PCSD staff explains LEA responsibilities for special education during Felton Lab renewal discussion

Trustees of the South Carolina Public Charter School District pressed staff Feb. 13 for clarity about the district’s responsibilities as the local educational agency for charter schools while approving Felton Lab Charter School’s renewal contract.

Kristen Farmer, chief of authorization and development, presented the renewal contract for Felton Lab and asked the board to authorize Chair Mosteller to sign it. During discussion one trustee pointed to section 3 of the sponsor–school relationship and asked for a short explanation of the PCSD’s obligations around special education.

Emily Baker, a PCSD staff member, told the board “So all of as the LEA, we ensure that all of our schools are meet all the federal and state requirements for special education. So every service that a student would get in a traditional district, they have access to those through our schools as well.” She listed members of the district SPED team—Susan Howard, Wendy Ward, Ariel Eaves and Betty Freeman—and said the team supports schools and guides them to third-party contractors if a school lacks capacity.

Baker said schools also receive federal IDEA funds and that “the majority of those funds are typically used for salaries” at the school level. She added PCSD-supported Medicaid billing is available to schools that choose to bill for eligible services; at the time of the meeting nine schools had contracts with PCSD to bill Medicaid. Board members asked about interim supports for schools that cannot immediately staff a special-education coordinator; staff said schools frequently hire part-time contractors or third‑party providers for specific needs such as speech-language pathology.

Board members expressed the district’s obligation to provide technical assistance on special-education reporting and compliance. Kristen Farmer and other staff described a twofold support model: data and systems (PowerSchool guidance and Level Data monitoring) plus programmatic supports tailored to school capacity (tiered technical assistance, professional development and coaching). Director of data and accountability Josh Finley was cited as a regular contact for PowerSchool support.

The board approved the Felton Lab renewal contract with the expectation PCSD will continue LEA oversight and technical assistance to meet federal and state special-education requirements.