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Minutes for HB2487 - Committee on Education
Short Title
Including emotional disability rather than emotional disturbance in the definitions of "children with disabilities" and "individuals with disabilities."
Minutes Content for Tue, Mar 10, 2020
Laura N. Jurgensen, JD, Assistant Director, Special Education and Title Services, Kansas State Department of Education, briefed the Committee on the history and issues concerning the proposed change in terminology from “emotional disturbance” to “emotional disability”. Representative Blake Carpenter and Leah Grim, school social worker from Derby, have worked with Ms. Jurgensen regarding changing the term. They clarified that a proposal to only change the term would only change the language used to reference the disability, not the definition or the eligibility criteria for the disability category. The proposal was brought to the Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) and the School Mental Health Advisory Council for further study as they advise the State Board. Indications were that the State Board, U.S. Department of Education and Kansas State Department of Education had no position or recommendation on the proposal. Ms. Grim presented public comment at SEAC where it was requested that KSDE staff and SEAC members research the language used for this disability by other states or suggested by national organizations. With that information, SEAC convened a panel of experts to fully vet this proposal and in January 2020 voted to support the change. KSDE does not anticipate any issues or consequences as a result of changing the statutory term. While KSDE must continue to use “emotional disturbance” in limited situations to meet its federal reporting requirements, this change allows KSDE, school staff, and Kansas families to change their terminology.(Attachment 5)
