Special education advocates, Register, move forward

New Nashville Director of Schools Jesse Register said Monday that he believes he and Nashville’s special education advocacy community have moved past the tensions expressed prior to Register getting hired.

“I don’t really feel like it’s an issue now,” Register told The City Paper Monday, after he attended a meeting with Mayor Karl Dean’s Advisory Council on Special Education. “They were looking back at something that happened at Hamilton County a long time ago, and I think we’ve had enough conversations about where we need to go. … I think we’re moving along in a good direction.”

Register’s candidacy to serve as Nashville’s next director of schools struck a nerve with many in Nashville’s advocacy community. While Register was leader of Chattanooga’s Hamilton County Schools, the district became involved in a large legal case that began when the family of a child with autism, the Deal family, took legal steps to secure certain services. A long battle ensued, costing the district millions, according to media reports.

The case is a familiar one to those who work in special education law, according to local advocates. A decision related to the case even was cited in a set of recommendations made by Dean’s advisory council.

Shortly after Register’s candidacy was announced, special education advocates began contacting officials ranging from school board members to the mayor’s office, voicing concerns about his leadership.

Now, though, advocates say they’re ready to work with Nashville’s new director.

“It was a concern, obviously. We expressed our concern, and he has been hired, and we’re looking forward to working with him,” said Wendy Tucker, an attorney and chair of the board with the ARC of Davidson County, who also serves as co-chair of Dean’s advisory council. “He has expressed his commitment to these issues, and I think we’re going to take him at his word.”

Dean attended Monday’s gathering with Register, and said he was sure Register will benefit from the groups “wisdom” and “hard work.”

Register, for his part, told advisory council members that he agreed with every recommendation made by the group in their report to the mayor. He spoke Monday of the importance of inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes, both to advisory council members and at a community meeting for Hillwood cluster parents.

“I don’t think I have all the answers. I don’t think there are many silver bullets around. But inclusion is one for many children with special needs that we serve,” Register told parents at Hillwood High Monday evening. “A lot of the work that we have to do is to move toward a more inclusionary practice. …That’s a hard change for a lot of people, because teachers have to learn how to work differently.”

Hamilton County Schools, as a district, was “a little bit on the cutting edge” when it began moving toward large-scale inclusion in the 1990s, according to Register. The results of that change had a very positive effect on standardized text scores. This commitment to inclusion is in line with what special education advocates have long requested locally, and also consistent with recommendations made by the Tennessee Department of Education.

One of the changes prompted by the DOE in its reorganization of MNPS was the appointment of Linda DePriest as new district executive director of special education. Her work to date has earned praise from across the local advocacy community, and advocates say they want special education reform at the district to come from the very top of the administrative chain of command.

Metro parent Leisa Hammett, the mother of a child with autism, is among those who voiced concerns about Register prior to his hiring. On Monday, she said she likes what he has to say now that he’s been hired, and is waiting to see how he performs.

“This is a new administration. The talk is very positive,” Hammett said Monday. “The trial has yet to occur.”