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Teachers and union fault district's —push-in— model as board hears special-education presentation
Summary
Teachers, union representatives and middle-school staff told the Carpinteria Unified School District board that a recent "push-in" model has reduced specialized instruction and coincided with higher D/F rates among students with IEPs; Special Education Director Carolyn Haines defended IEP-team decision-making and explained state LRE expectations.
Teachers, union representatives and parents pressed the Carpinteria Unified School District board on April 14 to revisit a shift to a "push-in" model for special-education support, saying it has reduced direct specialized instruction for students with Individualized Education Programs and contributed to higher D and F rates at Carpenter Middle School.
Kelly Vergier, a middle-school teacher and union representative, told the board she was not seeking to assign blame but to "bring attention to the academic needs of our middle school students" and invited board members to observe her science classroom over the next eight weeks. Several other teachers detailed classroom-level counts showing a high share of D/F marks among students with IEPs or English-learner status.
Union leadership and faculty representatives said the district's March presentation on Carpenter Middle School mischaracterized the district's "push-in" practices, describing the model as a large-scale change that in many classrooms results in special-education teachers providing brief, intermittent support…
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