The budget amendment was approved at the board of trustees' March 31 meeting.
What you need to know
District agenda documents show the rates for both nonpublic day school tuition, which provides special education services for students through an outside firm, and speech therapy services have risen.
Michele Staley, CCISD’s executive director of special services, said the number of students requiring special needs services has gone up in recent years, especially for speech.
“Speech is our second highest qualifying criteria for special education,” Staley said at the meeting. “I keep hoping we’ve kind of plateaued but we’re still on an upward trajectory.”
According to district documents, the following other reasons were listed for the budget amendment:
- A shortage in speech pathologists and increases in student evaluations, both of which are straining district resources and requiring officials to seek contracted services
- Intensified behavioral needs, which had led to a higher number of students recommended to be placed in nonpublic day schools
- Changes to the availability of nonpublic day school placements. The district has had to seek alternative placements, which are often more expensive and distant.
- Enhanced student needs at nonpublic day schools, such as multiple students now requiring one-on-one paraprofessional support
Quote of note
“At the end of the day our responsibility is making sure that students receive the absolute best services that are appropriate for their learning,” board President Arturo Sanchez said at the meeting. “We take that seriously across the district and it’s these kinds of changes that require us to provide these services that don’t always stay in sync with what the funding looks like.”
