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Elkhorn Area School District approves 4K magnet at Jackson Elementary to centralize special‑education supports
Summary
The board approved a two‑section 4K magnet at Jackson Elementary that will run AM and PM sessions, each capped at 18 students with 4–5 students per session holding IEPs. District leaders said the change uses existing staff and transportation and will rely on a lottery for non‑IEP seats.
The Elkhorn Area School District board on April 27 approved a proposal to add a 4K magnet classroom at Jackson Elementary, a change administrators said will centralize supports for young students with special education needs.
Ryan Bernie, the district’s director of special education, told the board the plan creates one morning and one afternoon 4K session at Jackson, each capped at 18 students. "Each session would be capped at 18 students. Each session would have four to five students with IEPs in it," Bernie said. He said the configuration will allow the district to provide a special education teacher on site together with building supports — school psychologist Kate Irwin, social worker Taylor Feder and the district’s crisis response team.
Tammy Fischer, Jackson Elementary principal, described the program as a way to reduce disruption for students who are identified during the school year and to avoid moving children between centers. Fischer said the district does not plan to add staff: "If we have somebody that can be both the special education teacher and the regular education teacher then they could run the classroom and that's a position that we already have accounted for in the budget." She said itinerant supports and sensory rooms at Jackson will supplement classroom staffing.
Non‑IEP seats will be filled through the district’s existing lottery process for early childhood programs. Administrators told the board the district will maintain current transportation language so families who live in Jackson’s attendance area and use the associated centers will receive the same bussing they have now.
Board members asked about licensing, capacity and how the district would respond if additional students with higher needs are identified midyear; administrators said the 18‑student cap was selected to preserve a proportionate mix of typical peers and students with IEPs while leaving room for additional identifications. Fischer noted that if high‑needs students are identified and the class is full, the district could transfer students to Jackson as needed because it will be the site specifically equipped to serve the cohort.
Several board members acknowledged community 4K centers that declined the district’s offer to host a classroom and raised concerns about enrollment impacts for those providers. District staff said they first offered the option to existing community partners and pursued an in‑house solution only after partners declined.
The motion to approve the district 4K magnet program was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote.
