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Parent Survey Project:Results from Year One

Conducted by SRI Internationalfor the

Office of the Independent Monitor

March 13, 2006

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The Parent Interview• Occurred March – April 2005• By telephone, 10-15 minutes• Conducted weekdays and weekends from 9 am – 9 pm

with some parents contacted up to 25 times• Overall response rate of 70% (1,377 Interviews)• Random sample of 2,000 parents

– Representative sample stratified by disability incidence (high and low) and primary home language

– Included parents who speak English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Armenian, and Russian

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Non-Response Bias Test

• Conducted to determine appropriate weighting to ensure that the findings accurately represent the population of LAUSD students receiving special education

• During the data collection period, SRI provided the names of non-responders (difficult to reach parents)

• During the data collection period, updated contact information was obtained from the District and provided to SRI

• The analysis found parents with students with emotional disturbance were underrepresented and weights were adjusted accordingly

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The interview tells us about parents’:

• Awareness of special education rights and responsibilities, and the LAUSD reform process.

• Participation in the IEP process including mediation and hearings.

• Involvement in IEP decisions about services and placement for their children.

• Satisfaction with special education programs and services.

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Parents’ awarenessof special education rights and responsibilities and the LAUSD

reform process

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Parents’ awareness of special education rights and services

1. The school district has trainings and workshops to inform parents of students with disabilities about services and rights (True)

2. There is no federal law that protects the rights of parents of children with disabilities (False)

3. The school district has an office where parents can call if they have concerns, questions, or complaints about their children’s special education program or services (True)

4. Parents do not have the right to disagree with the school or the district about their children’s special education program or services (False)

5. The school district is attempting to improve its special education programs to meet the requirements of a federal lawsuit filed by parents (True)

65%

32%

80%

63%

40%

Percentage of correct responses

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Parents’ satisfaction with information from the school about their children

Thinking about this school year, how satisfied are you with how well your child’s school keeps you informed about his/her behavior and academic performance? Would you say you are

• Very satisfied• Some what satisfied• Somewhat dissatisfied, or• Very dissatisfied?

Very satisfied

31%

Somewhat satisfied

54%

Somewhat/very

dissatisfied15%

OIM parent survey reports

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Parents’ participation in the IEP process, mediation,

and hearings

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Attendance at the IEP Meeting

• 86% of families attend IEP meetings• Of those who attend, 87% reported receiving a

copy of the IEP at the end of the meeting

• Of those 14% of parents that did not attend, 55% are aware that an IEP was held– Work/schedule conflicts are the most cited

reason for not attending the IEP meeting– 45% report that the school tried to find ways

to help them participate in the IEP meeting

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Parents’ report of disagreements with the school about special education services

9% Participated in dispute resolution, mediation, or hearing.

21% Considered dispute resolution, mediation, or hearing.

37% Disagreed with the school about child’s services.

80% of families who went to mediation hearings were successful in getting at least some of what they wanted.

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Parents’ satisfaction with the IEP process

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Parents’ report of treatment during IEP meeting

Thinking about the most recent IEP meeting you attended, to what extent do you feel you were treated as an equal and an important member of the IEP team? Were you: • Fully,• Mostly,• Somewhat, or• Not at all

OIM parent survey reports

Fully67%

Mostly22%

Not at all3%

Somewhat8%

treated as an equal and important part of the IEP team?

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Parents’ report of their involvement in the development of IEP goals

I would like you to describe your involvement in decision-making about the IEP goals…

• Did the school mostly come up with the goals on the IEP,

• Was it mostly you and/or your child, or

• Was it a combination of all of you together?

• 66% of parents report being given a choice about placement options.

OIM parent survey reports

School25%

Family5%

School and family

70%

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Parents’ satisfaction with the amount of involvement in the IEP

How do you feel about your family’s involvement in decisions about your child’s IEP overall?

OIM parent survey reports

About the right

amount61%

Wanted to be more involved

38%

Wanted to be less

involved1%

• Wanted to be more involved

• Wanted to be less involved

• About the right amount

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Parents’ satisfaction with LAUSD

programs and services

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Parents’ report of the amount of services in the IEP that are being received

To what extent is your child getting the services written in his or her IEP? Would you say he or she is receiving:

• All of the services,• Most of the services,• Some of the services, or• None of the services

in the IEP?

OIM parent survey reports

All of the services

29%

Most of the services

30%

None of the

services4%

Some of the

services37%

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Parents’ perceptions of whether their children received enough services

Overall, do you think your child is getting enough special education services?

