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Tumwater special‑services director says inclusion increased, dropout rate for students with IEPs far below state average
Summary
The special services director reported that 986 students received special services in 2024–25, the district has moved most students into less‑restrictive placements, and the IEP dropout rate is about 8% versus a state rate near 22%. Staff also described restraint and isolation data and a new de‑escalation program.
Tumwater School District’s executive director of special services reported data showing the district served 986 students with IEPs in 2024–25, moved the majority into less‑restrictive instructional settings and recorded a substantially lower IEP dropout rate than the statewide average.
Chris Bergmeier, executive director of special services, told the board Tumwater served 986 students during the school year and that the largest categories are students with autism, developmental delays (primarily preschool), and specific learning disabilities. “Our highest point this year was right under a thousand kids. 986 students in Tumwater School Districts received some type of special services,” Bergmeier said.
Bergmeier said the district has reduced the percentage of students placed in the most restrictive environment to under 10 percent of students with IEPs and that less than 1 percent of the entire district population is in long‑term self‑contained placements. The director also reported a 4‑year graduation rate for students with IEPs similar to the statewide rate and noted Tumwater’s IEP dropout rate of about 8 percent compares to roughly 22 percent statewide.
Staff reviewed restraint and isolation reporting for the 2023–24 year. Bergmeier said Tamar Hill Elementary showed higher restraint and isolation counts in that year’s data; the district has trained staff in crisis‑prevention de‑escalation (CPI), added five trainers, and reported those numbers have been decreasing. He also described investments in writing curriculum for special‑education classes, a life‑skills curriculum, and increased transition and kindergarten supports.
The special‑services team noted high levels of reimbursement requests through the Safety Net program (staff said the district requested about $1.5 million) to recoup costs for services already provided. Bergmeier told the board the district’s post‑secondary engagement survey shows about 80 percent of the 2022–23 exiting students were engaged in employment, education or training the following year, a measure he called an improvement.
Board members asked whether the restraint and isolation data reflected current-year incidents at specific schools; Bergmeier said the meeting chart used last year’s data (2023–24) and that updated data for the most recent year would be available after summer collation.
