The All-Island School Committee (AISC) voted unanimously at a meeting on Thursday, April 3, to ratify a newly formed Island Parents Advisory Council (IPAC) on Special Education. State law requires all school districts to have an advisory council to work towards appropriate education for all children with special needs. Director of student support services Philip Campbell, who oversees special education in the superintendent’s office, said the Island’s council was inactive for several years, until a group of parents revived and reorganized the IPAC this school year as a regional entity.

About 25 parents of children with special needs have met monthly since January, Mr. Campbell said. They elected officers in February, including IPAC co-chairmen Kate DeVane and Marit Bezahler, who attended the AISC meeting to ask for the IPAC’s approval.

Ms. DeVane said the IPAC is working with Mr. Campbell on evaluating three programs currently run by the Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools (MVPS), starting with the high school’s Life Skills program, the Project Headway pre-school program, and the Bridge Program, which serves students identified on the autism spectrum and with communication and social interaction disorders.

“I think the programs we have here are really very, very strong, but any program can benefit from a full evaluation,” Ms. DeVane said. “And some of the evaluations may leave the superintendent’s office pointing to how the programs might be done in a more cost-effective way.”

In other business, Matthew D’Andrea, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, gave a presentation about a proposed new state assessment system currently being field-tested by MVPS schools, with the exception of Chilmark School.The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests in English language arts and mathematics are being considered as a replacement for Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams. AISC chairman Susan Mercier suggested the committee should review the information about the PARCC tests and discuss it further next month. Details are available online at parcconline.org/field-test.

It was the last meeting for longtime Oak Bluffs School committee member Priscilla Sylvia, who is not running for reelection. “She has served the children of Oak Bluffs as a teacher or a school committee member for 49 years,” superintendent of schools James Weiss said.

“You’ve been a wonderful mentor, and an incredible member,” AISC chairman Susan Mercier added.