Warwick special education director outlines program changes and warns funding shortfall could hinder five-year plan

Mr. Carter, the district's new special education director, said he is "about three weeks into this job" and outlined several early priorities for Warwick's special education programs, including a strengthened bridge (post‑graduation transition) program, a collaborative rewrite of the special-education guidebook and a pilot of transitional kindergarten classrooms to give some children additional diagnostic time before permanent placement.

The guidebook rewrite, Mr. Carter said, would remove confusing "alphabet soup" and include a dedicated section for the early learning center so that guidance for families and teachers better reflects program differences. "I want to reopen the guide book," he said, adding that the revision should be collaborative with teachers and parents.

Mr. Carter described the bridge program, which began in September, as a work-and-living skills initiative. Students spend days at job sites and use a rented two‑bedroom apartment through a partnership with West Bay Collaborative to practice household and independent-living skills; the arrangement will continue through ESY (extended school year) services, he said. "Students are learning to cook in the environment. . . they're learning to how to live in their own apartment," he said.

On program placement, Mr. Carter urged greater flexibility. He criticized the current guidebook's rigid program "boxes," saying some students who do not precisely match those profiles still need services. He described the district's aim as maximizing students' time in general-education settings where possible, while reserving more specialized placements for students with significant adaptive‑behavior needs.

Explaining state and federal changes that affect assessment and placement, Mr. Carter said recent policy adjustments tightened eligibility for the alternate assessment population (AAP). "The federal government changed the rules," he said, and the AAP threshold was moving toward about 1 percent; Warwick, he said, previously had roughly 1.4 percent of students in that category. He framed the change as a driver behind shifting some students from AAP into IAS/IASC placements and urged careful, individualized placement decisions.

Committee members and staff reviewed program distinctions and staffing ratios: elementary-level alternate/modified classrooms typically run with small enrollments (about six to eight students with one teacher and two teacher assistants), while IAS/IASC settings are more curriculum‑aligned and often include one teacher and one TA for roughly 10 to 12 students.

Mr. Carter also summarized lessons from earlier co-teaching arrangements: the district found that some co-taught sections unintentionally concentrated students with IEPs in single classrooms and did not produce expected performance gains. Contract language negotiated with the teachers' union now places students with IEPs on general-education teachers' rosters so those students count on the classroom roster and teachers can plan to include them.

Looking ahead, Mr. Carter said he is exploring a transitional kindergarten classroom model that would allow an extra year of assessment and support for children who arrive without prior prekindergarten experience; he asked the committee for support and indicated he must define the plan by April 1.

Budget concerns colored the discussion. "I got some news today that I was a little upset about," Mr. Carter said, reporting that the district expected a 2.5 percent funding increase but believed the budget commission's action would be closer to 1.6 percent. He warned that a smaller increase would be "very detrimental" to implementing the first year of the district's five-year plan and said he would post full details publicly when they are available.

School committee member Leah (intervening in the meeting) and other committee members expressed support for returning students to neighborhood schools when appropriate and for the district's stated emphasis on inclusion and gradual transitions. The committee also read a recognition submitted by Mary Kate Barnhart praising the Cedar Hill special education team for improvements with her son.

The committee announced the Special Olympics unified basketball event for March 28 (two sessions) and agreed to schedule the next advisory meeting sooner than the long gap since the last meeting.

What's next: Mr. Carter said he will publish fuller budget details online when available and will advance the guidebook revision and transitional-K proposal to the committee for further review.