Guiding Principles:

• Every Child, Every Day

• Students must be served in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

• Equity, Access, and Inclusion that promotes academic, behavioral and social emotional well-being.

Demographics:

Currently the District provides Special Education services to 393 students, (approximately 12%). Historically, this percentage has only fluctuated slightly (11-13%) in the previous 5 years and is marginally under the national average of 14%.   Students are found eligible for special education services in the 13 disabling categories of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Those categories are:  Autism, blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impaired, specific learning disability, speech or language disability, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment.  The following tables indicate the percentage of students by disabling category in California and CUSD and the CASEMIS student census by primary disability for CUSD.

Special Education Students, by Type of Disability 2017-18

*Included low-incidence disabilities such as hard of hearing, orthopedic impairment, multiple disabilities, visual impairments, deaf, traumatic brain injury, or deaf-blindness.

Student Census by Primary Disability

Student Count:  393 (December 1, 2018 CASEMIS) 

Staffing:

With our on-going commitment to recruit and retain highly trained professionals, the Special Education Committee was formed last year.  The committee was comprised of 5 association members and 5 administrators.  We met over the course of the year to address topics in special education.  One of the outcomes of the committee was an MOU to add two additional hours of case management weekly for each Educational Specialist.  The committee also agreed to address high caseloads by adding additional FTE of Education Specialists.  The table below indicates the current staffing ratios by school site.

*Special education staffing ratios are monitored and adjusted throughout the school year to maintain compliance with Ed Code caseload maximum of 28 for Resource Specialists (EDC § 56362).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:

The rights of students with disabilities to receive an education is guided by federal and state law. Fundamentally, public schools must provide children with disabilities the proper supports, services and accommodations to ensure these students receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) and have the same access to education as their non-disabled peers. 

Schools are required to provide this education in the least restrictive environment (LRE), which means that a student with a disability should have the opportunity to be educated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. (IDEA § 300.114).

This guiding principle drives the continuum of services to support student needs in CUSD. 

SELPA (Special Education Local Planning Area):

South County SELPA is a consortia of school districts that pool resources for our region and includes the school districts of:  Coronado, Chula Vista, National, San Ysidro, South Bay and Sweetwater.  The SELPA is the foundational structure for overseeing and delivering Special Education programs and services. Some of the resources provided to us from our SELPA are:

• Occupational therapy services

• Teacher of the visually impaired

• Orientation and mobility specialist

• Audiology services

Additionally, our SELPA serves as the annual compliance monitoring system to ensure our compliance with state and federal mandates.  Other services provided by the SELPA include:

• Professional development and staff in-service training

• Interagency coordination and memorandums of understanding (MOUs)

• Governance and Community Advisory Committee (CAC formerly SEPAC) 

• “Resource parents” who provide information, resources and support for parents of children with disabilities.

How do we measure up?

CA Dashboard Data For Students with Disabilities (2017-18 Data):

Based on the data for students with disabilities, as reported in the California School Dashboard and the Local Level Annual Performance Report (APR), the California Department of Education has determined that CUSD will participate in the Performance Indicator Review.  The areas indicated as “orange” on the California School Dashboard were:  ELA Participation/Achievement and Math Participation/Achievement. A PIR Improvement Plan, to address these two areas, was submitted on July 15, 2019. The plan includes professional development to ensure IEP teams identify the appropriate statewide assessment and focus on the least restrictive environment for access to the general education curriculum.

Celebrate our successes and efficiencies:

• Selected by Diagnostic Center of Southern California to participate in a multi-year Co-Teaching Professional Development and Coaching Project.

• CA State Preschool Program Expansion grant to fund placement for SWD with state dollars ~$56k.

• Development of two Program Specialist positions to support MTSS and Special Education at the sites.

• Successful move of the Transition Program to the District Office to serve 5 students.

• 3.5 FTE increase of Educational Specialists to increase our continuum of services, lower caseloads, and recruit and retain special education professionals.

• Collaboration with the Learning Department for curriculum training opportunities for general and special educators (e.g. Bridges, Amplify, CPM).

• Workability Grant funds pre-employment skills training, employment placement and transition to post-secondary life for 98 students at CHS/Transition.

Budget:  

State/Federal Unfunded Mandate:

At a time when state and federal funding for special education is relatively flat and districts are assuming a larger portion of the special education expenses, it is necessary for us to seek efficiencies while ensuring we effectively serve students with disabilities.  The table below highlights the total special education expenditures and the revenue sources (state, federal, and local).

CUSD Special Education Expenditures by category (SY 2018-19)

Services and Other Operating Costs can be further broken down into the categories listed above, which represent the top four in this expenditure grouping.

Next Steps:

• Invest in District staff and programs to reduce the need to NPA services and/or NPS placements.

• Continue to identify efficiencies with NPA contracts.

• Develop and hire District staff to support behavior needs (i.e. Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Registered Behavior Therapist/Interventionist).

• Continue efforts to recruit and retain special education professionals.

• Support Advocacy Efforts for Full/Fair Funding for Special Education.