Chapter 7, Part II: Tracking
Tracking
Together We Can explains how to set up a Management Information System? (MIS) that is “a centralized data? bank that stores individual and aggregate data and organizational information…†Schools may form an interdisciplinary team of individuals or agencies that serve students and share information.
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racking is useful when used to help a student discern what has been academically achieved compared to what is expected or capable of being achieved.? There is a difference between tracking? a student’s cognitive accomplishments as opposed to one’s physical, emotional, and psychological “health.â€
Goals 2000’s table of contents includes “Title VII–Safe Schools.†It is also called the “Safe Schools Act? of 1994.†Under Title VII is “Sec. [Section] 707 National cooperative education statistics system.†Obtain a copy of Goals 2000? from your federal Congressman. Technology is to be used to track? students through the accumulation and sharing of information.? Is this bad? It depends on what information is being collected and shared with whom for what purposes.
The Safe Schools Act? states “Coordination of school-based activities designed to promote school safety and reduce or prevent school violence and discipline problems with related efforts of education, law enforcement, judicial, health, social service, and other appropriate agencies and organizations and juvenile justice programsâ€[1] (emphasis added).
Such “school based activities†may include school-based clinics. The Safe Schools Act? also mandates? the “formation of partnerships.â€? Such partnerships offer “broad-brushed†prevention programs which may include pregnancy prevenÂtion? and computer? tracking? between school districts, hospitals, juvenile offices, and government agencies such as state health, family and social service departments.
Together We Can? explains how to set up a Management Information System? (MIS) which is “a centralized data? bank that stores individual and aggregate data and organizational information.? An automated system can:
- “Allow schools and agencies serving the same families to share information.
- Access information from other agencies and add information potentially useful in designing, implementing, or following up on service or educational plans.
- Identify information needed to establish eligibility? for services.
- Verify what services families currently receive and determine whether they actually received services to which they were referred, and
- Establish ongoing records that make it possible to follow a child and family from one agency or community to another to prevent service interruption.? An effective MIS also should permit the retrieval of aggregate data? for tracking? accountability.?
- Related information on caseloads, resource use, costs, outcomes, and related factors–.
“Several collaboratives are developing client tracking? and information systems for their prototypes.? For example, Walbridge Caring Communities? in
“In a federal document titled `The National Information Infrastructure:? Agenda For Action,’ the (information super highway) is described as ‘a wide and ever expanding range of equipment, including cameras, scanners, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, computers, switches, compact disks, video and audio tape, cable, wire, satellites, optical fiber transmission lines, microwave nets, televisions, monitors, printers and much more–the first fundamental step (to implementing the information highway) is to initiate a technology? planning process.â€[3]?
“Computerized medical records–increase the risk of exposing such sensitive matters as drug and alcohol abuse, emotional distress, abortions or sexual problems–If those data? fall into the wrong hands, they could not only embarrass you but also hurt your chances of getting a job or a mortgage, renting an apartment or buying insurance–Dr. Tom Reardan, a trustee of the American Medical Association? said–‘Once you put it onto a computer, you know that anyone who can write software can access it.’? President Bill Clinton’s? task force on health-care reform is determined to computerize the health-care system to save money.? Ironically, there are laws protecting the privacy of your credit rating, your driving record, even your video rentals–but no federal law covers your medical records unless you are an AIDS? patient.? An entire industry has sprouted to collect, package and resell health-care information to drug makers, insurance companies, lawyers and employers–A Medco subsidiary, Medical Marketing Group–sells the customers’ prescription records to drug makers.? Health information brokers say they delete individual names from the files before reselling them, but this is purely voluntary–‘There is no example of a large computer system that has not been subject to massive abuse,’ said Robert Gellman, a congressional staff lawyer who specializes in privacy matters–Pamela Wear, an adviser on health records to the Clinton? task force said ‘Consumers in America have to trust the system or we’re not going anywhere.’â€[4]
The intent of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act? (IDEA) is to ensure that all students? with special needs receive an education in the least restrictive environment.? The intent is positive and well meaning.
The fact that the government uses neighborhood schools and publications to publicly request that neighbors identify to the state the names of those they know who are handicapped leaves one with chills.? The article goes on to define “disabilities†as learning disabilities, mental retardation, behavior? disorders, emotional disturbance, speech disorders (voice, fluency or articulation), language disorders, visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically or other health impaired, multi-handicapped, deaf-blind, autistic, and traumatic brain injury.[5]
The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act? (I.D.E.A.) is reflected in each State’s Plan for Part B of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.? This document is generally available to the public for review in your local school district’s administrative office.? Each year local school boards sign a document that states they will comply with this act in order to be reimbursed? for services provided to students with disabilities.
