Bristol special‑education enrollment edges up; district flags extended‑school‑year overages and seed grant opportunity

Pupil personnel staff reported to the Bristol Board of Education on Sept. 10 that the district saw a modest rise in students with disabilities over the summer and is monitoring several budget pressure points tied to special‑education services.

Amy Martino, director of pupil personnel services, said the district counted 1,739 students with disabilities on Aug. 1 and 1,760 on Sept. 1. Out‑of‑district placements rose from 114 to 119 in the same period; staff said part of the increase reflected one late incoming student who required out‑of‑district programming.

Martino told the board that many in‑district special‑education programs are at or over capacity. In one week in August the district had eight newly enrolled students who required in‑district programming; four of those students required one‑to‑one paraeducators. Because several programs are full, the district said it must decide whether to expand in‑district capacity or continue to rely on out‑of‑district placements.

On finances, Martino said the extended‑school‑year (ESY) budget line is over budget for both the August snapshot and the Sept. 1 accounting. She said roughly $98,863 of the ESY overage is driven by professional services (outsourced therapies and related services), $52,000 is over budget in the teacher salary line, and $10,726 in the paraeducator line; hospitalization tutoring over the summer also contributed to the excess spending.

Martino said the district is pursuing state funding opportunities to build capacity and reduce out‑of‑district reliance. She cited a state