North Thurston Public Schools Adopted by the Board of Directors on

Transcription

1 North Thurston Public Schools Adopted by the Board of Directors on November 20, 2012

2 NORTH THURSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION...2 II. STAFF RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION...3 III. DISSEMINATION OF PLAN AND POLICIES...4 IV. UTILIZATION ANALYSIS...6 V. SUPPORTIVE SYSTEMS...11 VI. INTERNAL AUDIT AND REPORTING...13 VII. REDUCTIONS IN FORCE...14 VIII. COMPLAINT PROCEDURE...14 IX. APPENDICES APPENDIX A - UTILIZATION ANALYSIS FEMALES APPENDIX B - UTILIZATION ANALYSIS MINORITIES APPENDIX C - JOB GROUP ANALYSIS ADA AND AA CONSULTANT BIOGRAPHY 1

3 NORTH THURSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS NO. 3 Lacey, WA AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN I. INTRODUCTION The Board of Directors of the North Thurston Public Schools recognizes that an affirmative action plan is a sound employment practice that assists in remediating prior employment discrimination and achieving a diverse work force. North Thurston Public Schools commits itself to a policy of affirmative action for all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, age, honorably-discharged veteran or military status, sex, marital status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, or qualified individuals with sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability and provides equal access to designated youth groups except as may be necessary to meet a bona fide occupational qualification. All personnel policies and practices related to employee selection, promotion, retention, staff development, and compensation will conform to the letter as well as the spirit of this Affirmative Action Plan and the Board of Director's policy on Equal Employment Opportunity. Attainment of and adherence to the Affirmative Action Plan is a primary responsibility of the Superintendent, administrators, managers and supervisors. Every employee is expected to work toward its success. Board Approved Date: November 20, 2012 Superintendent Board of Directors 2

4 II. STAFF RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION A. Affirmative Action Officer The Affirmative Action Officer has responsibility for reporting to the Superintendent and Board of Directors. The Affirmative Action Officer is: Debbie Kovacs, Executive Director of Human Resources North Thurston Public Schools No College Street NE Lacey, WA Phone: (360) Fax: (360) The Affirmative Action Officer is also charged with responding to any questions or complaints concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other employment discrimination laws. The Title IX Officer is: Debbie Kovacs, Executive Director of Human Resources North Thurston Public Schools No College Street NE Lacey, WA Phone: (360) Fax: (360) B. Human Resources Division The overall responsibility for monitoring and auditing this Plan shall be by the Human Resources Division of the District. This Division can be contacted through Debbie Kovacs, Executive Director of Human Resources North Thurston School District No College Street NE Lacey, WA Phone: (360) Fax: (360)

5 C. All Employees All District employees are responsible for supporting this Plan and for conducting their duties in accordance with it. Anyone having questions or concerns about any matter related to an equal employment issue is encouraged to contact the Human Resources Division or the Affirmative Action Officer. III. DISSEMINATION OF PLAN AND POLICIES It is the responsibility of the Superintendent of the District or the Superintendent s designee to inform all applicants for employment, all current employees, all persons responsible for hiring within the District, all employee associations, and all District contractors and subcontractors of the District s commitment to equal employment opportunity. A. Internal and External Communication 1. Copies of the District's policies regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action are contained in the District's policy books which are available on the District's website. The grievance procedures available to register complaints under these policies are also contained on the website ( 2. These policies will also be provided in new employee orientation trainings. 3. The Affirmative Action Plan will be made available on the District webpage or mailed as appropriate to the following: Board of Directors All administrators All schools and/or building locations The president of all employee associations Any employee, upon request The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction The Washington State Human Rights Commission The State Department of Personnel 4

