Special-education plan review: Coatesville shows high special‑education rates, targets evaluations and transition services

District special‑education staff presented a summary of the district’s federally required special‑education performance plan and explained both improvements and persistent challenges across the plan’s indicators.

The presenter walked the education committee through the required indicators used for state/federal monitoring, including graduation rate, dropout rate, participation and performance on statewide assessments, suspension/expulsion rates, least‑restrictive‑environment (LRE) placement percentages, parent involvement, timely initial evaluations, transition IEP goals and post‑school outcomes. The presentation was based on data current through the 2022–23 reporting cycle (some indicators use multi‑year data series that include 2019–21 years), and staff noted that some indicators lag district changes because of the state reporting cycle.

Key points the presenter highlighted: - The district’s reported special‑education population in the cited data was about 29.2% (20‑22/23 data), compared with state figures shown around 19.3% for comparable years. The presenter said the most recent child‑count the district used for planning showed a similar rate (about 28.8%). - The district met the federal target for its graduation indicator by a narrow margin but did not meet targets for suspension/expulsion rates for students with disabilities. - The district’s percentage of students placed outside the district (special‑education placements in separate facilities) was high relative to the federal target (the packet cited a target of 4.4% and the district figure shown was roughly 14.3%). Staff said building additional in‑district specialized programs has been a priority to reduce out‑of‑district placements. - Timely evaluations were a recurring issue in prior data (85.6% in the 2022–23 report) but staff reported internal process improvements and said a current operational figure had risen to about 95.1% as of the meeting date. - Indicator 13 (post‑secondary transition planning and services) showed low compliance in the reported dataset (about 38.5% meeting the measure), and staff said the district had launched targeted training and a corrective action partnership with the IU to raise that rate.

Staff reviewed recent changes intended to improve alignment between general education and special education: adoption of district‑wide core reading and math curricula, expanded MTSS and PBIS work, added behavioral and mental‑health supports in buildings, new vocational exploratory opportunities, and additional professional development for staff and paraprofessionals. The presenter said many of those system improvements are intended to reduce over‑identification and unnecessary out‑of‑district placements by addressing student needs earlier and within the district.

Staff also announced three upcoming public special‑education plan review sessions (dates in the packet), noted a venue change for one session and invited community input at the scheduled reviews. The education committee did not adopt or change the plan at the meeting; the presentation served as a public overview ahead of the formal review and comment period.

Why it matters: Coatesville's special‑education share of enrollment is substantially higher than state averages in the reported data and is a central factor in district costs, placement decisions and service planning. The district reported measurable improvements (timely evaluations) but also flagged persistent gaps in transition services and in the rate of out‑of‑district placements that staff are addressing through program development and corrective training.

Ending: Staff said they will continue corrective work with the IU, complete the public plan‑review sessions and return updated performance data to the board as action items are developed.