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Board approves series of out‑of‑district special‑education placements and related stipulations
Summary
The board approved multiple out‑of‑district placements, including state‑approved and stipulation agreements for students with high support needs; officials said placements were reviewed in executive session.
The South Huntington Union Free School District Board of Education voted July 8 to approve a series of out‑of‑district placements for students with significant special education, behavioral and medical needs, including several placements that will proceed under stipulation agreements.
Dan Lombardo, identified in the meeting record as the DASA coordinator and Title IX coordinator, presented the placements and summarized needs for each student. Lombardo said several placements are with the Elijah School (not state‑approved), through stipulation agreements, for students described as having high support needs: a 19‑year‑old nonverbal student who requires a communication device and support for aggressive behavior; a 20‑year‑old needing highly structured academics and daily living skills; and additional students requiring related outreach services at home through Elijah's outreach program. Lombardo said those placements and outreach agreements were negotiated as stipulations because Elijah is not state approved.
Other approvals included a placement for a 17‑year‑old receiving instruction through the Elijah outreach program while residentially placed at Brookside MultiCare Nursing Center, and two placements at Little Flower Union Free School District for students described as requiring high levels of emotional and behavioral supports (diagnoses listed included ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder and depressive disorders). The board also approved an out‑of‑state residential placement at the Joe Gorotzenberg Educational Center (as described in the meeting record) for a student who requires academic, behavioral and self‑care support and cannot be managed in the home.
Lombardo told the board that each of these placements had been reviewed in executive session to assess appropriateness. Motions to approve each placement were made and seconded by board members (motions and seconders varied by item) and were adopted by voice vote as recorded in the public portion of the July 8 meeting.
The district did not discuss dollar amounts or specific contractual terms for the placements in the public record; Lombardo described the educational and behavioral needs that justified each placement and noted whether the placement was state‑approved. Board members posed no substantive public objections on the record. The actions will be handled by district special education staff and program coordinators to arrange placement details and contracts with the specified providers.
