School committee approves May Center program for Mansfield
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Summary
The Mansfield School Committee voted 5-0 to approve the May Center’s instructional program for a Mansfield day school, a private special-education provider that plans to serve about 48 students locally pending state and building approvals.
Mansfield School Committee on Feb. 11 voted unanimously to approve the May Center’s instructional program for a new Mansfield site, a private day school that serves students with autism and developmental disabilities.
The vote approves the program as described to the committee, not the facility location, and follows a detailed presentation by May Center leaders and district staff about student population, staffing and regulatory oversight. Superintendent Theresa Murphy told the committee the district’s policy requires the committee to be satisfied that a private school’s instructional program is “equal to that of the town’s public schools in thoroughness, efficiency, and progress made.”
The May Center representatives said the Mansfield program would serve up to 48 students in small classrooms with intensive staffing. “We are looking to bring in a school into the district that will serve 48 students,” said Matt Riley, senior vice president for the May Center, who described plans for roughly eight classrooms, a 2-to-1 staffing ratio in many rooms, and additional 1-to-1 support when needed. Riley said the full staff for the site would be about 60, including instruction and related service providers, and that students served would range in age from roughly 4 to 22.
May Center staff said the Mansfield program will mirror services at their Randolph and Wilmington sites and will include related services, a new gym and a playground on the property the provider identified to the committee. The provider told the committee it expects to draw students from 15–20 school districts, generally within about an hour’s travel, and that some currently outplaced Mansfield students who now travel to Randolph could attend a closer site in Mansfield.
Murphy and May Center staff emphasized regulatory safeguards. Murphy noted that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires on-site review and licensure; May Center representatives said they will not enroll students at the Mansfield site until DESE and local building, fire and health inspections have been completed. “They come in and they do an on-site review of the school before we open and serve any students,” a May Center representative told the committee about DESE’s process.
Committee members asked about program details, including student mix, staff ratios and how district progress monitoring and Individualized Education Program (IEP) responsibilities would be handled. May Center and district staff said all placements would continue to be made by IEP teams and that the district would continue required annual progress monitoring visits.
A motion to "approve the May Center program in Mansfield as described" was made, amended during discussion to emphasize approval of the program (not geographic site), and passed 5–0.
The May Center representatives said they aim to open a Mansfield day program in the fall pending completion of renovations, inspections and DESE approval; they also invited the committee to a ribbon-cutting or opening event when dates are confirmed.
Why it matters: The approval creates a local placement option for students with intensive special-education needs and could change transportation and outplacement costs for the district if families and IEP teams choose the new site.
