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Special-education report: Iroquois scores 100% on compliance, board hears areas to improve in reading and inclusion
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Summary
Special-education presenter Chris Hershey told the board the district scored 100% on compliance and 77% on performance (overall 87%), but that fourth- and eighth-grade ELA proficiency and several inclusion-rate indicators fall short of state thresholds; the district is expanding preschool services, adding on-campus special classes and pursuing grants for the family-support center.
Chris Hershey presented the district's special-education results under New York State's results-driven accountability (RDA) reporting, telling the board the district achieved 100% on the compliance matrix and a 77% performance score, with an overall 87% (target 80%). "Our compliance matrix, we were at 100%, which I'm very proud of," he said.
Hershey highlighted performance shortfalls in fourth- and eighth-grade reading for students with disabilities and said the inclusion-rate indicators (how much time students with disabilities spend in general-education settings) need improvement. He cited state thresholds that the district did not meet for some indicators and explained that small cohort sizes can make percentage-based targets sensitive: "With roughly 300 classified kids... that's roughly, you know, a percentage is roughly three kids," he said, illustrating how a small number of students can move percentage results.
Hershey described actions to address gaps: opening an integrated preschool classroom (UPK-funded) to provide on-campus placements, applying for preschool provider status with Erie County so the district can bill for services, reorganizing interventions and reading programs to support literacy growth, and starting work-based learning conversations for secondary students. He also noted a systemwide shortage of related-service providers (speech, OT, PT) and said the district contracts for some services while trying to retain services in-house when possible.
On family supports, Hershey described a kinship program to assist grandparent caregivers, summer grocery deliveries coordinated with a local food pantry and plans to add clinicians and improve insurance coverage to expand counseling in primary buildings.
Board members asked about metrics, whether the state's targets were the right measures, and how the district is reallocating staff to meet needs in growing elementary cohorts; Hershey described using spreadsheets of IEP services to compare staff allocations and said the district has concrete plans to reassign resources where needed.
What happens next: the administration will continue to monitor performance indicators, pursue grant opportunities for the family-support center and return to the board with implementation details for staffing and program changes.
