July 26, 2012

Programs for Exceptional Children Staffing Change and Finance Memo

Students with disabilities will receive instruction aligned to the Common Core State Standards. All identified special education students will have maximum opportunities for meaningful mainstreaming as measured by mainstreaming logs maintained by general and special education teachers/staff. Schools will build the capacity of staff to increase the level of inclusion in general education classes for students with disabilities to 20 percent.--OUSD Strategic Plan, June 2011 (Focus 2C.6 Students with Disabilities & Programs for Exceptional Children) Theory of Action for Students with Disabilities and Programs for Exceptional Children (Special Education) Currently, in OUSD and elsewhere, the largest portion of Special Ed spending is devoted to staff who are versed in the law, theories of learning and disabilities, but who are less likely to be trained in math, English or reading, even though the majority of a Special Education teachers day is spent providing instruction. Our new focus is designed to move the needle toward a more academic focus and greater inclusion of Special Ed students in General Ed classes. By placing greater responsibility and support for special needs children in the hands of general educators, we can make more efficient use of resources while also putting students in front of the teachers with the academic subject-matter knowledge. Fundamentally, OUSD is moving from a model in which program specialists interact primarily with Special Education teachers and have overwhelming responsibility for special needs students to one where responsibility is dispersed throughout a school site and specialists are charged with building the capacity of all staff to serve special education students. Presently, we have 12 program specialists and under the new framework we will have nine, each with a specific focus on building the ability of the entire school to work with Special Ed students. In the current model, program specialists perform the bulk of the work themselves, maintaining the silo that separates Special Ed from General Ed and undermines our efforts to promote inclusion. Under the new paradigm, program specialists will work to build the capacity of every staff member at the site to support Special Education. In the Full-Service Community School District model, every adult is responsible for every student in their school community. Right now, we arent structured to live up to this standard where Special Needs students are concerned and we need to change by implementing best practices that leverage all the assets in school community in the service of Special Ed students. OUSD believes that in order to produce better outcomes for Special Ed students in a time of diminishing resources, we must: integrate Special Education with general education classrooms deploy staff efficiently 1

use sophisticated metrics to gauge effectiveness employ more strategic management structures

This shift is aligned with national best practices, the strategic plan and the desire voiced by many Special Ed parents for greater inclusion in mainstream settings. OUSD, like districts around the state and across the country is rethinking how to provide Special Ed services in the same way we are re-envisioning General Education. We are intent on achieving this goal and doing so in a responsible manner. Background Recent staffing changes to the Programs for Exceptional Children (more commonly known as the Special Education Department) have sparked debate and some opposition in the community. The reception has been clouded, in part, by disclosures of a coding error in OUSD which had a financial impact on the Special Education Department. The timing of these two developments, which came in close succession, has created some confusion about what prompted the restructuring of the Special Education Department. While influenced by financial considerations such as the desire to use resources more efficiently and align Special Ed revenues with expensesthe restructuring is based on the dictates of the Strategic Plan and the need for a paradigm shift in Special Ed. (Strategic Plan Focus Area 2C.6). This shift is necessary because, as currently constructed, we are poorly positioned to deliver the type of services Special Ed students need, particularly a more integrated and intensely academic experience than is currently provided. Programmatic Considerations Current Special Ed strategy reflects the reality of providing Special Education services in an era where identification of students on the moderate and severe end of the disability spectrum is increasing at a dramatic rate. The percentage of these students with significant need, but particularly those with behavioral and autism challenges, is rising rapidly. The shift in the Special Ed population requires a departmentand positions within that departmentdesigned to meet these diverse needs. To that end, we are working to eliminate redundancy and increase specialization. We want to match the expertise of staff with current student needsneeds which differ substantially from when the Departments current structure was created many years ago. Although has been a longstanding issue, decreased funding for public education increased the urgency of reallocating resources in a manner suited to current conditions and the programmatic desire for increased inclusion of Special Ed students in mainstream environments with a more rigorous academic focus. Financial Considerations For years, Special Education has been a mandated, but underfunded program, in virtually every school district in the country. In OUSD, when the cost of services exceeds monies provided by state and federal government, the difference is often paid for by a contribution from the General Education Program. Traditionally, OUSD has filled the gap between the cost of requested services and actual revenues in Special Ed. 2