6 4. At least annually, the District shall notify employees of its Affirmative Action Plan and its grievance procedure through employee newsletter and Advertisements for positions, whenever published, shall carry a statement to the effect that the District is an Equal Opportunity Employer and shall include the name, address, and telephone number of the person responsible for implementation of Title IX, Section 504/ADA, and Affirmative Action. 6. All District recruiting sources will be informed annually regarding the District s nondiscrimination policy and Affirmative Action Plan. 7. Upon adoption of the District s Affirmative Action Plan, the Director of Communications and Community Relations will issue a statement and information about the Plan in District publications. 8. Training opportunities that promote the goals of the Plan will be provided to Administrators and Principals following implementation of the plan. 9. A statement of the District s commitment to equal employment opportunity is to be included in all District publications, employment announcements, vendor contracts, and other related District documents. All appropriate and interested recruiting sources are to be informed of the District s policies regarding nondiscrimination/affirmative action. 10. In most cases, a request for alternate format of printed material, whether for brochures, pamphlets, or even announcements, requires that a text-only electronic version of the publication or announcement be made available. Individuals can then access the information through screen-reading software or by modifying the font size, color, etc. of the printed text. If you have questions about requests for alternate format (e.g. Braille, CD, printed version with extra large font), call the Human Resources Office ( ) to discuss options. 5

7 IV. UTILIZATION ANALYSIS A. Development of Analysis The terms "utilization analysis" and "underutilization" appearing in this Affirmative Action Plan are used in the same sense in which these terms are used in regulations published by the federal government relative to such plans. These terms have no independent legal or factual significance whatsoever. Many statistical comparisons herein involve the use of geographic areas and various sources of statistics. The use of such geographic areas and statistics is intended only for the purpose of implementing this Plan and has no significance outside the context of this Affirmative Action Plan; although, of course, these statistics and areas have been selected and used in good faith and in an effort to be as useful as possible in the development of the Plan. In order to determine whether goals are needed for an affirmative action program, it is first necessary to determine the percentage of females and minorities available in the work force. This is done through an "availability analysis." The availability analysis methodology used herein is the one set forth in federal regulations for affirmative action. This method looks at a variety of factors that contribute to availability and uses a weighting system to give more credit to the factors that contribute to availability, based upon the District's hiring and recruiting patterns: Civilian labor force; Persons with requisite skills in the immediate labor area; Persons with requisite skills in the area in which the District can reasonably recruit; Promotable and transferable persons in the District's work force; Recent graduates of training programs; and Persons available from the District's training programs. The second step is to measure the District's current utilization (the percentage of females and minorities currently employed in each job group) against the statistically expected utilization rate (80% of 6

8 availability rate). If current utilization is lower than the expected utilization, the District is "underutilized" in a job group. Because of the desire to have the availability analysis be as accurate as possible, the District's hiring and recruitment patterns and data were reviewed so that the weight given each factor in the availability analysis would reflect actual patterns. The available resources for the collection and maintenance of data were considered. The job groups which were identified for tracking are: Certificated Administrators, Elementary Teachers, Secondary Teachers, Instructional Support, Professional/Technical/Supervisory, Teacher Aides, Clerical, Food Service, Custodial, Maintenance, Transportation, and Interpreters. After determining the job groups and number of employees in each group, availability factors applicable to each job group were identified, each factor was weighted, and a final availability statistic was calculated. Each job group is statistically analyzed for both female and minority utilization. The data used to calculate each factor came from a number of sources, including the 2000 Census data for the Olympia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) encompassing Thurston County, 2000 Census data for the State of Washington, and internal District data regarding promotion patterns and substitute employee pools. From the summary of underutilization analysis provided in a prior year, progress can be monitored. B. Analysis of Underutilization The District has analyzed its utilization of females and minorities relative to the statistically expected utilization. See Appendix A. This analysis indicates that females are statistically underutilized in the Certificated Administrator, Professional and Technical, Custodial, and Maintenance job groups. Minorities are underutilized in the Maintenance, and Interpreter job groups. The District has increased the number of minority staff from 9.12% in 2007 to 13.1% in The job groups in which the District is statistically underutilized are as follows: 7

