Locust Valley special-education director outlines services, staffing and transition plans

Dr. Cabellos (referred to as Effie in the presentation) gave the Board of Education an update on the special education department, describing the district’s continuum of services, building-by-building program placement, staffing and professional development, and next steps for the coming year.

She said the district provides services across the continuum from related services-only placements to more restrictive settings, with self-contained classes located primarily on the Bayville/elementary side of the district. Using the district’s October “snapshot” data, Cabellos reported 8 elementary students, 4 middle-school students and 20 high-school students out of district (numbers based on the October snapshot and subject to change). She also said the district provides services to 53 students at Portledge (a private school in the region) and that CSE/CSE-related counts had increased since October in some placements.

Classification and staffing: Cabellos said the district’s overall classification rate rose to 21% this year from about 20% the prior year, noting that in a small district each student materially affects percentages. She reviewed the most common classifications (learning disability, other health impairment, speech-language impairment and autism) and described the district’s staffing pattern: special education teachers, teaching assistants and teacher aides, a district occupational therapist, two BCBAs and agency speech services (with one agency speech staff position the district plans to replace with a district employee).

Professional development and program direction: Cabellos described ongoing co-teach professional development (now in year five), IEP goal-writing and progress monitoring improvements, and second-year transition planning for secondary students. She said the district is expanding vocational opportunities and partnerships (including Access VR) and that life-skills programming at the middle and high school level has grown, with students participating in community vocational settings.

Planned organizational changes: beginning July 1 the district plans to reinstate two assistant director positions (elementary/preschool and secondary) under Cabellos’ supervision to better divide responsibilities and sustain program improvements.

Questions and context: board members asked about concentration of classified students in particular buildings, distinctions between teaching assistants and teacher aides (certification and instructional roles), and whether co-teach staffing would continue. Cabellos said staffing additions over recent years supported ICT (integrated co-teaching) implementation and that current staffing appears to have stabilized; she stressed the department’s objective to keep students in the least restrictive environment and to increase opportunities for independence and social inclusion.

Ending: Cabellos closed by restating the department’s goals to provide quality instruction in the least restrictive environment, develop independence and self-advocacy in students, and strengthen transition supports for post–secondary life.