Northampton district to create formal logs of missed special-education services after DESE finding

The Northampton School Committee heard on Sept. 11 that the district will implement a formal system to log missed special-education services and review whether students need compensatory time after a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) problem-resolution finding. Director of Student Services Scott Holloway told the committee the corrective-action language requires a written tracking procedure the district will submit to DESE.

District officials said the change matters because, without a durable tracking process, missed services caused by daily staff absences can go uncounted and therefore uncompensated. "This new protocol will establish a clear internal process for staff to log when a student scheduled service is missed due to a staff member's absence," Holloway said, adding that confidential logs will be reviewed periodically by the office of student services to determine compensatory services.

Holloway described the directive from DESE as aimed at a systemic weakness rather than a single staffing error. He said the district is finalizing the submission to DESE and has convened building administrators to design the reporting workflow. "The district will submit to the department only the procedure by which building administrators determine which, if any, special education teachers or paraprofessionals will be assigned coverage of daily staff absences," Holloway said.

Superintendent Dr. Bonner and Holloway also told the committee they have asked DESE for factual corrections on parts of the published finding where the district believes the report mischaracterized data. Holloway said the district disputed the department's statistical list regarding 1:1 paraprofessional assignments and said the list included students who do not have 1:1 paraprofessional services. Bonner and Holloway emphasized they accept DESE's directive to correct the tracking gap while simultaneously clarifying factual errors.

Members of the committee and parents in the meeting urged clearer communication with families about when services are interrupted and stronger family engagement as the district rebuilds trust. Holloway said student services staff are working with the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (CPAC) executive board on next steps and exploring third-party facilitation for relationship repair.

The district described this work as already underway: administrators met to draft the submission and the district expects periodic internal review of logged missed services to decide whether compensatory instruction is required. The committee did not take a board-level vote on this item at the Sept. 11 meeting; Holloway presented the district's planned corrective actions and timelines.

What happens next: the district will finalize the internal reporting protocol for DESE and perform periodic reviews of the confidential logs to identify students who may need make-up services. Committee members urged timely, clear communications to families about the new tracking and review process.