Mount Vernon, N.Y. — District special-education officials told the Board of Education at the Aug. 5 work session that the number of classified school‑age students rose compared with the previous year and that the district is working to reduce out-of-district placements and revise staffing and supports.

Michelle McKinney Bromley, director of special education, said the district recorded 1,533 classified students in 2023–24 and is currently tracking about 1,621 classified students for the new school year. "Some of the increases can be attributed to students transferring in," Bromley said, and she cited pandemic‑era impacts, limited early‑intervention availability and increased diagnoses as contributing factors.

Why it matters: The rise in classified students and high numbers of restrictive placements and 1:1 supports affect instructional staffing, district budgets and placement decisions. Board members pressed officials for data and audits on compliance, service delivery and out‑of‑district placements.

Key points from the presentation and discussion
- Classification and referrals: Bromley said speech-and-language impairment, learning disability and autism are the largest disability categories; she reported an increase in students classified with autism and an uptick in Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) referrals, which she linked in part to the pandemic and to limited early-intervention services.
- Out-of-district placements: The district reported roughly 115 out-of-district placements and several pending out-of-district explorations; Bromley said many such placements are for students with serious medical needs or behavioral challenges that the district currently lacks the capacity to serve in-house.
- 1:1 teaching assistants and least-restrictive environment (LRE): Bromley said the district had identified about 107 1:1 or 2:1 teaching-assistant assignments and is working to ensure those assignments are necessary. She said the district intends to "reduce the total number of students mandates of 1 to 1 teaching assistants by say 10%" through closer review, training for committee chairs and supervisory oversight while maintaining needed services.
- Staffing and in-district capacity: Trustees and Bromley discussed expanding integrated co‑teaching (ICT) and resource-room programs to serve more students in less restrictive settings, and the district said it will explore building more in‑district capacity to reduce costly out‑of‑district placements.
- Compliance, compensatory services and provider shortages: Trustees asked for audits and clearer compliance reporting. Bromley and other administrators said the district is struggling to recruit in‑person related‑service providers and relies at times on virtual services, which some families and trustees said are inadequate for certain students. Bromley acknowledged state complaints tied to virtual versus in‑person services.

Trustee follow-ups and district response
Trustees asked the special-education office to provide more detailed compliance and placement data, including percentages of out‑of‑district placements by provider and the district’s current compliance status with state special-education timelines. Trustee Mitchell asked for an audit of services owed (compensatory services) and for assurances that TAs are assigned to provide the services spelled out in IEPs rather than being regularly reassigned to cover other classes.

Superintendent Dr. Strickland contextualized the challenge: he said some referrals lack adequate pre‑referral data and that the district needs stronger multi-tiered systems of support and better documentation before referring students to special education. "Are the students that are being recommended for special education actually qualifying? And the answer is no," he said in the meeting, calling for improved processes and data to guide decisions.

Quotations from the record
"Some of the increases can be attributed to students transferring in," said Michelle McKinney Bromley. On staffing changes, Bromley said the district intends to "reduce the total number of students mandates of 1 to 1 teaching assistants by say 10%." Dr. Strickland said district leaders must strengthen pre‑referral practices: "Are the students that are being recommended for special education actually qualifying? And the answer is no."

Ending note
Bromley and trustees agreed on near-term priorities: refine eligibility documentation, provide additional staff development for Committee on Special Education chairs and supervisors, and present more detailed compliance and placement figures to the board. Trustees requested follow-up reports on out‑of‑district placement percentages and the status of related-service procurement.