Palo Alto Unified School District Special Education Program and Fiscal Review Presentation by: Jannelle Kubinec Associate Vice President Study Overview 1 The District has a well deserved reputations for offering programs and services that support academic excellence and learning for all students, including students with disabilities The purpose of this study is to: Evaluate the District s special education program with the District Strategic Plan goals in mind Validate that the program is achieving results consistent with the expectations of parents, community, and District staff Support the transition in special education program leadership by documenting existing services and providing recommendations for further improvement
Study Process 2 Findings and recommendations are developed based on considering multiple data points: Financial and program data Budget documents Student performance Staffing Organizational charts and supporting documents Statewide staffing and program data Interviews and focus groups Management staff Site administrators Teachers, instructional aides, specialists Parents Classroom observations Comparison Districts 3 District Expenditures/ ADA % Low Income Academic Performance Index (API) Palo Alto Unified 11,430 $13,709 7.7% 919 Districts in SELPA Mt. View-Whisman 4,460 $9,013 45.8% 817 Mt. View-Los Altos High 3,660 $13,430 14.2% 840 Los Altos Elementary 4,208 $9,955 2.4% 959 Similarly Performing Unified School Districts La Cañada Unified 4,023 $8,719 0.9% 925 Manhattan Beach Unified 6,481 $7,807 2.1% 914 Piedmont Unified 2,531 $11,794 0% 921 San Marino Unified 3,202 $9,177 13% 1.3% 951 San Ramon Valley Unified 26,975 $8,146 1.8% 913 Northern Santa Clara County Unified School Districts San Jose Unified 31,918 $9,428 47.5% 782 Santa Clara Unified 14,729 $9,499 40.9% 782 Figure 1: Select Data for Comparison Districts, California Department of Education 2008-09
Study Findings and Recommendations 4 Findings and recommendations are organized into three areas: Program Services Pupil count analysis Program structure and services Organizational and Management Structure Staffing structure Staffing levels Policies and procedures Staff development Fiscal Overview of the budget Types of revenue Types of expenditures Analysis of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Findings: Program Services 5 Program services should reflect the population requiring services The state provides a negative financial incentive for identifying students for special education services if their needs can be met through h other means As the District has grown in recent years, so too has the population of students with disabilities Overall students with disabilities comprise 10.4% of the population, which is within a reasonable range of the statewide average and other districts Year Total Student with Disabilities (SWD) % Students with Disabilities % Change % Change SWD 2004-05 10,553 1,069 10.13% 2005-06 10,756 1,107 10.29% 1.92% 3.55% 2006-07 10,931 1,165 10.66% 1.63% 5.24% 2007-08 11,204 1,175 10.49% 2.50% 0.86% 2008-09 11,430 1,184 10.36% 2.02% 0.77% Cumulative Change 8.31% 10.76% Figure 2: Change in Total versus Special Education, 2004-05 through 2008-09
Findings: Program Services 6 2008-09, Unless Noted Otherwise Total District Mental Retardation Speech & Language Impairment Emotionally Disturbed Other Health Impairment Specific Learning Disabled Autism Other* TOTAL Palo Alto Unified, 2004-05 10,553 0.22% 2.76% 0.43% 0.59% 5.26% 0.44% 0.47% 10.16% 16% Palo Alto Unified 11,430 0.22% 2.52% 0.51% 1.32% 4.53% 0.86% 0.46% 10.41% Statewide 6,248,082 0.51% 2.33% 0.40% 0.73% 4.36% 0.70% 0.49% 9.51% Districts in SELPA Los Altos 4,248 0.19% 4.26% 0.26% 0.97% 2.68% 0.61% 0.33% 9.30% Mt. View Los Altos 3,660 0.16% 0.33% 0.87% 1.20% 6.69% 0.55% 0.66% 10.46% Mt. View-Whisman 4,460 0.25% 4.04% 0.22% 0.40% 4.87% 1.37% 0.52% 11.66% Similarly Performing Unified Districts La Cañada 4,023 0.17% 2.56% 0.47% 1.62% 2.68% 1.32% 0.47% 9.30% Manhattan Beach 6,481 0.28% 3.16% 0.68% 1.33% 2.79% 1.34% 0.25% 9.83% Piedmont 2,531 0.12% 3.60% 0.43% 2.45% 4.98% 0.67% 0.63% 12.88% San Marino 3,202 0.16% 2.34% 0.16% 0.75% 3.25% 1.31% 0.28% 8.24% San Ramon 26,975 0.26% 2.51% 0.32% 0.40% 2.90% 0.77% 0.34% 7.49% Northern Santa Clara County Unified Districts San Jose Unified 31,918 0.38% 2.92% 0.26% 0.34% 4.44% 0.77% 0.44% 9.55% Santa Clara Unified 14,729 0.61% 3.14% 0.29% 0.45% 5.83% 1.03% 0.62% 11.97% * Includes Hard of Hearing, Deaf, Visual Impairment, Orthopedically Impaired, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Multiple Disabilities Figure 3: Palo Alto Unified School District Incidents of Disability by Type, 2004-05 and 2008-09 Findings: Program Services 7 Most students requiring special education services receive services in a District-offered program Every school has at least Resource Specialist Program (RSP) classroom 13 of the 18 schools have at least one Special Day Class (SDC) In addition, the District relies on nearby nonpublic schools (NPS) for specialized program services Strengths of the program are significant Well-qualified and knowledgeable staff Strong community and family relationships Ideas for improvement Program transition maintaining vision and involvement Evolving from services to a program Supporting new administrators Increase consistency
