organization.
Cortis said that out of the five schools in the district 367 students participate in IEPs, which are legal documents that lay out a program of special education instruction, support and services within each public school district. Additionally, SEPACs would discuss 504 plans, which are special accommodations and protections for people who have disabilities.
“I’m surprised there aren’t more people from general education interested in SEPACs,” said Cortis. “Special education is very expensive, and if it’s not managed properly … it impacts the budget, and ultimately impacts general education.”
The plan is for the SEPAC to meet monthly for an hour or so, according to Cortis, but they first need to find a couple of regular participants to help push the organization forward. The short-term plan is to have a virtual meeting in March, though a time and date is still up in the air.
People can visit the Hampshire Regional School District calendar at https://www.hr-k12.org/en-US/calendar to find updates on when the next meeting would be and can also learn more about SEPAC and what resources the state offers by visiting https://www.hr-k12.org/sepac-32929c07#0, or by emailing Cortis at acortiscoordination@comcast.net.