Students’ Rights Advocates Overview and Description Perkins School 2014

What is a Students’ Rights Advocate? New positions created when the School Wide Safety Committee was restructured They act as a liaison between staff in a program (Deafblind, Lower School/ELC, and Secondary) and the SRC They are the contact person for staff who are concerned about a student not having his/her rights met

Student’s Rights Committee (SRC) Approves and reviews the use of restrictive procedures in behavior plans Insures compliance with regulations Provides advice to manage challenging behaviors Previously, the Students’ Rights Committee was know as PRT (Program Review Team)

Who are the Student Rights Advocates? Jim Witmer Deafblind X 7255 Betsey Porter Lower School & ELC X 7287 To Be Determined Secondary

What responsibilities do they have? Advocates are expected to: Attend monthly SRC meetings Receive staff concerns related to student rights Address concerns in a timely manner Report the concerns and outcomes to the SRC

The Process Advocate will facilitate bringing concern to the appropriate supervisor (i.e. Education Director, clinical supervisor, CRL, etc…) If concern is not resolved, the Advocate will meet with the Education Director of the program. If needed, the Advocate will bring the concern to the SRC meeting for recommendations

The Process (continued) 4. Advocate will bring the recommendations from the SRC back to the Education Director. 5. Advocate and Educational Director may bring concerns to the Superintendent of Educational Programs

Notes about The Process The process should be non-threatening and not intimidating Supervisors know staff may go to Advocate for help Generally recommended to go to your supervisor first, before approaching the Advocate

What are the students’ rights? Examples of Student’s Rights are: Access to daily recreation Access to social contact Right to privacy When appropriate- participate in making rules When appropriate- participate in design of own behavior support plan Access to telephone

In Summary… The Advocate will help resolve student rights issues, possibly with Student Rights Committee (SRC) help If you have a concern about a students’ rights, speak to the Advocate in your program Deafblind: Jim Witmer (x 7255) Lower School/ELC: Betsey Porter (x 7278) Secondary: To Be Determined