Providence Public School District, U.S. Dept. of Justice Ask that School District Be Released Early from Supported Employment and Day Services Settlement

Providence Public School District, U.S. Dept. of Justice Ask that School District Be Released Early from Supported Employment and Day Services Settlement

Unusual move follows independent report that PPSD has consistently met or exceeded agreement’s requirements

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Providence Public Schools District (PPSD) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a joint motion to dismiss PPSD from CA 13-442, United States of America v. City of Providence, nearly one year before the associated settlement agreement’s July 2020 expiration date. That motion relied upon the findings of the independent Court Monitor tasked with reviewing compliance with the settlement. Specifically, the Court Monitor issued a public report concluding that PPSD has consistently met or exceeded the requirements of its Interim Settlement Agreement (ISA) with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning service delivery for students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) at Providence’s Birch School.

The parties’ joint brief to release PPSD from the agreement early, which is an unusual move, will be the subject of a public hearing at the U.S. District Court at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 26, 2019.

“Our students deserve a high-quality education that supports their needs and excites them to learn,” said Mayor Jorge O. Elorza. “As a community, we are stepping up to the significant challenges Providence Public Schools face to ensure a bright future for all of our students. I am proud to work our team at the district to provide staff the professional development and readiness experiences they need to create an inclusive learning environment for our students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Regardless of walk of life, interests or ability, I firmly believe each student deserves the opportunity to succeed.”

The brief lays out Providence’s substantial compliance with the terms of the settlement, noting PPSD’s “swift progress and years of sustained reform,” and that the “policy, operational, and attitudinal changes made in response to the ISA are myriad and will be difficult to dismantle. From the beginning of the ISA, the City and school leadership committed to rapidly addressing this discrimination and preventing it from recurring, and have continually demonstrated that commitment since signing the ISA in 2013.”

“I am incredibly proud of the work of PPSD’s Specialized Instruction and Services team. This initiative was originally implemented by Lisa Vargas Sinapi, who was instrumental in laying the groundwork for this important work; Edda Carmadello has faithfully carried on those efforts and has been diligent and steadfast in ensuring their continuation. I am also very thankful to Mary Ann Carroll and Henneous Carroll Lombardo, LLC, who represented Providence and have helped to oversee the development and implementation of the settlement. This has very much been a team effort, and all members of the team kept the best interests of students at the forefront throughout the process,” said Dr. Fran Gallo, Interim Superintendent of Providence Schools. “As this brief shows, the commitment and dedicated efforts of our team created a methodology to support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities that has become best practice for other districts across the state. More importantly, these efforts led to better outcomes for students.”

The brief also highlights the “considerable outreach and education to students, families, and the community,” done by PPSD and the City, which has spread awareness and created an expectation that students with IDD are capable of working in integrated settings.

Background:

In June 2013, the DOJ entered into a seven-year agreement with the State of Rhode Island and the City of Providence designed to ensure that individuals with IDD receive appropriate, integrated employment services. The DOJ found that employment and day services at Birch School and the Training Through Placement (TTP) program had inappropriately placed individuals with IDD in sheltered settings that put students at “serious risk of segregation” and “unnecessarily segregated adults,” in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The groundbreaking agreement required the city and the state to:

• Provide integrated employment services as an alternative to sheltered workshops;
• Create career development plans and connect individuals at TTP, recent graduates of Birch (from 2010-2013) and students transitioning out of Birch to integrated employment;
• Provide two 60-day trial work experiences aligned to the individual career goals of each Birch student; and
• Ensure that Birch students are provided the opportunity to earn a high school diploma.

In 2013, Providence ended sheltered workshops at the Birch School. The school district offered professional development to teachers and support staff to ensure that they were prepared to provide integrated education and work readiness experiences. Providence then relocated Birch classrooms within the program’s host school, Mt. Pleasant High School, to create less segregated learning environments. The district then integrated Birch students into elective courses at Mt. Pleasant to ensure they had the opportunity to meet graduation requirements. In attempt to create a more unified culture within the school, Mt. Pleasant also launched integrated extracurricular programs in sports and music.

Staff members enacted person-centered planning to identify and place students in trial work experiences that matched individual career goals. They improved the student school-to-work transition process by partnering more closely with the Office of Rehabilitative Services and the R.I. Dept. of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. Lastly, Providence built student and parent career education events into its annual calendar to improve family engagement and information sharing.

The State remains subject to the Interim Settlement Agreement. Additionally, if the court releases PPSD from the Interim Settlement Agreement, Providence will still be part of a larger consent decree affecting all school districts in the state. The consent decree mandates person-centered development plans for all students with IDD.