9 Certificated Administrators: The number of female certificated administrators has decreased by 6 employees from 2007 to However, female availability has remained consistant at 62.3% in the same time period based upon available data. In addition, the number of certificated administrators has decreased from 46 to 40 over the same five year period. The District remains underutilized for females in this job group. Minority utilization in this job group in 2007 was 8.7%, but has increased over the last five years to 10.0%. The District hired two additional minority certificated administrators,. The District acknowledges its progress in increasing minority representation in its certificated administrator ranks and will continue its work in this area. The District will continue its efforts to eliminate underutilization of females in this job group and continue it s efforts in recruiting diverse administrative interns, advertising in appropriate media outlets (including minority-focused media), attend job fairs and opportunities to meet or partner with racial/ethnic women organizations and continue working to ensure equal opportunity for all applications, to include minority applicants, in the hiring process. Elementary Teachers: The District sends vacancy announcements to colleges and universities nationwide with high minority populations, attends career fairs in areas of the state with significant minority populations, develops relationships with career counselors and/or education department staff at colleges and universities with significant minority populations, and, when possible, attends career fairs in areas of the country with significant minority populations. During the past five year period the District has placed student teachers from two Florida colleges/universities with large minority populations with the goal of hiring the candidate as a permanent employee of the District. The District continues pursuing this targeted on-site recruitment effort. The District will evaluate all recruitment efforts annually and has increased student teaching placements from colleges and universities out of state. Minority availability in this job group is 7.3% based upon available data; current utilization is 6.6%. The District has recruited and hired 7.9% more minority elementary teachers in the last five years, while the percent of available minority elementary teachers has remained unchanged based upon available data. The District has an ongoing goal to attract more minority elementary teachers under the Plan to represent the diversity of our District. The District will utilize the Recruitment and 8

10 Employee Selection methods set forth in Section V., Supportive Systems, infra, to increase its minority applicant pool. Secondary Teachers: The District has taken the same actions to attract qualified candidates for secondary teaching vacancies as it does for elementary teaching vacancies. Minority availability in this job group is 10.2% based upon available data; current utilization is 10.2%. The District has recruited and hired 7.0% more minority secondary teachers in the last five years, but the percent of available minority secondary teachers in the relevant labor market has remained unchanged based upon current data. Although the District has made progress in this area, the District has a continuing goal to attract minority secondary teachers to represent the diversity of our District. The District will utilize the Recruitment and Employee Selection methods set forth in Section V., Supportive Systems, infra, to increase its minority applicant pool. Instructional Support: Minority availability in this job group is 8.7% based upon available data; current utilization is 12.5%. Recruiting for some instructional support positions continues to be difficult because the District competes with hospitals, which pay substantially higher salaries for positions such as speech, occupational, and physical therapists and nurses. The District consequently struggles to attract and retain minority instructional support staff. Given the shortage of candidates interested in employment with the schools, the District meets its needs in this area by contracting with private agencies. These instructional support service providers are not reflected in the District s employment data. The District will, however, continue its efforts to make such work at the District a viable alternative to work in a health care setting. In , the State allowed for Districts to grant two years of industry experience which has helped by allowing a newly hired support staff member to be placed on Step 2 of the State LEAP schedule vs. Step 1. In the future, the District will take the same actions to attract qualified candidates for instructional support vacancies as it does for teaching vacancies, and, in addition, develop relationships with staff members in the relevant fields at colleges and universities with significant minority populations and partner with local hospitals to provide internships, fellowships and practicums. The District has added student placement contracts with four new Universities to target this employee group. 9

11 Custodial: Female availability is 30.5% based upon available data; current utilization is 14.8%. The number of female custodians has decreased over the last five year period. The District will continue to ensure that its recruitment and hiring efforts are expanded to include females. At present, the District relies heavily on its substitute roster to hire new custodians. The substitute roster is 41.6% female which is an increase from 20.0% during the last five year period. There are limited position openings for custodial positions. Thus, when openings occur, the District will advertise the vacancies in local media, send job announcements to local trade schools and apprenticeship programs, explore recruitment opportunities at local trade schools and apprenticeship programs, and attend local job fairs. The District will also endeavor to add females to its custodial substitute roster. The District has implemented job search training to include resume writing and guidance on interviewing for all applicants during the last five year period and has ongoing networking with the local Work Source. Maintenance: Female availability in this job group has decresed to 5.9% based upon available data. The number of females in this job group has remained at 0%. The reason for the lack in number of female employees is due to fewer qualified applicants for such positions. Minority availability in this job group is 18.1% based upon available data; current utilization is 3.3%, which has decreased during the last five year period. The District has a continuing goal to attract additional minority maintenance employees. There are limited position openings for maintenance positions. When openings occur, the District will take the same actions to attract qualified candidates for maintenance vacancies as it does for custodial vacancies. Transportation: Minority availability is 14.9% in this job group based upon available data; current utilization is 15.3%, which is an increase during the last five years from 8.24%. The District will continue its efforts to attract interested minority candidates to apply for bus driving vacancies and to increase the number of minorities on the bus driver substitute list. Job announcements for transportation specialist and food service workers are also sent home on school lunch menus. 10

