Newport‑Mesa outlines plan to boost inclusion and co‑teaching after special‑education review

Assistant Superintendent Sarah Jocham told the Newport‑Mesa Unified School District board that the district served 2,475 students in special education as of the 2024 census day and is pursuing a multi‑year plan to increase inclusion, improve compliance outcomes and raise academic performance.

The presentation described four measures of progress—individualized education program (IEP) goal progress, statewide assessments, the school dashboard/LCAP and the state’s annual performance report—and flagged historically low math and English language arts results for students with disabilities. Jocham said the district saw gains in 2024–25, with “an over 5% increase in ELA and a over 3% increase in math.” She added that eligibility categories do not determine placement: “The needs of the student drive the placement.”

District leaders said they are working with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) on continuous improvement and differentiated assistance after APR data signaled areas needing work. The team described steps to increase students’ exposure to general education—what staff described as the least restrictive environment (LRE)—because, they said, access to typical peers supports higher achievement, social skills and self‑esteem.

Rob Nichols, director of secondary special education, outlined a push to expand co‑teaching at the high‑school level and link special education to career and technical education (CTE) pathways and community‑college partnerships. “Last year, we had 74 co‑teaching sections at the high‑school level. This year, we have 84,” Nichols said, describing professional development and coaching plans to ensure the model is implemented with fidelity.

Heather Cash, director of elementary special education, walked trustees through tools the district is using to support independence for students who need additional adult support. She described the SKIA (special circumstance instructional assistant) assessment and Student Independence Plans (SIP) that document when adult support should be present and when it should be faded to promote student autonomy. Cash said the department employs nearly 350 instructional assistants and emphasized targeted training and recognition for that workforce.

Trustees asked for additional, zone‑level breakdowns of special‑education prevalence and for more detail on what falls under categories such as “specific learning disability.” Trustees also raised operational questions—how co‑teaching sections are scheduled, whether contracted agency aides receive the same training as district hires, and whether parent trainings will be offered in bilingual/Zoom formats. Jocham and staff said they would provide further data and work on access to recorded or bilingual options for parent education.

On funding, staff noted that the general fund contributed about $74,000,000 to support special‑education programming and said the board’s reorganization of special‑education leadership (separate elementary and secondary directors) was intended to improve service delivery. The district also listed pilot efforts to provide general‑education preschool placements with supports and continued expansion of paraeducator PD (ParaBytes).

The board’s next steps included requests for more granular zone data, confirmation of training plans for contracted aides, and follow up on measures the district will use to evaluate co‑teaching and other inclusion strategies.

The presentation was informational; no policy items were voted on at the conclusion of the report.