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Director outlines growth in special-education enrollment, new programs and placement costs
Summary
The district’s director of student services reported that special-education enrollment has grown to roughly 950 students (about 21.6% of enrollment), outlined staffing levels and recent program additions, and warned that placements at licensed private schools and transportation are a growing cost pressure.
Missus Marsh, the district’s director of student services, told the Mifflin County School District board that special-education enrollment has risen to about 950 students, or roughly 21.6 percent of the district’s population, using the most recent available year of data. Marsh said the district has 66 special-education teachers and a complement of speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, paraprofessionals and one contracted sign-language interpreter.
Marsh said the district has added an in-district behavior-support teacher and two autistic-support classrooms at Indian Valley to keep students in their home buildings. She described growing caseloads in several categories, notably autism, attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder classified under “other health impairment,” and specific learning disabilities, and said speech/language services remain a major area of need.
On placements, Marsh said the district contracts with two licensed private schools—Soaring Heights and Merakey—for students whose needs exceed district resources. She said those placements can cost “$280 a day or more” and require daily transportation. Determinations to place a student are made by the IEP team, Marsh said, and depend on intensity, duration and frequency of behaviors and a student’s progress in district settings.
Marsh described program work intended to reduce long-term costs and improve outcomes: a partnership with Penn State on an accessible reading curriculum for nonverbal students; rollout of the evidence‑based Essential for Living curriculum in life-skills classes; an MTSS/RTI expansion in reading and math to catch students earlier; a curriculum audit to bring ELA and other materials in line with structured-literacy requirements; and expansion of secondary-transition services that create workplace and community-based experiences for students preparing to leave high school.
Board members pressed Marsh on causes of the rise in identification and on capacity for specialized classrooms; Marsh said some growth reflects earlier identification from preschool and that student needs appear to be greater now than in 2019. She noted the district is below the statewide special-education percentage but is approaching the state level and that the state monitors districts that exceed certain thresholds.
Marsh closed by saying central-office staff and building principals collaborate on classroom assignments and that the district is updating procedures this summer, including a revised MTSS manual and continued professional development for staff who support students with social-emotional needs.
Next steps: Marsh said she will report back next year on the district special-education plan and on staffing changes, and the board requested more granular data by grade and building for future meetings.
