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State monitoring finds Delaware Valley SD largely in compliance on special education; improvement plans required on LRE and testing participation
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Summary
A six‑year cyclical monitoring visit by the state Bureau of Special Education found 924 compliant file items and five items out of compliance; district staff said improvement plans will be due in July and final documentation submitted by the following January.
State reviewers who visited the district’s special‑education programs found the district largely in compliance but identified specific areas for improvement, district staff told the board at a work session.
An administration presenter summarized the cyclical monitoring visit: the team reviewed documents, interviewed staff and parents, observed classrooms and conducted a random file review. Staff reported 924 items marked compliant and five items identified as out of compliance; the out‑of‑compliance items will be addressed in improvement plans the district must submit in July with follow‑up evidence and a full submission by next January.
The monitoring team’s findings center on several discrete areas: least‑restrictive environment (LRE) practices, participation in state testing and evaluation‑process documentation. Staff said those are within the scope of continuous improvement rather than systemic failure and described planned next steps: targeted professional development, more consistent evaluation listings (primary vs. secondary disability), and improved parent and staff outreach.
“We don’t need an improvement plan for graduation rates or dropout rates,” a presenter said when describing the monitoring results; the presenter added that the district will focus improvement plans on processes where state averages indicate a gap. Administrators also noted that internal teacher surveys delivered stronger response rates (about 300 responses via the district survey) than the state’s survey and that staff will use those results to shape summer training on accommodations, modifications and behavioral‑management strategies.
Directors pressed for clarifications about the number and cost of out‑of‑district placements. Staff estimated roughly 12 students in IU placements, representing about $375,000 in tuition this year, and cautioned individual placement costs vary widely depending on program and level of service.
Next steps: district staff will draft the required improvement plans, schedule targeted trainings for the coming in‑service days and continue working with the IU and state bureau on corrective actions. The board was told it will receive updates as items are corrected and re‑reviewed by the state.
