In this final episode of the 2024–2025 school year, Jeffrey Lee is joined by Lynn Krominga, Assistant Director of Special Education at the Paul Bunyan Education Cooperative, to unpack one of the most foundational and often misunderstood questions in our field: What is special education?

Together, they explore:

• What qualifies as special education and what doesn’t

• The role and purpose of related services in schools

• How teams determine when a student may no longer need special education

• What supports remain available when academic struggles persist

Whether you're a teacher, case manager, related service provider, or administrator, this conversation offers clarity and practical reflection on how we serve students and support teams.

Thanks for listening this school year. We’ll be back in the fall with more conversations to inform and inspire your special education practice.

In this episode of Conversations with the Co-op, host Jeffrey Lee is joined by Jim Kath, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Coordinator at PBEC, for a powerful conversation about how student behavior communicates unmet needs. Rather than viewing behavior through a lens of compliance or disruption, Jim and Jeffrey explore how educators can shift toward curiosity, empathy, and proactive support.

Whether you're a case manager, classroom teacher, or administrator, this episode will help you:

• Understand behavior as a form of communication

• Recognize how unmet needs show up through actions

• Consider strategies for supporting students more effectively

Tune in to reflect on how listening to behavior, not just managing it, can strengthen student and team outcomes.

In this episode of Conversations with the Co-op, host Lainey Sandberg sits down with Jeffrey Lee, K-12 Special Education Coordinator at PBEC, to discuss a powerful mindset shift in special education: Are we testing the student, or are we testing the supports?

Together, they unpack how starting with the assumption that students can succeed—when the right supports are in place—can change the conversation around interventions and placement decisions. Jeffrey shares how educators can move from focusing on student deficits to critically evaluating the effectiveness of supports and interventions.

Key takeaways include:

• Why the default assumption should be that students can succeed in general education with proper supports.
• How to reframe team discussions around data and interventions.
• Practical steps teams can take to assess and adjust supports before making placement decisions.

Tune in to learn how testing supports, not students, leads to better outcomes and empowers educators to continually refine their practice.