State monitoring finds strengths and procedural gaps in Westford special education; corrective action plan underway

Westford Public Schools officials told the School Committee on Sept. 12 that a state Integrated Monitoring Review from the 2024–25 cycle showed many strengths in the district’s special education and civil‑rights practices but also identified several procedural inconsistencies and grant‑monitoring findings requiring corrective action.

The IMR — conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — covers special education, civil rights, English‑learner services and federal grant monitoring under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Gerard Coughlin, the district’s director of special education and social‑emotional learning, and Joanne Anderson, assistant director of special education, presented the report and the district’s corrective action plan. Coughlin and Anderson said DESE found that many areas were in compliance, including assistive‑technology deployment, access to extracurricular activities, and coordination between general and special education. "We got a really great review," Coughlin said, describing many indicators as implemented or…