Silver Consolidated Board approves IDEA-B application and updates special education procedures manual

The Silver Consolidated Schools Board of Education on June 16 approved the district’s IDEA‑B application and adopted updates to its special education procedures manual after a presentation by Special Education Director Shane Coker.

The approvals formalize the district’s plan to spend federal IDEA‑B funds for the coming year and incorporate edits from Walsh Gallegos, the district’s special‑education legal reviewer, to align district procedures with recent state and federal guidance.

Coker told the board the district’s IDEA‑B entitlement for the coming year is $969,400, with a preschool allocation of $25,041 and a carryover balance of $231,504. He summarized the district’s annual operating plan, saying the program focuses on two recurring objectives: "we want to improve our graduation rates, and then, obviously, we want to decrease our dropout rates." He described five program objectives funded through IDEA‑B, including direct instruction and an extended‑school‑year program intended to prevent regression during long breaks.

Board members asked for clarifications about cohort graduation rates and carryover. Coker said the figures he displayed were the most recent he had on hand and that Silver’s four‑year graduation rate for students with disabilities in the 2023–24 cohort was 80.2 percent; he also reported five‑ and six‑year cohort rates of 86.9 percent and 88 percent, respectively, which he compared favorably with New Mexico averages he cited from the same cohort data. Superintendent Tim Hawkins supplemented the discussion, noting that cohort measures vary with students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

On the procedures manual, Coker said Walsh Gallegos provided a table of changes; most edits were housekeeping and alignment with federal language. He called attention to one change that moved gifted education language out of the special‑education chapter because state law now treats gifted services under a separate statute (cited in the district materials as Chapter 6‑31‑3). He told the board that the district submitted a separate gifted education plan under the new state requirements.

Formal motions to approve the IDEA‑B application and to adopt the procedures manual passed on voice votes. The motions were made and seconded on the floor: the IDEA‑B application motion was made by Mr. Khan and seconded by Mr. McMillan; the procedures manual motion was made by Mrs. Clement and seconded by Mr. McMillan. The board chair called for ayes and declared both motions carried.

Administration said the IDEA‑B application file is “substantially approvable” and that staff would upload meeting documentation to the district document center to finish the submission process.

Board members and staff emphasized that the approved spending plan relies on both the new entitlement and existing carryover and that staff would report back with any material changes if the state or federal allocations change.

The board’s vote and the updated procedures manual complete the district’s annual IDEA‑B submission and the legally required annual review of the district’s special‑education procedures.