Regan Updates School Board on Special Education

The number of students whose special education needs can’t be met in the local school system and must be placed out of district has decreased while strides have been made in educating special needs students in district and costs have been kept in check, Director of Pupil Services and Personnel Michael Regan told the Board of Education during a Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center.

The update on special education was the first time Regan presented to the school board since since parents took their complaints regarding the handling of special education to .

Regan started his presentation asking the public to applaud some of the special education teachers who attended the meeting.

“There has been a lot of negativity in some of our local press but I think there’s the other side that speaks very positively about the things that our staff do on a day to day basis,” Regan said.

During a public participation period held prior to Regan's presentation, several parents with special education children praised the teachers in the district and the impact they have had.

“My husband and I have always found them to be extremely approachable,” Annette Barbour said of the staff, adding that her daughter has been part of the special education school system for 15 years. "The program that she is in has improved. It’s getting better.”

Barbara Sibley also spoke of her son and when she and her husband learned their child was likely on the autism spectrum.

“It seems strange now but we were shocked, unsure of what lay ahead and never imagined that our son was autistic,” Sibley said, adding that within weeks of starting preschool at Head O’ Meadow, her son was coloring, building block towers and had friends.

The personal attention and educational strides continued at Sandy Hook School where he is in second grade, Sibley said.

“He’s got a boundless curiosity and a love of learning,” she said.

Another parent, Karen Pierce, also said she was impressed with the special education staff at Newtown High School but the process taken to find the right program and services for her son was difficult.

“During that time of transition when the fit is not good, that is when you have the most angst as a parent," she said. "If I can go back and redo the path, I would, but I think we are making strides to do that.”

Still, dozens of parents unhappy with Newtown’s special education handling have contacted Reps. DebraLee Hovey (R-112) and Chris Lyddy (D-106) with their criticism of the program and while the , local school board members , including asking for state involvement and .

Some parents have said they are not treated well during the process and some have a perception that delays were keeping students from being placed in the special education process.

When Regan was hired in July 1, 2003, the education board’s main directive to him was to reduce the number of out-of-district placements. He said his goal also was to provide “appropriate instruction for students at risk for academic failure” and improve the diagnostic tool to “more accurately identify students with disabilities.”

“We want to make sure if we do it, we’re accurate,” he said of the special education assessment process.

In addition to a drop in the number of out-of-district placements, Regan said the district has seen a nearly tripling of the number of students on the autism spectrum as well as a rise in reading and math scores, graduation requirements, time spent in regular education classrooms and the size of the special education staff.

Those strides have been made, all with small increases in the special education budget, except for the first year he was there when expenses increased by more than 17-percent, Regan said. Since 2004, the special education budget had increased by slightly more than 2-percent, he said.

“We have done this in a manner that I think shows some fiscal restraint and responsibility,” Regan said.

The key has been to better manage the excess cost grant reporting process to ensure the district receives reimbursement from the state for the services provided in district, according to Regan.

“We have done a very good job of tracking our dollars spent,” he said. “We have been able to provide positive education outcomes for our students and that is a testament to the hard work of our staff.”

At the same time, the district has been cited by the state – along with about half of the districts in Connecticut – for scores among special education students at Reed Intermediate Schools, which are not meeting adequate yearly progress on the Connecticut Mastery Test.

Regan said he would be working along with the Reed principal Sharon Epple on ways to bolster the scores in that area.

“Reed is going to see a lot more of me and the principal and reading department all working together,” he said.

Board member Debbie Leidlein asked Regan about some of the complaints parents have lodged against the handling of special education to which Regan said Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson was creating a special task force to look into the matter.

“Have you set any personal goals in the meantime to address those issues?” Leidlein asked.

Regan replied, “My personal goal is to assist Janet in the task force…When there is an issue that arises, I want to know about it before so I can help versus know about it when it goes south. I encourage parents to call me and a number of parents have taken advantage of it.”