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Clackamas ESD presents local service plan to North Clackamas board; early childhood special education funding flagged as critical
Summary
Clackamas Education Service District presented its annual local service plan and a fiscal-year review that the ESD says delivered over $20.6 million in services to North Clackamas. The ESD told the board early childhood special education is underfunded in the current biennium and urged advocacy.
Clackamas Education Service District Superintendent Larry Didway told the North Clackamas School District board on Thursday that the ESD’s annual local service plan documents the services the ESD will deliver to the county’s 10 districts and is required by state law.
Didway said the district-specific fiscal-year review included in the packet shows the ESD provided about $20,600,000 in services to North Clackamas in the previous year and funneled nearly $4,200,000 in revenue directly back to the district — increases from the prior year. "It does reflect more than $20,600,000 worth of value of total services over the last year," Didway said.
Didway outlined the plan’s categories: resolution services (special education, technology, teaching and learning), contract and grant services (early learning and student support), and other district-requested services. He said the plan is produced with input from district advisory groups and regional superintendents before ESD board approval and submitted for the district’s review and approval.
Board members asked how families are connected to early identification and referrals for early intervention. Didway said referrals for Child Find come from multiple sources — physicians, social workers, educators, neighbors and friends — and the ESD also holds the state contract for child care resource and referral in the region, which gives the ESD direct connections to in‑home providers for professional development and referral pathways.
When Director Dobson asked what the ESD’s biggest challenge is, Didway said his top concern is underfunding of early childhood special education and early intervention, a federally required service not paid from the state school fund. He said that funding was “woefully underfunded” this biennium and that some providers are considering not accepting state contracts because the payments do not meet the federal service requirements. Didway said the governor’s proposed budget continued the underfunding and urged board members to advocate for stable funding for early intervention.
Didway also called board members’ attention to the ESD’s legislative priorities included in the packet and a public-meetings-law training offered Jan. 28, and he invited feedback on the ESD’s district-specific report and annual "All In" report, which includes program highlights.
Board members praised the ESD’s early-learning center and requested the ESD share the proposal it had submitted to the Oregon Department of Education regarding literacy grant support. Didway said the ESD is proposing to be a more active partner in districts’ literacy grant work if ODE allows ESDs to provide those services.
The presentation was a discussion item; the board will consider formal approval of the ESD local service plan at the board’s next meeting in February.
