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Special education administrators report rising caseloads, RISE program growth and district steps to systematize services
Summary
The district’s special education triad updated the board on a marked increase in preschool and school‑age special education placements, expansion of RISE programs, adoption of the TeachTown curriculum, a district special‑education committee and a drive to make executive‑functioning instruction districtwide.
The Mineola Board of Education heard a substantive update on special education services, including rapid enrollment growth in preschool special education, expanded RISE (life‑skills) programming, a district‑wide committee to align supports and an effort to teach executive‑functioning skills across grades.
Why it matters: Rising special education caseloads affect staffing, placement capacity and budgets; the district’s choice to build in‑house capacity and adopt evidence‑based curricula will shape instruction, service delivery and long‑term costs.
Administrators introduced the special education “triad” of leaders who will coordinate preschool and school‑age services, monitoring programs across buildings and out‑of‑district placements. The administrators reported a 72% increase over five years in classified preschool students served via the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) process, and an increase in school‑age students with disabilities (including those eligible for the New York State Alternate Assessment). The district currently reported approximately 30 Mineola students in out‑of‑district placements.
The triad described local implementation of TeachTown (a commercially available, research‑based curriculum) for RISE learners and said the program provides a visible, data‑driven growth model and supports vertical alignment across early childhood through high school. The RISE program has expanded seats across Meadow Drive, Hampton and Jackson Avenue elementary schools, the middle school and the high school; administrators noted the high school RISE program can have up to 24 students in a classroom and that RISE students now may remain in district programs until age 22 under state rules (a state mandate administrators said remains largely unfunded).
Administrators discussed operational pressures: providers for CPSE services are county funded but increasingly scarce, and the district has applied for 44‑10 approval (an approval to operate preschool services) to give the district flexibility to provide services if county vendors are unavailable. The triad said that because county reimbursement rates are not rising, some providers prefer early intervention contracts that pay better than preschool special‑education rates, further tightening provider availability.
The administration also introduced a district effort to teach executive‑functioning skills (the “X factor”) across general and special education following national expert guidance. The stated goal is that every learner and staff member know the vocabulary and tools for executive skills, enabling students to set goals and generalize strategies across subjects.
Ending: Administrators asked board members to support continued investment in staff development, in‑district program capacity and engagement with SEPTA (the district parent/teacher organization for special needs families). Board members praised the collaborative approach and asked for ongoing progress reports and written materials for onboarding staff and families.
