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Director reports rise in special-education enrollment; district plans ABA-focused program
Summary
Webster’s director of student support services told the school committee the district’s special-education caseload has grown, with increases in students with autism and neurological needs, and proposed creating a sustainable substantially separate program (ABA-focused) to meet demand.
The director of student support services, introduced at the meeting as Miss Sher Le, told the Webster School Committee on May 12 that the district’s special-education population has risen and that staffing shortages are constraining services.
"Our special education numbers tend to hover around 500," the director said during her update and reported a current caseload of 529 students. She said the district has seen an increase in students identified with autism (from 133 last year to 154 this year), a rise in neurological classifications (from 14 to 27) and growth in health-related categories often tied to ADHD (from 62 to 75). Those shifts, she said, are increasing demand for behavioral supports and specialized instruction.
The director outlined how evaluations have trended this year: the district is slated to complete roughly 250 evaluations (116 initial evaluations, 107 re-evaluations and additional assessments), and reported 74 students were found not eligible during the year. She added that approximately 150 students hold 504 plans across district schools (Park Avenue, Webster Middle School, and Bartlett High School).
To address the capacity and quality gaps, the director said the district will analyze and design a programmatic model for a sustainable substantially separate program that includes applied behavior analysis (ABA) components and discrete trial training for younger students. She said the model would be compared to current service-delivery grids over the summer, with Park Avenue identified as a likely primary site because of the concentration of younger students and higher staffing needs.
Committee members pressed for more data on referral sources and implementation details. The director said early intervention and parent requests account for a large share of referrals, and she offered to bring more detailed breakdowns and proposals to future meetings.
The director also described proportionate-share services (51 students across several categories, including homeschooled students with IEPs and residents attending private schools) and noted fiscal strains tied to serving nonresident students when district funds are limited.
The committee did not vote on program approval at the meeting; the director said the next steps will include program analysis, staffing models and a timeline for presenting a formal proposal for committee consideration.
