Demographics:

Currently the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) provides Special Education services to 400 students, (an increase from 384 in September 2016).   Students are eligible under 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 number of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) at each site:  Coronado High School (CHS), 122; Coronado Middle School (CMS), 90; Village Elementary/ Early Childhood Development Center/Crown Preschool, 129; Silver Strand Elementary, 52, and Non-public Schools, 7.

Staffing:

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). Mid-year updates highlighted in yellow.

Continuum of Services:

Under the IDEA, the obligation of the district is to offer a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) based on the unique needs of the student.  In 2015, the Statewide Special Education Task Force called for a unified education system in which all children, including students with disabilities, are considered general education students first and foremost. This guideline defines our continuum of services in Coronado Unified.  In considering the placement for a student, the IEP team should always start with placement in the least restrictive environment which is the general education classroom with supplementary aides and supports.  The next level of support on the continuum is specialized academic instruction provided in the general education setting.  Below describes the continuum by site.

Coronado High School (CHS): 

Students with disabilities may receive special education services: (1) in the general education classroom with supplementary aides and supports; (2) from a special education teacher co-teaching with a general education teacher in the subject areas of English and Math (English 9, 10, 11, 12, and Integrated I & II; (3) and/or in a separate classroom (study skills, functional math, functional literacy, independent living skills etc.)  As determined by an IEP team, a student may receive any combination of these services to meet their unique learning needs.

Coronado Middle School (CMS):

The continuum of services at CMS is similar to CHS with services: (1) in the general education classroom with supplementary aides and supports; (2) from a special education teacher co-teaching with a general education teacher in the subject areas of English and Math; (3) and/or in a separate classroom (Academic Support, Independent Living Skills, Community Based Instruction, and Functional Math/ELA.)  Additionally, CMS offers specialized academic instruction a separate setting for English Language Arts and Math utilizing the Language! Live and TransMath curricula.

Village Elementary School (VES):

At VES, students with disabilities are provided special education services: (1) in the general education setting with supplemental aides and supports; (2) in the special education setting for specialized academic instruction.  For students below grade level in the areas of ELA and/or Math, the service delivery model has been pull-out services (services in a special education setting.)  Recognizing the need to expand the continuum of services to include more instruction in the general education setting, co-teaching was added this year for Math and ELA. With implementation of the new delivery model, many concerns arose.  A co-teaching committee was formed to address the issues.  The co-teaching committee consists of a general education teacher representing each grade level, special education staff, parents, and administration.  In monthly meetings, the committee has tackled the topics of:  staffing, scheduling conflicts, interruptions during core instruction, common planning time, and professional development.  The committee will meet for the remainder of the school year.  Outcomes from committee meetings to date include:

• Identifying the specific student need (i.e. number of SAI minutes/goals to be addressed)
• Placement of special education student on general education teacher rosters
• Minimize the impact of co-teaching on the master schedule
• Identify instructional blocks for co-teaching in the area of Math for each grade level
• Collaboration between special education and general education teachers included in weekly master schedule

Silver Strand Elementary School (SSES):

Due to the size of the student population at SSES, the district has typically only provided special education services to students with mild/moderate disabilities.  The continuum of services is in the general education setting with supplementary aide and supports or specialized academic instruction in the special education setting.  During the SY 16/17, it was necessary to increase the teacher FTE by .5 (temporary position through 6/17) to support the number of students with IEPs.  Constant monitoring of requests for assessment, initial evaluations, and enrollment at Strand will determine if that need continues in the SY 17/18.

Next Steps:

To prepare all CUSD students for college and career readiness, the continuum of special education services expands to meet the ever-changing needs of our students.  A focus on professional development, on-going collaboration for our co-teaching teams and the use of data monitoring to report progress, inform instruction and guide interventions is the vision for the CUSD Special Education Department.

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This report is presented to the Board for information.