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West Salem board sets 2026–27 special-education open-enrollment limits, cites staffing strain
Summary
The West Salem School Board approved program-by-program open-enrollment caps for special education in 2026–27 after a presentation by Heidi, the district special-education lead, who said limits reflect current staff capacity, active referrals and DPI guidance. Board members pressed administrators on caseloads and staffing plans.
The West Salem School Board voted to approve the district’s recommended open-enrollment limits for special-education programs for the 2026–27 school year after a presentation from Heidi, the district’s special-education lead (S11).
Heidi told the board the district determines caps by counting current special-education staff, tallying active IEPs and estimating incoming referrals. She said the recommendations are designed to ensure the district can provide required services with the staff currently approved: “We look at the staff that we have as of today. We look at the number of students that are identified with IEPs…and any estimates for referrals that would come from now until the end of the year,” Heidi said.
Under the motion the board approved, the district will open the following spaces for special-education open enrollment next year: elementary early childhood — 0; elementary cross-categorical K–1 — 0, grade 2 — 1, grade 3 — 0, grade 4 — 2; elementary emotional/behavioral disability (EBD) — 0; elementary intellectual disability — 2. Middle-school cross-categorical: grade 5 — 0, grade 6 — 2, grades 7–8 — 0; middle-school EBD — NA; middle-school intellectual disability — 2. At the high school, cross-categorical seats were set at 2 and the intellectual-disability program at 0. For speech-language services, the district recommended 0 openings for ages 3–grade 1, 2 openings for grades 2–5, and 0 for grades 6–12; occupational therapy was set at 0 openings based on current staffing.
Board members pressed administrators about whether the recommended caps would create unmanageable caseloads. Committee member Ben (S6) noted some caseload numbers looked large compared with typical assignments. Heidi responded that many therapy and speech services are scheduled as groups or consultations, not daily one-on-one visits, and that the district already works with building principals to consider staffing changes when needs increase: “Most children for OT and speech aren’t seen daily. They’re seen two times a week, one time a week…or they’re on a consultation, meaning the teacher has a monthly consult with the speech therapist,” Heidi said, adding she meets building principals to discuss staffing if workloads grow.
Eric (S2) moved the motion to adopt the caps as presented; the chair (S1) seconded. The board approved the motion by voice vote.
The district framed these limits as a conservative step to preserve service quality while staffing for the next year remains unfinalized; administrators said updated staffing proposals will come later in the spring as part of the regular budget and staffing cycle.
What happens next: administrators will finalize any staffing requests for next year in upcoming budget discussions; the board will revisit other open-enrollment items for regular education once the district has the official 2nd-Friday count and updated FTE numbers.
