SAD 52 details expansion of special-education services for 3- and 4-year-olds and districtwide inclusion push

Rebecca Drysdale, the district director of special education, told the SAD 52 Board of Directors on Tuesday that the district is beginning to implement state-funded special-education services for three- and four-year-olds and is advancing an inclusion initiative at the elementary level.

"Free appropriate public education is really looking at public education that's provided at no cost to parents for children through special education, ages 3 to 22," Drysdale said, summarizing federal IDEA requirements and how they apply to younger children.

The presentation explained that LD 214 (passed by the Maine Legislature in 2023) requires public school districts to assume responsibility for providing special-education services to children age 3 and older by July 1, 2028. Drysdale told the board that SAD 52 has already begun receiving quarterly state allotments under the new program and that the district had identified 19 students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 10 additional children in the…