Hopkins reviews special education services, staffing and budget gap at March workshop

Fonda Contreras, Hopkins Public Schools director of special services, told the school board at a March 11 workshop that federal and state requirements shape how the district identifies and serves students with disabilities and that demand and costs have risen sharply in recent years.

Why it matters: The presentation detailed how students qualify for special education services, what services the district offers from early childhood through Transition Plus, and how much those services cost. Board members said they were especially concerned about staffing shortages, growing caseloads and the district’s reliance on general-fund cross-subsidy to cover special-education costs.

“Able does not mean enabled. Disabled does not mean less able,” Contreras said in opening remarks, urging the board to apply person-first language when discussing services. She described special education as a federally mandated program under IDEA that provides a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and, in Minnesota, serves students from birth through age 22 under Parts C and B of the federal framework.

Contreras explained how students are identified. Teachers and school teams often try interventions in general education first and use a student assistance team (SAT) to coordinate supports; if those supports are not adequate or if parents request an evaluation, a referral to special education can follow. For early childhood, referrals arrive from parents, medical providers and initiatives such as Help Me Grow; the district has received “well over 300 referrals this school year,” she said.

The presentation listed the 13 categorical disability areas Minnesota uses for eligibility. Contreras described the state’s “DD” (developmental delay) label for young children and said Minnesota requires reassessment before a child turns 7 to determine whether a categorical label applies.

Programs and placements

Contreras outlined Hopkins’ continuum of placements, using the common…