Recommendations: Program Services 9 The District should develop a clear vision for special education based on broad input Clarify and align funding to reflect distinction between general intervention and special education program services Re-evaluate structure for Special Day Classes Evaluate inclusion at elementary sites Continue to evaluate use of NPS Improve early intervention structure, including use of Student Study Teams Findings: Program Management and Staffing 10 The District has benefited from stable and highly competent program leadership Central office staffing for the program is reasonable Classroom and pupil service staffing levels generally well above average, but allows for a higher level of services that occur in most other districts Rank District 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 1 Palo Alto Unified 224.53 206.85 185.27 148.20 132.14 2 Piedmont City Unified 164.94 173.47 161.81 146.41 141.95 3 La Cañada Cñd Unified Uifid 226.42 213.3535 218.74 178.65 159.01 Comparative Group 233.60 242.21 236.37 216.95 218.98 4 Mountain View-Los Altos 276.08 245.53 258.36 212.94 220.48 6 San Ramon Valley Unified 253.97 258.86 240.17 223.28 228.99 All Unified Districts 294.76 283.10 270.29 241.92 240.57 7 San Marino Unified 330.10 298.36 270.17 246.08 250.16 8 Manhattan Beach Unified 187.65 222.89 268.17 257.40 274.62 9 Los Altos Elementary 394.10 310.46 378.27 355.83 331.10 10 Mountain View-Whisman 624.86 480.11 537.25 299.73 362.60 Figure 4: Student per Pupil Services and Special Education Employee, 2008-09
Findings: Program Management and Staffing 11 An area with particularly high levels of staff, which exceed the district s standards, are instructional aides There were a total of approximately 222 people employed as special education instructional aides or student assistants, or an equivalent of 156.7 full-time equivalent staff There is approximately one aide/assistant for every eight students with a disability Policies and procedures exist, but with new staff attention should be given to training and enforcing their use Process for hiring additional aides Process for referrals Staff development opportunities are provided, but this area was noted as continuing to have a need Recommendation: Program Management and Staffing 12 Revise job duties for Special Education Director to focus exclusively on special education program Review distribution of roles and responsibilities and align communication pathways accordingly Review staff assignments Review level of instructional assistant/aide staffing Continue to support principals to take responsibility for the special education program and staff on their sites Increase training and meeting opportunities for staff
Findings: Fiscal 13 Special education is a necessary and often costly program for districts to operate In 2009-10, the District received $11.6 million from state, federal, and local sources to support its program and made an additional contribution ti of $13.8 million to support all program costs The District s level of contribution is above the statewide average, but consistent with other similar districts % of Total Expenditures by Type/Goal Other, District Expenditures per ADA Regular Education, K-12 Special Education General Education K-12 Supplemental Education, K-12 Other Palo Alto Unified $14,382 77.85% 20.39% 0.83% 0.40% 0.54% Mountain View-Whisman $13,448 73.07% 26.84% 0.00% 00% 0.05% 05% 0.04% 04% Elementary Mountain View-Los Altos $9,027 69.20% 20.63% 7.68% 1.50% 0.99% Union Los Altos Elementary $10,080 78.53% 20.06% 0.00% 1.40% 0.00% Piedmont City Unified $11,758 76.59% 20.55% 2.83% 0.00% 0.00% San Marino Unified $9,254 71.94% 23.05% 0.00% 2.79% 2.22% Comparative Group $9,038 75.07% 21.82% 1.76% 0.55% 0.80% La Cañada Unified $8,723 73.37% 25.22% 0.00% 0.00% 1.42% Manhattan Beach Unified $8,332 69.58% 29.20% 0.03% 0.48% 0.71% San Ramon Valley Unified $8,219 77.71% 19.21% 1.96% 0.21% 0.91% Figure 5: Comparison of Expenditures by Goal for, 2008-09 Questions and Discussion