San Luis Coastal details special‑education enrollment, new programs and staffing pressures

San Luis Coastal Unified school district officials briefed the board on April 21 on the size and needs of the district’s special‑education program, reporting that recent post‑pandemic enrollment growth has slowed but overall caseloads remain high.

Janet Gould, the district’s executive director for student support services, said the district counted 1,318 students in special education on the fall census and 1,375 as of its April 1 spring count — roughly 16% of the district’s student population. Gould said the spring number includes 17 students placed regionally by other districts and that the program serves children starting at age 3 and, for students with the most significant needs, up to age 22.

“We start services as early as age 3 and continue through age 22 for some students,” Gould said. She said the district is working on retention and recruitment of licensed staff and reported that more than 94% of credentialed special‑education staff plan to stay next year.

Joyce Hansen, coordinator of special education, reviewed eligibility categories and trends. She said the largest categories are speech‑language impairment, specific learning disability, other health impairment (OHI), autism and emotional disability, and that the district has seen increases in OHI and autism similar to county and state patterns.

“We’ve identified 152 students this year as newly eligible,” Hansen said, and noted that early intervention comes primarily through speech services for three‑ to five‑year‑olds.

The presentation described several program developments the district is pursuing: moving one preschool class to C.L. Smith to expand inclusive preschool opportunities; adding a social‑emotional‑academic learning class that this year served TK–1 and will expand to TK–2 next year; and working with the SELPA to bring a non‑public school, Spectrum (based in Cambria), to the county as an additional local placement option for students who do not succeed in comprehensive campus programs.

On compliance and oversight, Gould said the district recently received its compliance improvement monitoring report and is considering focusing next year’s improvement plan on attendance for students with disabilities. She also noted Assembly Bill 560 requires the state to post recommended adult‑to‑student staffing ratios for special‑education classes by July 2027; the district has not yet seen recommendations that would materially change current ratios but is monitoring the work.

During public comment and board Q&A, parent Marisa Gomez asked about the PREPARE program for 18‑to‑22‑year‑old students, which she said operates at the El Moro elementary site that has been sold. Gould confirmed the program must move and that Morro Bay High School is under consideration as a potential long‑term site.

Board members pressed for more forecasting and context: Trustee Clausen asked whether the recent flattening of special‑education counts reflects district‑level changes or broader statewide trends; Gould said the district sees similar county results and expects relative stability after the 2021 post‑COVID climb.

On staffing, the district said it awarded a 5% above‑scale increase to special‑education teachers last year and is expanding paraeducator professional development pipelines with county programs to grow local candidates into credentialed roles. Gould and Hansen described a recent paraeducator training cohort (funded in part with county dollars and a completion stipend) and said the district is seeing improved retention among paras this year.

The board and speakers also discussed revenue and reimbursement: the district bills Medical/Medicaid and other programs where allowable and said that that reimbursement has supported additional services (therapists, movement rooms and trauma‑informed training).

What’s next: the district plans to return to the board with any formal compliance‑improvement plan after staff determine the focus area(s) and to report on progress and any space decisions for the PREPARE program.

Quote: “We can look at our whole program and say what do we need to address,” Gould told trustees when discussing the compliance report and improvement planning.

Sources: Presentation and board Q&A, San Luis Coastal Unified School District board meeting transcript, April 21, 2026.