Carmel Unified officials present special-education trends as parents raise concerns about communication and inclusion

Carmel Unified School District special-education leaders on Tuesday gave the school board a detailed update on enrollment, placements and state monitoring while parents pressed the district for clearer communication, stronger inclusion practices and answers about high teacher turnover at some sites.

The district’s director of special education, Steve Gonzales, told the board the department serves about 318 students with individualized education programs (IEPs) and is monitoring IEP implementation as part of a state compliance requirement that the district will submit by June 30. “We are monitoring it right now, and then we'll be turning it in, by June 30,” Gonzales said.

The presentation included staff and placement data that illustrate the department’s priorities. The district reported roughly 82.4 full-time equivalent special-education staff: about 36 support staff and 18 teachers. Of the students with IEPs, the largest primary category was specific learning disability; other-health-impairment and speech/language impairment were also sizable groups. The board was shown that 76.8% of special-education students receive instruction…