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Board approves CSE/CPSE placements and 504 accommodations after staff presentation
Summary
Director of pupil personnel services Christine Dowd presented the district's Committee on Special Education, CPSE and Section 504 placement recommendations; board members questioned the rise in high-school 504 plans and Dowd said private evaluations and an increase in medical/mental-health accommodations contribute to the numbers; the board approved the recommendations.
Christine Dowd, the director of pupil personnel services, presented the annual recommendations from the Committee on Special Education (CSE), the Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE), and Section 504 accommodations. She told the board the district provides a range of services and that the list before the board included students by ID number and the committee's recommendations, which incorporate parent input and federal and state regulatory requirements.
A board member noted that nearly 22–23% of high-school students were listed with Section 504 plans and asked whether that increase was common; Dowd said affluent, high-achieving districts often receive private evaluations from parents and that some students who do not meet special-education eligibility are served through 504 accommodations (including for ADHD and medical diagnoses such as diabetes or seizure disorders). Dowd also cited increased anxiety and depression as factors; she said the district added an extra psychologist two years earlier to help meet needs. She described a process of surveying teachers and reviewing which accommodations are actively used so plans are not carried forward unnecessarily.
After discussion, the board moved, seconded and approved the CSE, CPSE and 504 recommendations for the 2025–26 school year.
