Disability Support Services Council
October 23rd, 2013
Fall Meeting Minutes
(Spokane Community College, Spokane- Lair Student Center, Sasquatch Room)
Meeting was called to order at 9:40am by President Michael Hoel. Michael welcomed those in
attendance and expressed appreciation to members attending by ITV. Introductions by each member
were made with a show of appreciation to new members Alex Hightower @ Everett Community
College; Mary Kat @ Lower Columbia; Carol Bennett @ Walla Walla-Clarkston; and Holly Leonard @
Grays Harbor.
10:00 Senator Shin Task Force
Kim Thompson (Shoreline) and Mary Gerard (Bellingham) led the presentation of information starting
with the history of the bill leading up to the current retooled bill and the role of the approved 3yrTask
Force. Highlights from the 1st meeting with the Task Force identified a membership of 35 individuals
twenty-nine from the K-12 system; with parent representatives; Voc Rehab representatives; and
seven representatives from higher education (i.e., Deb Casey/Kim Thompson/Mary Gerard/Scott
Copeland/Wendy (?)/Bree Callahan and Meredith Inocencio. Differences between disability laws (i.e.
504 and IDEA) and the role of disability support services were of focus with K-12 representatives
coming from a place that free education should be made available @ colleges.
One of the goals is to improve the transition process from K-12 to higher education touching on
access; increasing success rates; and creation of intentional programs. Concerns are recognized with
regionalized equipment; student “self-reports” as the qualifying documentation vs. documentation
from professionals; and the K-12 student absence from IEP meetings. However, both Kim and Mary
felt good conversations are occurring within the Task Force.
The following dates were shared for the Task Force: December 2013 1st round recommendations;
December 2014 analyzes of the processes; and December 2015 coherent and decisive
recommendations.
11:00 WSSSC Report
Dr. Warren Brown led this report and acknowledged the positive relationship between DSSC and
WSSSC and his commitment to keep this partnership. At which time, he shared the following
highlights from the October 2013 WSSSC meeting:
CtcLink-Initial feedback from pilot colleges (Tacoma and Spokane) encourage all campuses have a
Program Manager for ctc to lead in working out ongoing issues that will come up.
LGBTQ-SSC (?) board is going to hold all collected student data until every college is on board with
ctc. Focus is with the location of this question and where it should be placed so that confidentiality is
maintained once the student enrolls
Defining “Q” (queer)-Should the Q stand for questioning or queer. Currently, individual colleges are
allowed to lead how they want to define Q on the registration form. Right now it is an optional
question.
GED Testing- Students who have not finished the full battery of tests by December 31st 2013 will
have to start all over with the first test.
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Annual Student Services Conference-Dates are 4/30th through 5/2. Wednesday will be the reception
and Thursday will be the keynote speaker. Tacoma is the location site with 175.00 set for registration.
LOC-WSSSC reviewed the letter on 7-1-13 with support for putting together a task force with a work
plan mission. Six representatives from higher education are asked for and SBCTC will identify two
representatives from each council. Spring 2014 is goaled timeline with getting everything organized.
A question was asked about the “people soft” program and the DSS question being optional on the
registration forms w/in this software. Dr. Brown said he will forward the question to Scott Copeland.
11:35 History/Relationship between WAPED& DSSC
Kerri Holferty provided information on each organization’s focus. WAPED focus is professional
development and organization and DSSC focus is legislative (all about laws and regulation).
11:45 Call for volunteers for the LOC Task Force
Six volunteers from higher education were asked for with the understanding that the question would
need to be extended to the member listserv so that all members would have a chance to offer their
participation. An initial show of hands included:
Tami Clark
Karen Fusco
John Rajcich
Peggy Buchmiller
Sarah Nagpal
Alex Hightower
11:50 Quick Update on ctcLink
Megan Jasurda shared all communication logs are available in people soft and offered the question
“can this be confidential?”
12:50 DSSC Business Meeting
A welcome was extended by the VPSA of SCC who recognized the important role provided by DSS
professionals with ensuring access and student success.
At which time, the spring 2013 Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s report were reviewed and approved;
the draft-DSSC Work Plan was reviewed with no concerns or edits recommended; and the proposed
Constitution changes were accepted.
1:15 to 3:15 General Discussion
The following discussions were brought forward…
Call for winter topics-SBCTC is the anticipated location with initial dates proposed for end of January
beginning February 2014.
a. Invite CANVAS to present with focus on accessibility
b. Invite publishers to come out and discuss access
c. Develop a panel of presenters from different colleges to discuss specialized programs
d. Create a resource list on accessible products and specialized programs at each college
e. Discussion on service fees (i.e. interpreter costs) going to students who are consistent “no shows”
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2:10 SBCTC Report
Scott Copeland provided report via phone call. He encouraged members to review the SBCTC report
which focused on transfer student report and military call-up. He also asked members to look at the
Placement Reciprocity Bill.
He shared budget information and the 18 million allocated to colleges to keep tuition flat for students.
He shared the need grants/student achievement monies and costs of living were all competing for
monies.
3:00 Return to General Discussions
Priority Registration-Extended to veterans.
WSSC- Request that DSSC folks attend spring conference. A head count was asked to find out who
could attend both WSSSC and WAPED/DSSC seventeen raised hands; six could do WAPED/DSSC
and the rest didn’t know yet.
Ideas were offered for DSSC attendance at both:
 Have a 2hr DSSC business meeting at WSSSC Conference
 Have DSSC Hot Top& Discussions at WAPED
3:30 Hot Topics
The following topics were brought up for discussions…
 Female restrooms used by transgender students
 Staff socializing with students
 Note Takers in ABE courses
 Flexibility in attendance
Conference Adjourned at 5:30pm with conference evaluations handed out.
Conference Minutes respectfully submitted by Jamie Hatleberg, Secretary on
1-30-14
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