OIM parent survey reports

Enough54%

Somewhat enough

21%

Not enough

25%

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Parents’ efforts to get special education services for their children

Overall, how much effort did it take for you or your family to get services specified in your child’s IEP during the last 12 months? Would you say it took: • A great deal of effort,• Some effort,• A little effort, or• Almost no effort?

OIM parent survey reports

A great deal of effort30%

Some effort25%

Almost no effort25%

A little effort20%

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Parents’ satisfaction with special education services

Thinking about this school year, would you say you are:

• Very satisfied,• Somewhat satisfied,• Somewhat dissatisfied,

or• Very dissatisfied

OIM parent survey reports

Very satisfied

26%

Somewhat satisfied

59%

Somewhat/very

dissatisfied15%

with your child’s special education services?

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Differences by Disability Incidence

• Parents of students in the low-incidence disability categories are more likely to:– Attend IEP meetings– Have disagreed with the school about their

children’s services– Have considered participating in informal

dispute resolution, mediation or hearing– Have participated in informal dispute

resolution, mediation or hearing

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Differences by Disability Incidence

• Parents of students in the high-incidence disability categories are more likely to:– Report that they were treated as an equal and

important member of the IEP team– Report feeling that their children do not

receive sufficient services

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Differences by Primary Language

• English speaking parents are more likely to:– Report having received LAUSD information

booklets and are the most aware of special education rights and resources

– Feel that their children are receiving all of the services specified on the IEP

– Describe that securing services at the IEP meeting took almost no effort

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Differences by Primary Language

• Spanish speaking parents are:– More likely to report feeling treated as an

equal and important member of the IEP team– More likely to describe their involvement in

the overall decision-making as positive – Less likely to be aware of the federal law that

protects their children’s special education rights

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Differences by Primary Language

• Other-language speaking parents are:– Less likely to be aware of the LAUSD office

where parents may call with concerns, complaints, and/or questions regarding their children’s special education services and programs

– More likely to have an interpreter provided by the District than one provided by the school

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Provision of Interpreters at the IEP Meeting

• 64% of parents for whom English is not their primary language have requested an interpreter for their IEP meeting

• 95% of parents who requested one, an interpreter was provided

• 45% of parents report that interpreters frequently translate only those conversations directed toward the parents and do not provide the parents with translations of conversations among other IEP team members

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Differences by Race/Ethnicity

• Parents of Latino students are:– More likely to report having a positive

experience with IEP meetings– More likely to report that their children are

receiving enough services– The least aware that IDEA protects their

children’s special education rights– The least aware of their right to disagree with

their school about special education services

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Differences by Race/Ethnicity

• Parents of African-American students are:– Less likely to attend IEP meetings– More likely to report that their children are not

receiving enough special education services– More likely to want greater involvement in the

IEP process

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Differences by Race/Ethnicity

• Parents of White students are:– The most likely to have received the District’s

information booklets that explain their special education rights

– More likely to demonstrate higher levels of awareness of:

• Their right to disagree with their children’s school• Federal special education rights• The LAUSD office to call about concerns,

questions, and complaints

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Differences by Race/Ethnicity

• Parents of students in the Other race/ethnicity are:– More likely than all other groups to be

knowledgeable about the special education trainings and workshops for parents offered by LAUSD

– More likely than White and African-American parents to feel that their children are making progress toward their IEP goals

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Differences by Grade Level

• Parents of pre-school and elementary school students are:– More likely to have attended IEP meetings

and to have participated in dispute resolution activities

– More likely to be satisfied with their level of involvement in IEP decisions

– More likely to report that it takes “a great deal of effort” to secure services for their children

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Differences by Grade Level

• Parents of high school students are:– More likely than parents of pre-school and

elementary school students to report wanting greater involvement regarding their children’s services

– More aware than parents of pre-school and elementary school students that LAUSD is attempting to improve special education programs

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National Comparisons

• Fewer LAUSD parents of students 13 years and older attend their children’s IEP meetings than do parents of same-age students nationally

• LAUSD parents are less likely than parents nationally to have participated in dispute resolution processes, such as mediation and hearings

• LAUSD parents of students 13 years and older are more likely to a report a joint school and parent partnership in developing their child’s IEP goals, than parents of same-age students nationally

• LAUSD parents are less likely to feel they are involved “the right amount” in IEP decision-making

• LAUSD parents are more likely to report that it requires a “great deal of effort” and less likely to say it requires “almost no effort” to obtain services for their children

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Questions?