A state report determined that Wareham’s special education met most of its students’ needs, but the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found areas for improvement as a district.
At the Wareham School Committee meeting on Oct. 17, Wareham Public Schools Director of Student Services Melissa Fay presented the report’s findings.
Every three years, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reviews all school districts and their special education programs across the commonwealth by visiting each school, observing the special education program, and interviewing various teachers and parents. . This report is known as a hierarchical central monitoring system.
The state visited Wareham during the 2023-2024 school year to implement the report, which evaluated the district through a variety of criteria based on two different categories: civil rights and special education. From there, states determine whether the standards are fully implemented, partially implemented, or not implemented at all. School districts will be issued notices when standards are partially implemented or not implemented.
The civil rights category addresses how school districts protect the rights of all students, and the special education category includes special education programs offered by school districts.
Districtwide, 483 students have active IEPs, representing more than 30% of all students in Wareham. The state average for the district is 20.2%, according to Wareham Public Schools Superintendent Matt D’Andrea.
Based on the state report, the special education department fully implemented most of the state standards and received five areas to address throughout the report.
Fay explained that she is contesting two of the five cases because the district was accused of not formally documenting activities that are customary for employees.
One area the district cited is the percentage of students on IEPs who spend time outside of the general education classroom.
According to Fay, 24.1% of students on IEPs are placed in “substantively alternative placements.” This means that 24.1% of students with IEPs spend at least 60% of their time outside of the regular classroom, in another classroom or program designed for students with special needs. The state wants that rate to drop to 13.2% of students, but Fay said they want to make sure kids get the services they need.
“That’s a bit of a biased view, because if you take another 12 percent of students who aren’t ready to participate more in the public sphere, you’re doing them a disservice,” Fay said. said.
If the standards are deemed to be partially implemented or not implemented at all, the special education department will be given a revised action plan for the standards by the state, Fay said. They have one year to prove they followed through on their plan.
Another area cited by the special education department was following proper procedures regarding student discipline and problem solving.
Fay explained in his report that he received two complaints in which the state deemed the special education department to have failed to follow proper disciplinary processes.
Fay added that the district has received training from the state to help employees better understand the discipline process, and that training has already been completed.
One standard that was not fully implemented was the professional development provided to bus drivers. The state believes this is only partially implemented and would like more specific professional development regarding specific needs and accommodation on buses.
“We are working on a new professional development series for bus drivers,” Fay said. “We are creating a procedure manual with suggestions and things that bus drivers may see.”
Overall, Fay explained that she is proud of how the special education department has been able to support students across the district over the past year.
“I think we’ve worked hard as a team and we’ve built a really strong team, so I’m really happy with the result,” Fay said.
