Special education review finds high inclusion rates but flags identification and paraprofessional oversight

Anne Marie Lester, director of student services, presented findings from a comprehensive special education program review conducted with a CASE Collaborative consultant. The consultant highlighted strengths: a high proportion of students educated in inclusive settings (reported as over 79%), manageable caseloads, collaborative co‑teaching and development of tiered supports, including an intensive learning program and therapeutic spaces.

Areas for improvement included identification rates (the district identifies students with disabilities at a rate higher than the state average, about 4 percentage points higher, and emotional‑impairment identifications at roughly double the state average), fragmented social‑emotional MTSS screening, paraprofessional role clarity and a need to align specialized therapeutic program criteria and staffing. Lester described remedies underway: targeted PD, adoption of an SEL screening tool, refining tier‑2/3 interventions, paraprofessional orientation and evaluation, and return visits from the consultant for implementation support.

Committee members asked for examples of tier‑2 supports (skill building in regulation and communication) and for evidence of early changes; Lester pointed to an intensive learning program and lower qualification rates on reevaluation as initial indicators of progress. The director said further work will focus on clarifying eligibility criteria for therapeutic programs and ensuring certified staff coverage for therapeutic spaces.