Special education director reports declining child count, staffing gains and ongoing challenges with state data system

Kathleen Gerber, the executive director of special education for Clover School District, told the board Monday that the district’s October child count for special education declined this year and that the administration attributes the drop largely to students who previously were identified due to COVID-era learning gaps being dismissed after meeting criteria for removal from IEPs.

Gerber described staffing improvements: the district filled every school psychologist position this year, has speech-language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists on staff rather than relying on contractors, and is maintaining comparatively small caseload sizes. “This is our first year that we have filled every psychology position in the district,” Gerber said.

Gerber summarized the district’s continuum of services: co‑taught and inclusive classrooms in elementary and middle schools, resource and learning-strategies pullouts, self-contained mild classrooms, multi-categorical moderate/severe classrooms at several schools, and a preschool continuum that includes itinerant services and co-taught preschool classrooms. She described a program called “Lauren Empowered,” a K–5 model piloted for grades 3–5 in its first year that Gerber said state staff have reviewed as a potential model.

Gerber noted academic outcomes and accountability measures: special education students’ statewide assessment performance (SC Ready) typically shows declines as grade-level standards rise; co‑taught classes at the high school produced stronger results for English and Algebra I end-of-course exams than for biology and U.S. history, which she said the district is reanalyzing. The district met or exceeded several accountability measures but did not meet a point on the state’s profile related to disproportionality; Gerber said the state statistical analysis showed over-identification of African American students as intellectually disabled and the district must show it followed procedures in each evaluation.

Gerber identified operational challenges: the state’s new IEP/EdPlan SC system caused workflow problems at the start of the year, creating ticketing and document-format issues that she said are improving; the number of required meetings and evaluations can tax staff time; and student behavior continues to be a focus across general and special education.

On staffing, Gerber listed positions open at the time of the meeting: two preschool positions, one psychology position and several multi-categorical positions; she said interviews were underway and she expected offers soon. She also said one multi-categorical classroom that is no longer needed at Lauren Elementary because of student progress was reallocated to a psychology position and that an intern candidate from Winthrop University had been offered that psychologist role.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the profile determination and staffing; Gerber said the district will respond to state review requests and that compliance processes were followed.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; the presentation was informational as the board prepares for May budget discussions that often include special education staffing and program funding requests.