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Parents, advocates urge PSD to address special‑education gaps, call for independent audit
Summary
Multiple parents and advocates told the board that students with disabilities face under‑identification, gaps in IEP implementation and lower graduation rates. Speakers urged an independent audit and immediate district action; one parent warned of prolonged legal and advocacy escalation without change.
Several parents, special‑education advocates and community members used the Oct. 7 community‑comment period to press Poudre School District for faster and more transparent action on special‑education outcomes.
Speakers described patterns they said include under‑identification for IEP services, high civil‑rights complaint volumes and lower graduation rates among students with disabilities. Some asked the board to commission an independent third‑party audit of Integrated Services and to accelerate remedies identified in internal reviews.
Key testimony - Erin Green, a parent and advocate, said the district’s IEP graduation rates are among the lowest in the state and that under‑identification leaves many students without federal protections. “The truth is this district under identifies 4 to 5% of its population for IEP services,” Green said, adding that teachers and paraprofessionals reported large caseloads and inconsistent IEP implementation. She asked the board to request an independent audit of IS programming.
- Danny Lawrence, a parent of a student with disabilities, described long‑running struggles to secure accessible materials for his son and warned the board he would escalate advocacy if local change did not occur. “There are 225 days left before my gloves come off,” Lawrence said, describing repeated, unresolved civil‑rights complaints related to accessibility and accommodations.
- Reggie Johnson, president of PFLAG Fort Collins, and several other speakers urged continued district support for transgender and LGBTQ students, noting national legal and policy pressures that increase school‑based risk for some students.
District response and context Superintendent Kingsley and board members acknowledged the volume and urgency of the concerns and noted that Integrated Services director reports and a more fulsome district presentation are scheduled in coming board meetings. Board members asked staff to bring more data back for November, and several directors emphasized the need to weigh independent review options against existing internal work.
No board action was taken during community comments; the board noted the items for follow‑up and scheduled more formal reviews and updates in coming meetings.