12 Interpreters: Minority availability in this job group is very limited at 2.0% based upon available data; current utilization is 0%. Over the last five years the number of interpreters has been reduced from 13 to 10. Given the small size of this job group and the limited position openings, the District may not have much opportunity to attract minority candidates under the Plan. However, to the extent that vacancies do arise, the District will endeavor to recruit broadly for such vacancies. For all job groups, the District will review its application screening processes and revise them as necessary to ensure that job-related criteria are considered in selecting interviewees. All District employees involved in interviewing job applicants will be trained in proper interviewing techniques, advised of District hiring policies, and informed of the District's commitment to its Affirmative Action Plan. Before making any job offer, the District will review the applicant pool, candidate selection, screening and interview processes, and hiring team comments to ensure compliance with District hiring policies. The District will review retention rates of current protected-class employees, and develop a mentoring program and training designed to support current minority employees. In its annual update to the Board, the District will discuss and analyze the reasons for any continuing underutilization of females and minorities in each of its job groups. V. SUPPORTIVE SYSTEMS To facilitate attainment of affirmative action goals, the Human Resources Division has responsibility for implementing and/or monitoring the following supportive activities: A. Job Descriptions 1. Job descriptions will be reviewed and revised as necessary to reflect current duties, essential job functions, and critical job elements. A review of all job descriptions by an outside consultant was conducted in This process updated and aligned job descriptions with essential functions of the position to ensure requirements are job related. 2. Professional job analysis techniques will be utilized in the creation of new job descriptions and revision of existing job descriptions. 11

13 B. Recruitment 1. Recruitment sources and procedures will ensure that qualified protected-class applicants are identified and recruited. 2. Targeted mailing lists, newspaper advertisements, career fair participation, school-focused recruiting, and active participation with other public agencies on diversity and affirmative action issues will be used to increase the diversity of the applicant population. The District will continue to develop partnerships with colleges and universities, provide student teaching opportunities for Troops To Teachers, and minority group collaborations. 3. A computerized applicant tracking system will be utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the District's recruiting efforts and to identify the best sources of protected-class applicants. 4. To increase the diversity of the District s applicant pool, the District will translate application information on its employment website into Spanish and Korean the two non-english languages most commonly used within the District. Additionally, the District s website has a translator function to translate employment notices and information into over 50 languages. 5. The District will advertise open positions in state and local media and minority publications and post positions with public and community agencies and in job centers at local military installations as well as colleges and universities with significant minority populations. 6. The District will continue to identify colleges and universities with large minority populations for focused recruitment efforts. 7. The District continues it s focus on staying current with technology to accommodate the trend in online resources as a valid means to attracting applicants nationwide. During the 2012 school year we implemented the use of internet Skype ability to interview applicants out of state. C. Employee Selection. 1. Selection instruments and methods will be based on essential job functions and critical job elements. 12

14 2. As vacancies occur, recruiting and hiring authorities will be reminded of the District's commitments under the Affirmative Action Plan. 3. The Human Resources Division will monitor all aspects of the employee selection process for inclusion of underutilized protected-class applicants. D. Orientation. All new employees receive an orientation. This training includes a general orientation to the District and training on pertinent District policies, including equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. E. Evaluation. 1. All employees are evaluated annually using processes and criteria appropriate to each position. 2. Career counseling is available through the employee's supervisor or the Human Resources Division. The District will also consider the use of mentors to assist in career counseling. F. Program Support. The Human Resources Division will train and assist administrators, managers, and supervisors in developing appropriate departmental and building strategies to implement the District's Affirmative Action Plan. G. Grievance Procedure. A formal grievance procedure will be adopted by the District and is provided in section VIII. VI. INTERNAL AUDIT AND REPORTING The District has established the following internal audit and reporting system to monitor the Affirmative Action Plan: A. Job History Files. Job history files are maintained and retained for the legally specified time period and are available for reference. These files contain copies of the job announcement, applicant lists, applications, selection instruments, rating summaries, and relevant correspondence and notes. B. Applicant Flow Data. All applicants are asked to fill out an optional selfdesignation form, and are asked to indicate how they found out about 13

