The Darien Times

Special education garners special attention

Written by David DesRoches
Friday, January 27, 2012 05:48 AM

Autism. Traumatic brain injuries. Emotional disturbances. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Developmental delay.

These are a few of the diagnoses given to children with special needs; children who have a legal right to a free and appropriate education under federal law.

However, the number of children receiving special education in Darien surpassed the state average for the first time in recent memory last year, and the numbers keep on growing.

The number of special ed kids has increased nearly every year since 2008, peaking at 13.1% of the total population this month, according to special education Director Robin Pavia. The state average is roughly 12.5%, she said.

“We have 29 students that either are new to the district, after the last budget was done, or whose needs have changed so radically it caused the budget to go up to meet their needs,” Pavia said.

The special education department has the highest proposed budget of any school account, which is scheduled to balloon by 13.06% next year to $16,675,593. However, this number assumes the schools will get $2 million back from the state for excess costs. Without reimbursements, the percentage increase drops to 5.75%, with total spending nearly $18.9 million. The variation in percentage increases as it relates to the dollar figure is because the schools expect to get much less from the state than they expect to get this year — nearly $445,000 less than expected and $900,000 less than budgeted.

The schools’ special ed budget proposal for next year is more than $1 million over the current year, which is projected to be roughly $300,000 in the red, causing the entire school budget to fall short by roughly $140,000.

The problem is exacerbated by out of district tuition costs for six additional students this year - five from the middle school. Three placements are for students 18-21 years old. Tuition to these schools is expected to exceed $500,000 over the budget figure of $2.2 million. Next year’s number appears even higher than this year, and the schools have proposed to spend $2.9 million for out of district tuition, a nearly 13% increase over the adjusted budget amount for this year.

Accountability

The Board of Finance visited the Board of Ed last week, and finance Chairman Liz Mao expressed strong concern with where the schools were headed. “We still have no sense of what the Board of Education is doing strategically,” Mao said. “We still feel that we’re on a collision course down the road.”

At an earlier budget meeting, board member Morgan Whittier asked the schools to provide specific examples of how they were working to improve special ed delivery. “What I would like to see is some concrete and tangible evidence of where we are improving our management of resources,” Whittier said. “I’d love it if you came back with a list, give me 10 or 20 things that you noticed that made a difference.”

Board Chairman Betsy Hagerty-Ross said the information could be “elaborated on,” but that the “numbers aren’t telling the story of what’s going on behind the scenes.”

“Out of district tuition is going up, but [teacher] aids are going down,” Hagerty-Ross said.

The schools hired two behavioral specialists this year and also replaced contracted speech pathologists with staff employees, which has saved some money. Darien also absorbed an additional 29 students this year who either arrived new to the district, or whose needs increased causing budget overages. Many children showed up for kindergarten and the schools were unprepared for their arrival, Pavia said.

“This is the first time, since I have been here… that I have seen this scenario,” Pavia said. She started her job in town in 1999.

Identifying students

On the bright side, more children are being identified earlier through the strategic research-based intervention (SRBI) methods the schools employ.

SRBI is a three-tier process, with all students beginning school in tier one. If a student exhibits signs that she could be falling behind the other students, she is placed in tier two, which normally involves a more personal teacher-student interaction. If that fails to catch the student up, she is placed in tier three, which involves an even more intensive approach. If difficulty remains, the student is then admitted to a special education program and given an individualized education plan, or IEP.

SRBI was intended to intervene earlier and reduce the number of disabilities, but the opposite has occurred, according to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Judith Pandolfo. “Looking at the numbers,” Pandolfo said, “I found out that three of them slipped by without the SRBI process. For us, we need to refine the process.”

From May of 2010 to May of 2011, 243 students had gone through the SRBI process in some form, with 101 exiting SRBI and returning to tier one, Pandolfo said. Seventy-seven remained in SRBI, and 22 of those students were eventually identified with a learning disability during that period. The numbers don’t add up because students are constantly being added to the program, Pandolfo said.

Burden of proof

Parents who believe their child’s IEP is not adequate have a right to a mediation hearing or they can proceed to due process. In both cases, the burden is on the schools to prove the IEP is adequate.

Last year, however, Darien supported reversing the burden of proof, as it was seen as something that was a strain on school resources. The schools have spent an average of $400,806 over the last four years on legal services. Legal services are budgeted to go up $40,000 to $380,000 next year. Darien also spends nearly $58,000 per year on an administrative assistant to help with special education legal affairs.

Parents of special education children claim the schools are in a better position to argue legal cases, and that no parent wants to drag their child’s disability into court.

Board member Michael Harmon asked how many children exit special education and return to the general population. Pandolfo said it’s usually children designated with speech and language disabilities who leave the program. These students would not examined more carefully than other students once they left their IEP, because they are now part of the regular population.

Disability breakdown

Of all the disabilities, ADHD and ADD “have really grown,” Pavia said, adding that she has “some working hypotheses” on why that is the case. The cases of ADD and ADHD have nearly doubled since 2008, going from 56 to 102 this year. These diagnoses are designated as other health impairment, or OHI. In 2010, Darien had the highest percentage of students with ADD and ADHD than other affluent towns in the area at 23%.

Nearly 30% of all special ed students are designated with having a specific learning disability, and this number has remained between 184 and 168 since 2008. Autism cases have increased each year, going from 40 in 2008 to 56 this year.

Compared to other affluent districts in 2010, Darien has an above average number of students with intellectual disabilities, visual impairments, OHI, and developmentally delayed. It is at the average for traumatic brain injuries and emotional disturbances, and below average in six other categories. Comparison numbers for this year will soon be available.

Budget

For next year’s budget, money for pupil evaluations are increasing by more than 100%, to $100,000, which is based on the increased needs for independent educational evaluations of students who might require special education. Consultant services are going up from $465,000 to $480,000. The schools are also asking for an additional $140,000 for a social worker and school psychologist to be funded under the special ed budget, even though the service would be used by all students.

The special ed operating budget has increased by 66% since 2008, and total special ed expenses have ballooned 34% during that time.

“We just don’t seem to be getting anywhere strategically,” Finance Chairman Liz Mao told the school board. “Are we looking at the root causes of this growth? There are some of us who feel it needs a more open, and more transparent, and more honest accounting.”

Hagerty-Ross said the board’s goal is to be transparent. “It takes a while to see our results,” she said. “We understand 5.6% was a surprise, but we are, in my opinion, we’re trying to catch up from a few lower budget increases in prior years — not last year.”

The 5.6% is the total school budget increase over this year, and represents a net budget of $80.6 million, a $4.3 million increase over this year. Contracted salary increases remain the largest portion of the schools’ budget proposal, which, when combined with modest increases in health insurance, account for 2.1% of the total increase.

The budget has increased by 21% since 2008, while the student population has grown by less than 2%.

ddesroches@darientimes.com

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