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Special education report: inclusion rate rises but remains below state average; district outlines training and supports
Summary
Kennewick schools reported a 3.7 percentage-point increase in students spending most of their day in general education, while outlining behavior supports, CPI training and plans to expand transition programming.
Kennewick School District special education leaders reported progress on inclusion goals, a drop in overall special education enrollment since a COVID-era peak and a suite of training and safety measures to support students and staff.
District staff said the percentage of special education students spending 80% or more of their school day in general education (LRE 1) rose to 54.7% as of October enrollment, an increase of 3.7 percentage points from the prior year. The statewide LRE 1 average is 66.2%, and presenters set a board-facing goal to increase Kennewick—s LRE 1 rate by roughly 3 percentage points annually.
Presenters attributed a recent decline in overall special education enrollment to stronger tier‑1 instruction, tighter referral practices and targeted work with an external vendor on speech-only referrals. Staff also described program-level growth in Tier 2 autism services and the district—s ongoing staffing levels for special education: roughly 112 special education teachers and nearly 300 paraeducators.
On safety and behavior, staff reported 14 documented special-education staff injuries in 2024 (11 in the most highly supported Tier 3 settings and 3 in Tier 2). The district said it requires Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) training for staff assigned to Tier 2 or Tier 3 programs within 90 days of hire and currently maintains eight CPI instructors to deliver initial and refresher training.
District leaders reviewed steps intended to reduce exclusionary discipline and improve supports: updated IEP-level safety planning, an improved staff safety-gear request process, monthly professional development, targeted behavior training and use of community resources such as the MASH (Moving All Students to Success and Help) evaluation support available through the ESD. Staff said they continue to monitor discipline and exclusion-day trends to avoid disproportionate outcomes that could trigger state intervention.
Presenters recommended expanding the district—s community employment/transition program (post‑secondary outcomes) and improving transition planning for the fifth-to-sixth-grade shift, a point where inclusion percentages decline markedly.
The board asked about discipline metrics and the relationship between exclusion and LRE status; district staff said the state calculates disproportionality using a risk-ratio method and that the district had addressed a prior multi-year disproportionality flag. No formal policy actions were taken during the report.
District staff said they would continue monthly data reporting and planned follow-ups on transition programming and post‑secondary outcomes.