15 the position for which they are applying. tracking system will be utilized. A computerized applicant C. Reporting. Statistics on recruiting and utilization will be prepared and disseminated to administrators, managers and supervisors as appropriate. VII. REDUCTIONS IN FORCE Reductions in staff will be made in accordance with applicable law and with collective bargaining agreements currently in force. If a reduction in force is necessary, consistent with its legal and contractual obligations, the District will attempt to make reductions bearing in mind its affirmative action commitment. VIII. COMPLAINT PROCEDURE These procedures have been developed for the resolution of equal employment opportunity and equal access complaints against the North Thurston Public Schools, its employees, or its contract service vendors. To ensure fairness and consistency, they are to be used to address complaints covered by state and federal equal employment opportunity laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and/or the District's Affirmative Action Plan. No person shall be retaliated against because of the utilization of these procedures. The Affirmative Action Officer or designee shall investigate all allegations of noncompliance, discrimination, and lack of access. Procedure LEVEL I: Informal Resolution With regard to ADA matters, a distinction is made between a request for accommodation and a complaint. A request for accommodation should be submitted to the Affirmative Action Officer. The parties should cooperate to resolve any issues of accommodation through an informal dialogue prior to implementing the formal procedures outlined in Level II below. A complaint is to be filed only in the event there is an allegation of noncompliance after a request for accommodation has been made. 14

16 LEVEL II: Formal Complaint A. Complaints shall be: 1. in writing; 2. signed by the complainant; 3. set forth specific acts, conditions or circumstances alleged to be in violation of the District's obligations in regard to discrimination, accessibility, and/or failure to make accommodation; B. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Affirmative Action Officer or designee shall investigate the allegations set forth and shall coordinate reasonable procedures to effect a prompt resolution of the complaint. C. If a resolution is reached, the Affirmative Action Officer will write a formal memorandum of agreement, to be signed by all affected parties. D. Upon completion of the investigation, the Affirmative Action Officer will provide the Superintendent with a full written report of the results of the investigation. E. In cases where no mutually agreed upon resolution is reached, the Superintendent will respond in writing to the complainant as expeditiously as possible, but in no event later than 30 calendar days following receipt of the complaint by the District. The response of the Superintendent shall clearly state either (a) that the District denies the allegations contained in the complaint, or (b) the nature of such reasonable corrective measures deemed necessary to eliminate any such act, condition, or circumstance within the District. F. Corrective measures deemed necessary shall be instituted as expeditiously as possible, but in no event later than 30 calendar days following the Superintendent's mailing of a written response to the complainant. 15

17 LEVEL III: Appeal to the Board of Directors A. In the event a complainant remains aggrieved following a written response from the Superintendent, the complainant may appeal to the School District Board of Directors by filing a written notice of appeal with the Secretary of the School Board on or before the tenth day following the date upon which the complainant received the Superintendent's written response. B. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Board of Directors shall schedule a closed hearing to commence on or before the twentieth day following the filing of a written notice of appeal. 1. Both parties shall be allowed to present such witnesses and testimony as the Board of Directors deems relevant and material. 2. The Board of Directors shall render a written decision on or before the tenth day following the termination of the hearing and shall provide a copy to all parties involved. LEVEL IV: Appeal to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction In the event a complainant charging sex discrimination in violation of RCW 28A.640 or WAC remains aggrieved with the decision of the Board of Directors, the complainant may appeal the Board's decision to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). A. A written notice of appeal must be received by OSPI on or before the tenth day following the date upon which the complainant received written notice of the Board of Directors' decision. B. The written notice of appeal must set forth: 1. a concise statement of the original grievance and the portions of the Board of Directors' decision being appealed, and 2. the relief requested by the complainant. NOTE: The complaint procedure outlined above does not prohibit the processing of grievances by an employee bargaining representative and/or a member of a bargaining unit pursuant to grievance procedures established in local collective bargaining agreements. 16

