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Special-education director: district now serves 2,904 students, flags staffing and recruitment challenges
Summary
Hardin County's special-education department reported 2,904 students receiving services (an increase of 61), a $3.7 million IDEA budget, a $30,000 WHAS grant, and shortages in specialized staff including posted vacancies for teachers of students with visual impairments and a need for more school psychologists.
A special-education department representative (not named in the record) delivered a detailed departmental update to the Hardin County Board of Education, reporting growth in caseloads, budget figures and staffing challenges.
The representative said the district's most recent child count identified 2,904 students receiving special-education services — an increase of 61 from the previous year — and described shifts in the largest growth areas as autism and "other health impairment," which the presenter said includes conditions such as ADHD, anxiety and epilepsy. "Our last child count... we have 2,904 students identified for special education services in the district," the representative said during the report.
The department manages an IDEA budget the presenter described as $3,700,000 and noted additional community support in the form of a $30,000 grant from the WHAS Crusade for Children. The grant was described as helping pay for small but critical assistive items and curriculum supplements.
The presenter outlined staffing shortages and recruitment needs: the district has posted a position for a teacher for students with visual impairments for roughly 18 months, and the district reported having 11 school psychologists while noting a national shortage of psychologists. The district's related-service providers (orientation and mobility, occupational and physical therapy) and special-education consultants were described as being busy with districtwide needs.
To improve instructional practice, the department said it has shifted emphasis toward specially designed instruction and has begun developing a "skill bank" to prioritize skills for individualized education programs (IEPs). The presenter said the department has recorded over 1,100 coaching sessions this school year, and that more than 65% of those sessions focused on curriculum instruction and student problem-solving rather than strictly compliance.
The board did not take formal action on the report; attendees asked clarifying questions about daily assignments and supports at schools. The presentation concluded with the department's plan to develop data-collection tools and teacher-facing resources to monitor progress and guide instructional decisions.
The figures and staffing descriptions were presented by the department representative and should be considered district-reported data rather than independently verified totals.
