Bedford Trying to Limit Special Ed Numbers (OH)
July 1, 2010
Bedford Public Schools is working to correct the disproportionate number of students considered eligible for special education services. It was the only district in Monroe County tagged for this by the federal government.
The county started a response-to-intervention pilot program at Monroe Road Elementary School in 2008 to intervene early and let students try using other services before special education.
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School officials say the program is a success – with only five instead of 58 students qualifying for special education last year – and a committee is forming this fall to consider standardizing response-to-intervention programs in the district. But some teachers worry that in directing students away from special education, the program will lead to larger class sizes and an overwhelming work load for general education teachers.
The federal government asked the Monroe County Intermediate School District, which provides education services throughout the county, to monitor Bedford’s rate of students in special education after the district was tagged, said Amy Hammons, regional director for special education in Bedford.
Monroe County as a whole had higher rates than other counties, so a pilot program was started in each school district in the county, she added.
Monroe ISD also worked with 17 elementary buildings and seven middle schools across the county to help them start their own response-to-intervention programs, with federal funds to buy supplies, said Michelle Brahaney, assistant superintendent for special education and early intervention services.
The purpose is to consider other, often temporary recourses for learning problems, so students are less likely to need special education later.
Several steps are involved: a universal screening three times a year to determine students’ skills and then three tiers of services depending on the students’ and accommodations for those who qualify.
Monroe Road Elementary started planning the pilot program in 2008 and launched it at the beginning of the 2009-10 academic year. The program had a budget of about $29,000 from the federal government and another $2,000 from Monroe ISD, which it used for materials and personnel, said reading specialist Amy Kochendoerfer, who headed the school’s program.
Students in kindergarten through third grade who qualified after the screening started in the first tier and received help from their general education teacher in smaller reading groups, she said.
If students were still struggling by the next screening, they were sent to the second tier, which meant they received a half-hour of group help from literacy coaches or a reading specialist.
Students who still had problems in tier two were put in the third tier and received one-on-one help in addition to the group help.
After that, students had to take a test to be considered for special education services.
The process starts again in the fall with another universal screening.
Fifty-eight students qualified for services after the initial screening. But at the academic year’s end, only five ended up qualifying for special ed and 13 stopped receiving services altogether, with the remaining 40 in one of the three tiers, Principal Thea Kirkwood said.
"It’s a work in progress, with the end result being that we’re seeing success," she said.
But some teachers worry general education teachers will be overwhelmed with the number of students who are returning to the classroom, specifically students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Students have been overdiagnosed with ADHD in the past, stretching special education resources, said Colleen Jan, president of the Bedford Education Association.
She said she is worried these students are being "siphoned off" into Section 504 programs, meaning they still would qualify for accommodations that general education teachers would be expected to provide.
"I’m worried that kids are going to be falling through the cracks with general education teachers spread too thin," she said. She said many teachers have voiced their concern about this over the years, especially since their teacher evaluations are based in part on student performance.
But Ms. Hammons said general education teachers do not require additional funds for Section 504 accommodations, such as providing someone to read a test to a student. She said not all students who ask for Section 504 accommodations should be given them, and that schools should individually screen these students.
Mrs. Jan said she thinks district and school administrations likely would give in to parents who insist their children have a learning disability instead of screening the students.
Monroe Road Elementary will receive funding for an undetermined number of years.
The district plans to form a committee in the fall to standardize existing response-to-intervention programs in Bedford Schools.