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Tri-City United special services staff report new student-support tools, child count and AED grant application
Summary
Special services staff reported adoption of AbleSpace for IEP data tracking, a child count of 457 students with active IEPs, roughly 20 open initial evaluations, ongoing MA (Medicaid) billing efforts and a competitive grant application requesting about $15,000 for additional AEDs and training.
Julie, a special services staff member, told the Tri-City United School Board the district has rolled out a new data platform, is tracking 457 students with active individualized education programs and has applied for a competitive grant to improve cardiac emergency response.
The district recently began using AbleSpace, Julie said, which syncs with the IEP platform SpedForms and “graphs their data and can create some really great visuals for parents.” She said the tool has made data collection “really slick” for staff and will support training and progress monitoring.
Why it matters: accurate child-count data and better progress-monitoring tools directly affect special-education funding and service planning. Julie said the district is preparing for the state’s December 1 child-count pull, which determines special-education funding allocations.
Julie reported the district currently shows 457 active students in SpedForms and about 20 open initial evaluations. “Not all students who we evaluate qualify,” she said, but the district’s historical qualification rate is about 80 percent, so she expects the child-count number to rise before the December deadline.
Julie said the special services team worked with district nursing and local emergency responders to prepare a cardiac emergency response plan and applied for roughly $15,000 to buy additional automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for athletic fields and buildings. The grant would also fund expanded staff AED/CPR training; the district’s short-term goal is to have about 10 percent of staff in each building trained in CPR/AED response, Julie said. She described the grant as competitive and said the district expects to hear back in a “couple of months.”
The office coordinator, Sue Toopy, and Julie attended a MA Billing fall training aimed at maximizing Medicaid (MA) reimbursement for health-related school services. Julie said those reimbursements typically pay for communication devices, adaptive bicycles, seating and other equipment for students with mobility and health needs.
Julie also noted staffing needs: several paraprofessional openings, a posted nurse position for Lonsdale, and a long-term occupational therapist substitute for LaCenter and Lonsdale. She said staff will continue training on AbleSpace, including a session scheduled for Nov. 3.
The update closed with Julie asking for questions; none were raised during the meeting.
