Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Plymouth-Canton trustees and staff review special education staffing, programs amid continued shortages
Summary
District special education leaders and parents described staffing shortages, program structure and supports during a March board meeting; administrators outlined program counts, services and efforts to recruit and retain paraprofessionals and specialized staff.
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools administrators and families discussed ongoing special education staffing pressures and program structure at the board meeting, including the district’s efforts to recruit staff and clarify how programs and services are provided.
The district’s executive director of special education, Stephanie Hayes, told the board PCCS provides special education “programs and services” rather than a single location and reiterated the federal child-find responsibility to identify children with disabilities. Hayes said PCCS serves students from early childhood through age 25 under Michigan practice, and reported a special education population of about 11.7 percent of enrolled students (the district’s 2023–24 count). She also said speech-and-language-only and other categories are among the larger eligibility groups.
Why it matters: Special education accounts for a substantial share of student services. Board members and meeting speakers pressed the administration for clarity about staffing, training, and day-to-day responses when students have behavioral crises.
Hayes listed the district’s continuum of programs (early childhood, building-based resource programs, categorical programs such as autism spectrum disorder classrooms and other center-based placements) and described services (speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, teacher consultant supports). She said the district is focusing on relationship-building, recruitment and retention, and alignment across schools and supervisory teams.
Parents and paraeducators in public comment described safety and staffing concerns. A parent, Crystal Clark, said her child with significant cognitive needs left a Bentley (school) classroom without staff noticing, was missing for about 12 minutes and was found in nearby woods. Clark asked whether the district could provide fenced outdoor spaces for students in specialized programs, and asked for more parasite support and training.
Another commenter who worked as a para and teacher, Natalie Sharp, said the shortage of paraprofessionals and special-education staff is not unique to PCCS and urged differential pay for hard-to-fill sub and para assignments (she noted an example at a nearby district where subs for self-contained classrooms are paid slightly more). Sharp suggested greater recognition of para staff in board meeting hires/resignations lists and proposed a centralized special-education facility as a long-term idea.
Board discussion and follow-up: Trustees asked Hayes and Superintendent Monica Merritt to identify near-term recruitment strategies. Hayes said the district is using programs such as Talent Together (a state pathway program) and university partnerships and is seeking to make PCCS a more competitive employer. Hayes and Merritt also described staff training around nonviolent crisis intervention and de‑escalation, and said district teams try to minimize disruption when a student’s behavior requires removal from class. Board members asked for written follow-up on where vacancies exist, which restrooms/rooms are included in facility plans tied to special-education spaces, and what additional funding or policy steps the board could take to support staffing.
Ending: Hayes told the board the district would bring more detailed analysis of program capacity, staffing gaps and potential budget or recruitment measures in future updates and that administrators welcome the board’s support for retention and for advocacy at the state level to increase special-education funding.
