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Special‑education staff outline LEA role shifts and monitoring plan to board
Summary
District special‑education staff proposed shifting many LEA responsibilities to building-level staff (running IEP meetings and paperwork oversight), noted 192 special‑education students in District 2 and three outplaced students, and described upcoming ISBE cyclical monitoring and audit follow-up due in August.
Special‑education staff presented a multi‑part plan to the board proposing that building‑level staff assume more LEA responsibilities — primarily running many Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings and handling paperwork — to improve proactive service delivery and monitoring.
The presenters said the district currently counts about 192 special‑education students in District 2 (plus roughly 70 associated with the neighboring RV partnership) and reported three students are placed out of district. They argued that having trained LEA representatives at each school who can run meetings and sit on building‑level intervention teams will allow the district to allocate staff and resources more responsively and reduce the volume of last‑minute paperwork handled centrally.
Staff described ISBE’s new cyclical monitoring process (a multi‑year protocol the Illinois State Board of Education is rolling out) and said District 2 was scheduled for review; results of a recent special‑education audit will be shared with the board in August. The presenters recommended using existing staff reassignments and internal efficiencies to create the building LEA roles (one per school, with Spring Grove potentially needing two to cover preschool/high‑need programs) rather than immediate new hires; some duties would carry stipends or release time depending on building needs.
Board members asked about caseload ratios, trend data and how LEA candidates would be selected; staff said they will present audit-derived staffing ratios and recommendations at the August board meeting and will email materials to trustees beforehand.
The board took no immediate policy action at the meeting; staff said they will bring audit results and a hiring/realignment plan to the August meeting for consideration.
