District presents three‑year Special Education Plan; staff identify participation and proficiency targets for improvement

Dr. Dennis and Mrs. Schrage presented a draft of Springfield Township School District’s three‑year Special Education Plan, required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). The plan frames district procedures for identification, services, staffing, professional development and positive behavior supports, and it lists specific improvement goals tied to state‑level thresholds.

Why it matters: PDE requires districts to produce a comprehensive plan and to identify improvement areas using state data; the committee must approve posting for a 30‑day public review before final board approval.

Findings presented

- Improvement planning: Dr. Dennis told the committee PDE flagged the district in two general areas that require targeted work: participation (how many students with IEPs participate in state assessments) and proficiency (the percentage of students meeting proficiency targets). She said the participation shortfalls cited by PDE (data from 2020–23) included targets for eighth‑grade ELA, eighth‑grade math and eleventh‑grade math. The plan also identified proficiency shortfalls in eleventh‑grade ELA, fourth‑grade math and eighth‑grade math.

- Proposed actions: The plan recommends disaggregating data for students with disabilities, implementing consistent progress‑monitoring tools, adopting research‑based interventions in reading and math (including the science of reading and phonics where appropriate), and creating a district resource guide to align interventions across elementary, middle and high school.

- Behavior and safety: The plan reiterates that restraint is a last resort and described policies for de‑escalation, functional behavior assessments and positive behavior support plans (PBSPs). Dr. Dennis said the district staffs two Board‑Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) to support FBAs and PBSPs and described increased emotional‑support staffing at the elementary level.

- Staffing summary: Dr. Dennis presented staffing counts and said caseloads were within Pennsylvania state guidelines: elementary learning‑support staff (six), elementary low‑incidence staff (four), middle‑school learning support (five) with three low‑incidence staff, and high‑school learning support (six) with four low‑incidence staff (including the teacher for the 18–22 transition program). She also said the district will continue professional development for paraprofessionals, co‑teachers and special‑education staff.

Communication and timeline

Dr. Dennis said staff will finalize a draft and present it to the board in March for the required 30‑day public posting, accept comments during that period, and bring a final version back to the board for approval in April before submitting it to PDE. The plan will be posted on the district website during the 30‑day review window.

Board feedback and next steps

Board members on the committee praised the breadth of committee participation in drafting the plan and asked staff to provide clearer, more parent‑friendly summaries of goals, timelines and data sources. Dr. Dennis and Mrs. Schrage said staff will continue to develop parent training on transition planning, AAC devices, and home‑school bridges for PBSP implementation. Committee members indicated they were comfortable posting the draft for the 30‑day public review and asked staff to identify a committee member to report the item at the full March board meeting.