For the current 2011-12 fiscal year, the $77.25 million Special Education budget includes a $24.1 million contribution from the General Education Program. The Special Education budget for the upcoming 2012-13 school year of $75.5 million represents a decrease of $1.75 million from 2011-12, but also included a $24.4 million contribution from the General Education program, up $332,000 from the previous year. The $1.75 million decrease in 2012-13 Special Ed funding is attributable primarily to: A $1.036 million drop in funding from County Mental Health Resources The expiration of one-time stimulus funds ($332,000) A $382,00 million decrease in other, assorted program resources

OUSD has determined that the General Ed Program contributions could not continue to escalate at the recent pace and that it was necessary for the overall health of the organization for Special Ed to live within its means. Given this, General Ed contributions were increased $332,000 from 2011-12 levels to $24.46 million and Special Ed was directed to bring expenses in-line with projected revenues. In response, the Department abandoned much of the proposed staffing expansion and considered additional measures to save $1.75 million before ultimately eliminating the equivalent of thirty full-time positions. These positions were primarily vacant due to separations, retirements and temporary contracts and affected resource teachers, instructional assistants (IAs) and intervention specialists most heavily. Staffing Rationale As the Special Education Department considered how to keep expenditures even with revenue, the primary concern was how to concentrate the cuts at the central office and keep them away from the classroom. This is why program specialists, who are not classroom teachers, were disproportionately affected. Presently, we have 12 Program Specialists and under the new framework we will have nine, each with a specific focus on building the ability of the entire school to work with Special Ed students. Program Specialists, while an important part of the Special Education experience, are not in the classroom. Some critics have pointed to the relatively low performance of Special Ed students, on average, as need for change. We agree that change is needed and part of that change involves roles which place a strong focus on subject matter competency. In order to accelerate learning, we want to maximize the time that Special Ed students spend with content experts so we can increase rigor and results. One group cannot be the sole support to families and it should be noted that its not only program specialist who work with families. Coordinators work with families and chair IEP meetings and program specialists meet regularly with their coordinators to discuss what their duties are. Program specialists get input from their coordinators and the coordinators help them resolve issues. Duties for coordinators, program specialists, teachers and site administrators are being re-adjusted to bring a more collaborative, skill-specific focus to the operation of Special Education. This reorganization lets the program specialist work closely with teachers on best practices in methodology and other important educational skills needed for the classroom. It also frees Program Specialists to act in a training capacity 3

instead of simply in a direct service role. At the same time, Coordinators will be taking a more active role in supporting site administrators with administrative duties when working with Special Education students. The goal of these changes is to ensure that all staff at a site learn how to support special education children effectively. To that end, we eliminated vacant positions because they dont fit with the current, more academicallyfocused vision for Special Education. These decisions are not irrevocable; we will fill positions as needed and as required by Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), but we wont keep positions that arent necessary. We are taking a similar approach with supplies, ordering to need, but not to surplus. Transportation Transportation has been funded at 2009 rate for the last two years, even though the cost of transportation has gone up, creating the need to increase the local contribution for these costs later in the year. In February, Special Education informed central District staff that we would need additional funding to cover the cost of transportation through the end of the school year. Transportation costs increased 13 percent from 2009-10 to 2010-11 and 18 percent from 2010-11 to 2011-12. This years growth was partly due to an increase in students beings transported to therapy (reading clinic and other therapy) and the penalty, per the contract, for the reduction PEC is in the process of renegotiating some of the terms and conditions in the Peterman Bus contract. Specifically, it is negotiating a flat rate for transporting students to our Reading Clinic rather than continuing the current per mile rate (for an estimated cost savings of $100,000). Additionally, PEC is in conversation with Peterman about lowering the cost of all transportation to and from therapy sessions. As new students are identified as needing special education services, the IEP team will ensure that transportation services are indicated on the IEP only when it is deemed necessary as a related service. Special education transportation will be based only demonstrated student need. This should result in a decrease in the number of students who require transportation over the next several years.