Written parental consent? must be obtained by the local school district or responsible public agency before providing a formal evaluation procedure or placement of a student with disabilities in a program providing special education? or related services.? However, “written consent is not necessary for any evaluations or placements subsequent to the initial evaluation or placement.? If the parent refuses to provide written consent for the initial evaluation or initial placement, the local school district or responsible public agency must:
“1. Request in writing that the parent meet with the student’s teacher and other appropriate staff to discuss the need for formal evaluation or initial placement in a special education? program.
“2. If the parent maintains the position of refusing consent? for initial formal evaluation or initial placement in a special educational program and/or refuses to attend the meeting to discuss same, then the local school district or responsible public agency will provide to the parent in written form notification of the following:
“a. The need for initial formal evaluation or placement of the student;
“b. The fact that the parent refuses to consent? to the initial formal evaluation or placement;
“c. The fact that if the student is of mandatory school age, the district will initiate a due process? hearing (three-member hearing panel) if the parent continues to refuse to consent, unless the parent, within ten days of receiving the written information, notifies the local school district or responsible public agency, of the parent’s desire to initiate a due process hearing; and,
“d. That if the hearing panel upholds the local school district’s or responsible public agency’s decision that the student needs the initial formal evaluation or initial placement in a special education? program, then the local school district or responsible agency will be permitted to evaluate or initially provide special education and related services to the student without the parent’s consent, subject to the parent’s appeal rights (state-level review and/or civil action).â€[6]
The State Plan for I.D.E.A. then goes on to explain the opportunity to examine relevant records, administrative hearing rights, administrative review, the local-level hearing panel, hearing rights, the state-level review, site of the hearing or review, legal services, impartiality of hearing and review officer, civil proceedings, maintenance of placement, and surrogate parents.
The National Computer Systems, Inc. (NCS manufactures the ABACUS? Instructional Management System which manages information on students (see the chapter titled “
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey? asks children questions with several options as a response.? How the child responds to these rather personal questions, indicate whether the child reacts internally or externally.? Does the child make decisions for him/herself based on what he/she thinks and feels internally (in their brain), or do outside influences, such as peer pressure affect their behavior? This provides important information to those writing curriculum that intended to modify behavior.
For a more comprehensive study of the national information system, I recommend Berit Kjos’? book titled Brave New Schools. This book is available through Harvest House Publishers at 1-800-829-5646.
Schools are also identifying and tracking? students through the school district’s Medicaid Agreement? with the state.? In “determining allowable percentage of Medicaid enrolled students, this process will begin with submitting a data? diskette? of district students to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education? for determination of Medicaid enrollment.? This diskette will include from District files a tag that identifies those students receiving services from
“The student lists will be updated quarterly and maintained by the District Medicaid Coordinator.? The lists will consist of:
1. All students? enrolled in the District
2. All District students enrolled in Medicaid
3. All District students receiving
4. All District students enrolled in Medicaid who also receive
As a part of the state’s effort to re-invent government the Governor created the Family Investment Trust,
Healthy Missourians 2000? lists health goals taken from Healthy Communities 2000.? One goal is to “expand the Caring Communities? Project to all urban communities and a minimum of four rural communities, provide preventive health services to 100 percent of school children, (and to) establish statewide data? and information systems to accomplish public health surveillance, assessment, planning and evaluation.â€[9]?
Chapter 22 of Healthy Communities 2000? details surveillance? and data? systems for gathÂering local information for reaching national objectives.? The chapter titled “Family Planning†lists the following goals and objectives:
- access to a broad range of family planning? services within 30 minutes transportation? time.? (Read to include population control? and abortion? services).
- a mechanism will be in place in the community to inform potential parents of the availability of family planning? resources in the community. (Isn’t everyone a “potential parent�)
- the community will be served by an awareness program regarding adolescent pregnancy? which will include:? the? means of encouraging the use of available community resources (read to include advertising the County Health Department’s Teen Clinics which offer contraception? to minors? without parental consent? and abortion? referrals).
- expand the percentage of school districts with policies regarding school-based family life and sex education? programs.?
