Parents and advocates urge Poudre School District to audit special‑education services after multi‑year declines in IEP graduation rates

Parents and advocates used the Poudre School District Board of Education’s public comment period on Sept. 9 to press the district for changes to special‑education services, saying four‑year graduation rates for students with Individualized Education Programs have declined for several years and calling for an audit of the district’s disability services.

Anna Labeda told the board she has a child on an IEP and described a prolonged eligibility process last school year. “I can't shake the fact that our 4 year graduation rates for students on IEPs are below for 5 consecutive years,” Labeda said. She said inconsistent site practices, delays in eligibility determinations and insufficient district‑level direction have harmed students and asked the board to initiate a disabilities audit to identify root causes and prompt changes.

Danny Lawrence, who said he reviewed Colorado Department of Education reports, told the board he found that in the 2023–24 school year students with IEPs and 504 plans accounted for 68% of law‑enforcement referrals in the district. “That would be 68% of the law enforcement referrals in our district went to kids that had 5 0 fours and IEPs,” Lawrence said. He urged the board to direct the superintendent to commission an audit of the integrated services department and appoint a task force to examine data and recommend corrective steps.

Speakers framed the issue as urgent. Lawrence said the district had 17 open investigations with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights related to disability‑rights issues and argued that the trends point to systemic problems affecting student retention and graduation. Labeda and Lawrence asked the board to provide explicit board‑level direction to the superintendent and to set measurable district goals for students with disabilities.

Board members and staff did not take immediate action in the meeting but thanked speakers for raising the issues and said the district would continue community engagement and reporting. The board also reminded the public of an upcoming community engagement session.

Ending — community requests and next steps

Speakers requested a formal disabilities audit, a task force to review integrated services and clearer board direction on measurable goals for students with disabilities. The board accepted the comments and indicated staff follow‑up and additional opportunities for public engagement.