Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education Proportionate Share topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent tells board SUSD has withheld proportionate-share special education funds for private-school students
Summary
A parent told the governing board the district has received roughly $2,031,000 in proportionate-share funds in five years but served only seven eligible private-school students; she asked the board to direct the director of special education to release funds and investigate district practice.
Jenny Clark, a parent and former appointee to the Arizona State Board of Education, told the Scottsdale Unified School District governing board during public comment that her child qualified for proportionate-share special education services but that the district requires parents to drive children to district schools and to take time off work in order to receive services.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Clark said, districts are required to spend a portion of federal funds on private-school children with disabilities. She cited U.S. Department of Education guidance and a February 10 memo she said the board received from the district’s director of special education, and she said the district had received “nearly $2,031,000 in the last 5 years, and only 7 students, such as my child, were served.”
Clark told the board: “Because SUSD requires parents to take off work, drive our children to an SUSD school during their school day, and that an SUSD teacher whom they do not know will provide the speech therapy and reading support that our children qualify for in a group setting. This is in direct violation of the US Department of Education official guidance.”
She asked the board to direct the director of special education to release proportionate-share funds and investigate why funds were not spent. Superintendent Dr. Menzel acknowledged the comment and the board asked staff for follow-up; President Donna Lewis asked Dr. Menzel to provide the board the information Clark referenced.
No board action was taken during public comment; the board chair requested staff review the concerns and report back.