Class Size Understandably, there has been concern about the effect the restructuring might have on class sizes. Currently, student-teacher ratios (caseloads) in what are known as resource programs range from 25:1 to 28:1. That ratio has now been standardized at 28:1 for all resource programs meaning class sizes may increase by, one, two or three students, or not all, depending on their current alignment. This increase is not extraordinary; rather it will bring OUSD student-teacher ratios in line with those of most other large California school districts. These adjustments were made so that our resource specialists would have a caseload closer to what Education Code indicates. Special Education regulations clearly state that the caseload for a resource specialist program teacher is 28. Students in these programs primarily receive their instruction from General 4

Ed teachers and the resource specialist program teachers support their instruction by collaborating with General Ed teachers. The Special Day Class (SDC) non-severe class size will increase by an average of two to three students per class. We aim to hold classrooms to no more than 16 students and the caseload for severe SDC classrooms caseload will be 10 to 12 students. In some cases, this will represent an increase. As for substitute teachers, contrary to some reports, there will be no change from present numbers. Throughout the restructuring process, we will adhere to our federal mandate and go beyond it. As specified in the Strategic Plan, all identified Special Education students will have maximum opportunities for meaningful mainstreaming and schools will increase the capacity of staff, so that the rate of inclusion for special needs students in mainstream classrooms meets or exceeds 20 percent. Above all, we will ensure not only access to Special Ed services, but also the support necessary to create more inclusive, equitable and academic conditions for Special Needs students that increase their opportunity to learn and their prospects for success in school and in life.

Difference in PEC Position SY 11-12 to SY12-13

Position Teacher, Adaptive PE FTE FY1112(PC201) 3.80 FTE FY1213 3.80 3.85 2.00 86.20 3.00 3.15 98.40 99.75 300.15 Difference (8.50) (1.00) (6.10) 2.15 (13.45) $ (637,500) $ (75,000) $ (457,500) $ 161,250 $ (1,008,750) $ Cost savings

Teacher, Hearing Imp 3.85 Teacher, Home/Hosp Teacher, Resource Teacher, VI Teacher, Orient/Mob Teacher, Non-severe Teacher, Severe 1100 Teachers Psychologist 5 2.00 94.70 3.00 4.15 104.50 97.60 313.60

36.70 Social Worker Speech 1200 Pupil Support 15.00 41.90 93.60

36.30 15.00 41.90 93.20

(0.40) (0.40)

(30,000)

$ (30,000)

Admin Spec Assgnmt Coordinator, Cert CDC Site Admin EXO SPED*

1.00 6.50 1.00 0.60 9.10

1.00 6.50 1.00 0.60 9.10

$ $ (400,000) $ 400,000 $ $ (56,000) $ (308,000)

T11TSA T12TSA Program Mgr, RtI 1300 Cert Supv.

14.00 6.00 1.00 21.00

10.00 10.00 1.00 21.00

(4.00) 4.0 -

AIDE Handicap IA, SPED Interpreter for Deaf III Interpreter for Deaf II Intervention Specialist 2100 Class Support

166.40 108.80 1.60 1.60 97.20 375.60

164.80 100.00 1.60 1.60 93.60 361.60

(1.60) (8.80) (3.60) (14.00)

$ (126,000) $ (490,000)

2200 Classified Support

20.20

20.20

Office Manager I Finance Mgr, PEC Office Manager II Conf 2300 SUPV, Classified

0.50 1.00 1.00 2.50

0.50 1.00 1.50

(1.00) (1.00) $ (100,000) $ (100,000) $ 50,000 $ (50,000)

Admin Bilingual Adm Asst I/II Employ Asst Secretary Legal Svc Team Asst HR Data Analyst Tech Braille Transcriber 2400 Clerical

5.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 0.50 12.50

1.00 4.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 0.50 10.50

1.00 (1.00) (1.00) (1.00) (2.00)

$ (50,000) $ (90,000)

$ (140,000)

Total

848.10

817.25

(30.85)

$ (1,768,750)