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Special education services in St. Cloud: district reports rising referrals, staffing steps and an ongoing MDE review
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Summary
Executive Director Danny Mayer reported that the district serves about 2,575 resident students in special education (December 1 child count), described nearly 300 Part C and ~250 Part B Help Me Grow/referrals in a six‑month window, outlined preschool expansion and pilots for autism supports, and said the district is under a comprehensive MDE finance and programming review.
Danny Mayer, Executive Director of Special Education, delivered a comprehensive update on the district’s special education programs, referrals and staffing needs, telling the board that the December 1 resident child count shows 2,575 St. Cloud residents receiving special education programming. "We have 2,575 St. Cloud residents that receive programming through the St. Cloud School District," Mayer said during the presentation.
Mayer reported substantial referral volumes: close to 300 Part C (birth to age 3) referrals in a six‑month period and about 250 Part B referrals for ages 3–22 in the same window, and described workload pressures the evaluation team faces from required timelines (45 calendar days for Part C evaluations). He said the district has grown self‑contained preschool from two teachers to five at Quarry View because of increased needs and has added a floating teacher role to bridge self‑contained and inclusive settings.
Mayer outlined K–12 settings and two specialized setting‑4 programs (Journey at Roosevelt Education Center for grades 4–12 and Katherine Johnson Education Center focused on social‑emotional programming), described two 18–22 transition programs (instep and CO2) with community job sites and noted partnerships including a Fraser ABA pilot at Quarry View and a Pathways grant with St. Cloud State supporting salaried teachers seeking special education licensure.
He said the district is participating in an autism summit and piloting schedule models at Talahi, Oak Hill and Madison elementary schools to increase inclusion time while increasing literacy and math minutes. Mayer emphasized the difference between medical autism diagnoses and educational eligibility for school services, noting school eligibility requires educational impact and demonstration of need in specified domains.
Finally, Mayer said the district is under two Minnesota Department of Education reviews — a comprehensive special education finance review and a comprehensive programming review — and that site visits and follow‑up interviews are likely after the file submissions. The board asked operational questions about open enrollment, consent for services, retention and burnout strategies; Mayer described mentorship, due‑process coaches and building‑level supervisor supports as mitigation strategies.
