Rebus Associates audit finds gaps in Tewksbury special-education supports; recommends phased 2–5 year plan

A third-party audit presented to the Tewksbury School Committee on Jan. 8, 2025 concluded the district has strengths in special-education programming but identified multiple areas needing sustained improvement, including inconsistent general-education Tier 1 interventions, uneven transition planning across buildings and questions about case-manager and paraprofessional assignments.

The audit was delivered by Cindy Tamore and William Lupini of Rebus Associates, who said the report organizes findings into 11 themes and offers a mix of “no/low cost” actions and longer-term steps that will likely take years to institutionalize. "Tier 1 support is in the classroom. It is the general-education teacher's responsibility," Tamore told the committee as she described the district’s need to make interventions both visible and reliable across schools.

Why it matters: The auditors said improving regular-education interventions and data systems can reduce referrals to special education and Section 504 plans — a financial and service-quality issue for the district. Rebus noted Tewksbury’s proportion of students with disabilities (special education plus 504 accommodations) is high — about 30% — and that the district had roughly 81…