During the joint Montana Council for Exceptional Children (MCEC) and Montana Council of Administrators of Special Education (MCASE) Conference on Exceptional Children and Youth held February 20-22 at the Delta Hotels Helena Colonial in Helena, Montana, Louise Nissen was honored with a Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award from the MCEC.

"I felt very honored by the award," Nissen commented.

The award was presented on Thursday evening during a no–host social held in the hotel's Grand Ballroom. It honors Nissen for serving for over 35 years as a special education teacher and advocate for children with special needs. For the past twenty-five years, she has worked with the Bear Paw Special Education Cooperative in Chinook, which provides services to thirty-one schools.

"When I first started working as a school psychologist, I travelled more, but now I am able to do a lot of troubleshooting over the phone," Nissen said.

According to Nissen, who currently serves as Director of the Bear Paw Special Education Cooperative, the Co-op is the largest of its kind in Montana, serving 20,000 square miles. In her early years with the Co-op, she recalls trips to Chester twice a week, as well as trips to Hinsdale.

"Now, we have assigned people where it logistically makes sense so that we can provide services in this large area," she stated. "I still step in physically where and when I'm needed, but we have been able to hire good people in key places who do wonderful work," Nissen concluded.

As she accepted the award, Nissen was quick to thank those who support her in her work, not only her family but the "good people who do their jobs." Nissen was joined at the celebration by her husband, Jim, and son Brandon and his wife, Shannon, and their son, Oliver.

Igniting Passion: Succeeding with Every Student was the theme of the MCEC/MCASE Conference, which is considered Montana's premiere conference for educators focusing on strategies and resources to meet the needs of exceptional children and youth.

One of the featured presenters at the Conference was Kevin Honeycutt, an internationally known keynote speaker on education topics. Honeycutt is the creator of "Artsnacks" learning community and the co-author of Midnight Run: My Narrow Escape to a Better Future with Rebecca Lewis. He and Lewis have crafted a curriculum for teachers, parents, and students geared toward making available the tools that will enable youth who were raised in poverty to thrive.

Because Honeycutt grew up in poverty and spent time in foster homes as he made his way toward a better life than many would have predicted, one of his passions is helping teachers and parents inspire youth who might not see themselves as having options or prospects toward a bright future.

Nissen didn't attend Honeycutt's sectional because she spends her time at these professional development conferences attending legal sectionals. Although Honeycutt was scheduled to share a luncheon keynote address, which Nissen had hoped to attend, his plane arrived late, preventing him from keeping that commitment. However, he did furnish entertainment prior to Nissen's award ceremony in a "Good Time Sing-Along" with Jeff Crews and Dean Phillips.

Crews and Phillips are two educators and co-founders of Beyond the Chalk who believe in the power of education and the need to continuously offer transformational learning experiences for teachers and students. In addition to delivering musical entertainment in this interactive digital-tools session, they shared knowledge about the many uses and types of technology.

"It was almost a karoke-style session that was not only educational but also fun and inspirational," Nissen said.

As the Special Education Director of the Co-op, Nissen has to be prepared for the legal side of special education services, a requirement that she called nerve-wracking but necessary. "I like to be proactive, making myself aware of any new policies coming down the pike. It's always better to provide services by the book and to do it right from the beginning than to end up in court cleaning up a mess," Nissen stated.

To ensure that the schools she serves are not caught blind-sided, Nissen attended sessions by Frank Podobnik, who is the Student Support Services Division Administrator for the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI). According to Nissen, Podobnik and the OPI Special Ed Division detail any updated information from OPI regarding monitoring trends and legal decisions, as well as share any guidance tips from the Department of Education.

Nissen also attended other legal sectionals, targeting those presented by Elizabeth Kaleva. Kaleva was raised in Missoula, Montana, and graduated from the University of Montana School of Law in 1995. After graduation, she clerked for First Judicial District Court Judge Thomas Honzel before starting her own law firm.

"Whenever special educators across the state have a legal question, we call Kaleva Law Offices in Missoula. Bea is my go-to for answers to legal questions in this business," Nissen claimed.

Given her commitment to being prepared and proactive, Nissen focused on sessions in which attorneys for school districts and for students with disabilities discussed their differing perspectives and areas of agreement on various legal issues in special education, including discipline, Child Find, graduation, the use of 1:1 aides, challenges facing rural schools, and overlapping obligations under Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Child Find mandate is a legal requirement for schools to find children from birth through age 21 who have disabilities and may be entitled to special education services. It is part of federal law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). According to Kaleva, identifying these individuals is an important first step toward getting them the help they need to succeed in school.

Kaleva also outlined how Section 504 and the IDEA overlap and led discussions on hot topics in serving students under Section 504. With other law professionals, Kaleva also discussed such topics as Evaluations, IEP's, Parent Participation, Discipline, and Prior Written Notice.

"It was an informative and special conference," Nissen concluded.

When asked about the most satisfying aspect of her work, Nissen responded: "Working with families and seeing schools and families work together is pretty satisfying. We inherited a phenomenal staff and have added some incredible people. Watching everyone collaborate to get a lot done in the best interest of youth makes a huge difference. I am also fond of saying that none of us knows everything, but together we know an awful lot."