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District asks to keep special-education open-enrollment seats closed amid staffing shortages
Summary
District special-education staff recommended closing open-enrollment seats for students requiring special education services, citing full staffing allocations, reliance on contracted services in hard-to-fill roles and high costs for contracted providers.
District special-education leaders asked the board on Jan. 13 to keep open-enrollment seats for students requiring individualized education programs (IEPs) closed for the 2025-26 open-enrollment cycle, citing full staffing allocations and difficulty finding specialized staff.
Why it matters: closing open-enrollment seats for students who require special-education services restricts out-of-district placements into the district and is intended to preserve capacity to meet the needs of students who reside within district boundaries.
Staff rationale
Director Jackie Hauser and colleagues said the district's staffing allocation for special-education services is at capacity for students who live in the district; current needs have required contracting for 4—5 speech-language pathologists and additional vision and interpreter services. Staff told the board that contracted providers often cost more than district staff and that some contractors have limited availability.
Board questions and context
Board members asked how many external requests the district receives and whether neighboring districts are also closed to open-enrollment special-education placements. Hauser said central registration tracks requests but that special-education staff were not accepting applications for out-of-district students because existing resources are at or above capacity. She said Brown County directors report most neighboring districts are also closed.
Private-school vouchers and equitable services
Board members asked about private-school options and how the district's equitable services obligations apply when families choose private placements. Hauser said districts must allocate a portion of flow-through federal funds to provide equitable services to private schools and that the district currently provides some cross-categorical and speech services through that process. Staff emphasized that students who reside in the district and have IEPs continue to receive services even when staffing is stretched.
Next steps
Staff recommended keeping seats closed for the open-enrollment cycle to ensure the district can meet the needs of resident students; the board discussed the recommendation and asked for additional evaluation data about out-of-district requests and staffing counts.
