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Parents and CPAC tell Wachusett school committee PRS data, transportation denials and communication gaps are denying students services
Summary
Parents and the district’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council (CPAC) told the Wachusett Regional School Committee that PRS complaint data, denied transportation and unfulfilled corrective actions point to systemic problems in special-education implementation and poor communication between families and administration.
Several parents and members of the Wachusett Regional School District’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council pressed the school committee on alleged lapses in special-education services and transparency during the committee’s regular meeting.
Angela Maher of Holden, whose son attends the Learning Center of the Deaf in Framingham, told the committee that her son’s individualized education program (IEP) requires extended-day services and transportation. She said the district ordered reimbursement for 39 round trips from December 2023 to May 2024 but that she has “never received” the money. “I am the reason my son received a free appropriate public education,” Maher said, describing repeated district denials of transportation that forced her to miss work and ultimately lose her job.
CPAC — the district’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council — reminded the committee that Massachusetts law (Chapter 71B of the Massachusetts General Laws) requires a CPAC and sets both advisory and participatory duties. A CPAC representative said CPAC has been left out…
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