District highlights special education staffing, services and community partnerships

Shelton School District special services staff gave the board a comprehensive presentation on special education enrollment, program models, staffing and community partnerships that support students with disabilities.

The presenter said the district serves roughly 750 students in special education, noting that the largest category is specific learning disabilities. The district described a staffing model that includes special education teachers, paraeducators, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, a physical therapist, school psychologists, a board-certified behavior analyst and one teacher on special assignment to coordinate complex learners. Staff said the district remains short-staffed in a few positions and is contracting for some services until hires are made; the presentation listed open positions including one more SLP (speech-language pathologist), one OT (occupational therapist) and one PT (physical therapist).

Funding: presenters described the funding mix as state, federal and local sources. They said the district uses some general fund (basic ed and levy) dollars to cover special education deficits and highlighted a state safety-net grant program that, if approved, could cover an increasing share of costs; the presenter said safety-net funding may be about 5% for the year but final figures are set in August. The presentation cited a general average per-pupil cost of about $15,000 for students in special education.

Program models and services discussed included: resource services (academic and social-emotional supports), adaptive/functional life-skills programs that focus on independence and specialized social-emotional behavior supports with behavior intervention plans and replacement behaviors. The district emphasized integrated services and least-restrictive-environment goals so services “follow the student” rather than students being pulled out of instruction.

Staff highlighted a range of community partners and vocational opportunities used for transition planning and work experiences: Sierra Pacific Industries, Shelton YMCA, Hope Garden, Panhandle Lake volunteer projects, Nifty Thrifty, Shelton Athletic Club, Mason County recycling and local animal shelter partnerships. Presenters described weekly or biweekly community outings for students in transition programs and said those experiences are designed to build vocational, recreation and social skills.

The presentation included several celebrations: rising state assessment pass rates for students with disabilities (about 55 percent meeting the ELA standard in the district presenter’s summary) and success stories such as a 21-year-old student who participates in Scotch broom removal at a state park and has graduated from the Choice program into community-based work and social activities.

Board members asked whether specialists are district employees or contracted; presenters said most specialists are district employees, but the district must contract for some services until vacancies are filled. Presenters listed next steps including continuing to reduce data-entry errors (which affect funding), lowering exclusion rates, expanding integrated supports and hiring the remaining therapists.

The board recognized the presentation as a deep look at both the fiscal pressures and local partnerships that support students with disabilities.