MONTPELIER – The Agency of Education released a Special Education Report, which identifies strengths, challenges and opportunities in the delivery of services to students with disabilities. The report is an important part of the Agency’s ongoing strategic planning process and a key step in implementing Act 73, the state’s education transformation law.
While student enrollment is declining, the number of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) is increasing. More students are also qualifying for extraordinary cost reimbursement, suggesting that both the complexity and intensity of student needs are growing. This is contributing to rising costs, especially in tuition and transportation, as many schools lack staffing and specialized resources, in part due to issues with scale, to meet these needs in their own districts. Overall statewide academic performance decline, coupled with persistent achievement gaps for students with IEPs, underscores the need for higher quality instruction for all students and greater access to academic supports for struggling learners.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), every student is entitled to a free appropriate public education. For some students this means they receive an IEP. The IEP is developed with a student’s caregivers and members of the school system to ensure that the students is reaching their goals.
Vermont serves a larger percentage of students with IEPs in inclusive classrooms than the national average. Nearly 82% of students with IEPs spend 80% or more of their day in regular education settings, compared to 67% nationally. At the same time, over 5% of Vermont students with IEPs are placed in separate schools, more than double the national average of 2.4%. These patterns suggest both a commitment to inclusion and a reliance on out-of-district placements that carry high costs and may not always align with best practices.
A second report to come will offer recommendations and considerations for special education funding to help inform legislative discussions as lawmakers make decisions about a new system to fund education.
The report is available at education.vermont.gov/document/current-state-special-education-delivery