18 North Thurston Public Schools Utilization Analysis and Goals - Females Appendix A Job Group Total Female Total Employees Percent Female Total Availability Statistically Expected Utilization* Underutilized Persons Underutilized Cert. Admin % 62.3% 49.84% Yes 4 Elem. Teachers % 74.6% 59.69% No Sec. Teachers % 57.4% 45.94% No Inst. Support % 73.7% 58.96% No Prof./Tech./Supv % 66.9% 53.55% Yes 0** Teacher Aides % 84.6% 67.71% No Clerical % 96.7% 77.38% No Food Service % 82.1% 65.67% No Custodial % 30.5% 24.40% Yes 6 Maintenance % 5.9% 4.72% Yes 1 Transportation % 30.0% 24.02% No Interpreters % 52.0% 41.60% No Total % * 80% of Total Availability **Less than 1.0 Full Time Equivalent

19 North Thurston Public Schools Utilization Analysis and Goals - Minorities Appendix B Job Group Total Minority Total Employees Percent Minority Total Availability Statistically Expected Utilization* Underutilized Persons Underutilized Cert. Admin % 12.0% 9.6% No Elem. Teachers % 7.3% 5.9% No Sec. Teachers % 10.2% 8.2% No Inst. Support % 8.7% 7.0% No Prof./Tech./Supv % 11.3% 9.0% No Teacher Aides % 11.4% 9.1% No Clerical % 9.2% 7.4% No Food Service % 13.2% 10.6% No Custodial % 19.7% 15.8% No Maintenance % 18.1% 14.5% Yes 3 Transportation % 14.9% 11.9% No Interpreters % 2.0% 1.6% Yes 0** Total % * 80% of Total Availability **Less than 1.0 Full Time Equivalent

20 North Thurston Public Schools Job Group Analysis - Appendix C Job Group Total Emp. Total Female Percent Female Total Minority Percent Minority Asian/ Pacific Islander Percent Asian/ Pacific Islander Black Percent Black Hisp. Origin Percent Hisp. Origin Native Amer. Percent Native Amer. Other Percent Other Cert. Admin. Elem. Teachers Sec. Teachers Inst. Support Prof./Tech./Supv. Teacher Aides Clerical Food Services Custodial Maintenance % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Transportation % % % % % % % Interpreters Total % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Note: Data is based on voluntary selfreporting

21 Personal biography of Steven W. Nourse, Ed.D., MSW Dr. Steven W. Nourse has been working with North Thurston Public Schools as an ADA consultant since Dr. Nourse is currently a Full Professor at Central Washington University s Des Moines Center where he teaches and coordinates the Master Teacher program. Prior to that he was a Counselor/Coordinator for DO-IT. He has also worked on Washington's five-year systems change grant in transition services. He has been an elementary, middle and high school teacher and has taught graduate and undergraduate special education courses for the University of Washington, Central Washington University, Seattle Pacific University Pacific Lutheran University and Seattle University. He has also worked as an Equal Opportunity Specialist with the U. S. Dept. of Education. While working for the U.S. Department of Education for thirteen years, he investigated race, sex, age, sexual harassment and disability discrimination cases, as well as providing training to educational administrators regarding these issues. He holds a BA in Special Education from Central Washington University, an MSW from the University of Washington specializing in physical disabilities and a doctorate in Special Education also obtained from the University of Washington. Most recently he co-authored What follow-up studies say about post-school life for young men and women with learning disabilities: A critical look at the literature, published in the Spring, 1998 Journal of Learning Disabilities and a chapter in the textbook Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America entitled Moving from School to Adult Life: Transition Services for Students with Disabilities. In 1997, Dr. Nourse produced a series of 26 videotapes titled Special Education 101 for Para-educators for the Bates Technical College Para-educator Training Program. Dr. Nourse is a person of disability. He is married, has two daughters, and lives on Vashon Island. Dr. Nourse may be contacted by telephone at (206) or (206) or at graduate22@comcast.net or through his web-page at