A Report To The Community is a document of the St. Louis Regional Educational Partnership which explains that [then] Governor Ashcroft’s office and other state agencies participated in discusÂsions on the possibility of
The core data? system is a school-based tracking? system funded in part through the
Substance abuse grants? have been reallocated to include broad-brushed prevention? programs that include pregnancy “prevention.â€? “Pregnancy prevention†could include abstinence.? However, abstinence programs receive little more than a “patronizing pat†and little if any funding, while the lion’s share of funding is provided to programs designed to meet national and state goals such as “increasing to 90% the proportion of sexually active, unmarried people aged 19 and younger who use contraception, especially combined method contraception–.â€[13]
Community 2000? is a community grants? program established by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse? for the purpose of preventing alcohol and drug abuse.[14]? The model for Community 2000 is the American Public Health Association’s 473-page document titled Healthy CommunÂities 2000 Model Standards - Guidelines for Community Attainment of the Year 2000 National Health Objectives.? The health objectives referred to are found in the federal government’s document Healthy People 2000.
The plan is to blend federal, state, and local resources with community leadership, volunteers, private and public service providers, families, churches and schools.? The Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse–as the lead agency–acts as a catalyst.? The support center’s role is prevention? services and programs aimed at-risk? and protecÂtive factors.? The centers provide policy development and community linkages.? They work with the media, and provide parent training, community training, school support and community development.?
The National Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse works with coalitions of school districts that include a subcommittee on TEEN PREGNANCY.? The type of “prevention? services and programs aimed at-risk? and protective factors†regarding teen pregnancy? include referring teens to some community resources which may provide contraceptives? to minors? without parental consent.?
The
Along with the fantastic academic progresses which become a reality through the use of technology, the fiber optic cables are connecting schools with more than the Internet? and interdistrict libraries.
A workshop titled “From Handshakes To Healthcare†was facilitated by the Director of Special Services of the
Another “funding mechanism†described by the facilitators was the FRA or Federal Reimbursement Allowance.? Funds were donated from the school district and community organizations such as the Lions Club that also drew down matching Medicaid funds.
The facilitators explained that in 1992 they did a “needs assessment which included the percentage of people who went to the emergency room for care and the number of out-of-wedlock births.? In 1995 construction of the
The barriers? listed by the school district’s Director of Special Services included: “getting to the kids–schools have the kids you need, the perception that schools need to be taking care of education not health, we tell people yes, we can do that until we find out we can’t. The attorneys say no, no, no and we say yes, yes, yes.â€?
The facilitators spoke of the use of computer? assisted records available to the hospital, school, and health department to promote (track?) healthy behaviors? and lifestyles (may this be interpreted to include “safe sex�)? This tied in with another workshop provided by the
The purpose of the fiber optic network is to connect every classroom to the Internet? by the year 2000.? Eight fiber optic cables connect the school district’s media site in the administration building to each building.? The high schools are connected to the administration building.? Middle schools are connected with their feeder elementary schools.? The administration building is connected to the Internet.
While the cables were being laid to connect district buildings, cables were also run to connect the district with the local college, juvenile office and hospital and health organizations.
Do you find it kind of scary to know that there isn’t much privacy left anymore?
The first time I heard the slogan “It takes a village to raise a child,†I thought it might be nice to have a little help from the “village†- until I documented that the “village†was implementing federal goals through “intervention†into families and their private lives through partnerships? and collaborations.
When one finally realizes the “big picture,†they acquire an increased appreciation for the belief that it takes a family to raise a child, and families to raise a village.
[1] Goals 2000? public law 103-227, Mar. 31, 1994; Title VII Section 705 (a) p. 207.
[2]? Together We
[3] “The
[4] “Health-Care Reform May Sacrifice Privacy,â€
[5] “Schools,†Summer 1996, a quarterly school district publication.
[6] State Plan for Part B of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, as amended by Public Law 94-142, fiscal year 1995-97, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Special Education, July, 1994, pp. 36-38, 42-44.
[7] “Medicaid Methodology,†Missouri Department of Social Services, Mar. 1995, pp. 2, 3.
[8] “Carnahan Plan Aims at Helping Urban Families†The
[9] Healthy Missourians 2000 Vol. I, Strategic Plan, 2nd Edition, Missouri Department of Health, Nov. 1992, pp. 57, 59.
[10] “A Report To The Community,â€
[11] Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, June, 21, 1993 letter.
[12] “Outstanding Schools Act,” (MO SB380) May, 1993, pp. 89, 90.
[13] Healthy Missourians 2000 Volume II Strategic Plan, 2nd edition, Nov. 1992, Missouri Department of Health, p. 139.
[14] “HB564,” Section 24.1, May, 1993, p. 95.