Committee hears resolution to study reading and math proficiency among students with disabilities

Senate Concurrent Resolution 4019, which would direct the Legislative Management to consider a study of reading and mathematics proficiency rates among students with disabilities and evaluate related policies and resource allocations, was introduced and heard by the House Education Committee.

Senator Josh Baucher, sponsor of the resolution, told the committee the study would gather input from DPI, educators, parents and other stakeholders to identify best practices and policy or funding recommendations. “This would provide the legislature with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of what’s working and not working when it comes to reading and mathematics proficiency rates among students with disabilities,” Baucher said.

Advocates and parents testified in support and urged the study to include students with the highest support needs and the role of least-restrictive-environment placement. Roxanne Romanek, representing Designer Genes of North Dakota and speaking as a parent of an adult daughter with Down syndrome, said her organization supports the study and asked that the work consider the 1 percent cap on statewide alternate assessments and ensure students with significant support needs are included in analysis and recommendations.

Romanek recounted her daughter’s pathway through high school and postsecondary training and urged policymakers to consider how expectations, qualified staff and instructional strategies affect outcomes: “We are concerned about the academic achievements of our children, youth, and young adults with Down syndrome in North Dakota,” she said, and offered Designer Genes as a stakeholder for the study.

A caller, Teresa Olafson of Fargo, urged a comprehensive review and cited state constitutional duties and historical court rulings, saying North Dakota has a long legal history of protecting educational access. Olafson provided figures from state assessments and argued for transparency in expenditures and placement decisions for students in special education; she described using public-records requests to identify placements and funding she said were not producing educational instruction for her child. She asked the committee to authorize the study so legislators can determine how funds and programs are affecting student outcomes.

Senator Baucher framed the study as timely given possible federal changes to how IDEA funding may be dispersed, and he said the study would gather parents’, teachers’ and providers’ perspectives about what works and where gaps remain.

The committee took testimony in support and closed the hearing on the resolution without a formal vote. Supporters urged that any legislatively directed study include students who take alternate assessments, examine least-restrictive-environment practice and review whether current resource allocations correlate with improved academic outcomes for students with disabilities.