At Tuesday's board meeting, Killeen ISD trustees reviewed a presentation by Austin-based Gibson Consulting regarding the terms of the district's special education program.
The entire report, submitted to the KISD Audit Committee on February 29, is over 165 pages, including appendices. It includes 18 recommendations rated as low, medium, and high priority concerns that address issues within the special education sector. The full report also includes findings from interviews with staff and parents, and comments from parent and carer surveys.
In his opening remarks, President Greg Gibson outlined the objectives of the audit, including identifying areas of concern. He said there are opportunities for improvement by better organizing structures, systems and processes to “better support the delivery of quality education and services to special education students.” .
The audit was conducted using information from the 2021-2022 school year and began in November 2022, Gibson said. At the time of the audit, KISD had approximately 6,300 special education students, accounting for 14% of the total student population (approximately 44,000 students). .
In January 2024, board members Brenda Adams and Oliver Mintz met with Gibson representatives and Cynthia Swain, KISD's executive director of professional learning, to review the draft audit report. The full board received the final report on February 29th.
“Since 2016, KISD has made significant improvements to its special education department, contributing to more efficient and effective processes and increased compliance,” Gibson said. “However, school districts are facing several challenges with special education programs, particularly in light of staffing shortages and the impact of school closures and virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The report notes that while special education students' performance on state assessments in reading has improved, their math scores have declined.
“Although graduation rates for special education students are increasing, attendance and dropout rates are trending in an unfavorable direction,” the report said.
The final point of the brief noted that KISD received an “In Need” designation in the 2022 Results-Driven Accountability Report for Special Education.
For the purposes of Tuesday's meeting, the presentation included specific recommendations for only the 10 high-priority issues found. They are:
Change the departmental organizational structure.
Introducing a student-centered approach to special education staffing.
Develop process controls to ensure the use of the parent assessment request module in EasyIEP.
Consider additional strategies to increase staff retention and fill vacancies.
Develop a plan to address environments in which special education students spend more than 80% of the day but less than 40% of the day.
Update operational guidelines and procedures to align with IDEA requirements for deployment decisions.
Expand the scope and use of the Special Ed Folder Review document to improve IEP quality.
Conduct work sessions with EasyIEP to address current system issues.
We provide intensive training, support, and resources to campuses that are struggling to implement professional programs on their campuses.
We offer preschool programming options that help special education students access inclusive settings.
A statement from KISD Superintendent Jo Ann Fay to the Herald about the audit said, “The audit provided to the board was conducted in collaboration with the Office of Special Education and confirms data trends related to student performance. It was something.” “We are using our findings to drive solutions to ensure that all students not only have access to grade-level curriculum, but also the appropriate support to perform at grade level. I'm excited to be able to map this. There are many important elements to an audit like this, but personally, I'm excited to be able to map new I look forward to your leadership.”
Based on each recommendation in Tuesday's presentation, Gibson identified specific measures that can be implemented to improve and correct the problem.
At the end of each audit recommendation was a statement that read, “Management's Response: We Agree.”
The full report includes condensed statements from parents, teachers and other KISD staff. In some cases, the language of the findings and recommendations was reflected by individuals who work directly with special education students.
Representative comments from parents regarding student involvement were obtained from responses to an open-ended survey.
“My son's school posts the achievements of staff and other students. Children in the special needs department don't get anything,” said one parent.
Another parent responded to the survey by saying, “I wish there would be more school activities such as sports.'' My son wants to play soccer and basketball. I think schools should involve children in more community activities. ”
Another response to the parent survey asked about participation in sports.
“We need more inclusivity within our school district. Our school district is focused on sports first and foremost. They also have other opportunities for kids who aren’t interested in sports, like technology and esports.” We need to branch out. No separate proms.”
In reporting comments about students' individual education plans (IEPs), parents generally responded positively regarding the overall quality of their child's IEP, with nearly 88% of parents reporting that their child's IEP pointed out that respondents included the following goals: Specific and measurable: 87% of parents say their IEP shows how progress toward goals will be measured. Agreement rates were slightly lower (still over 80%) when asked whether the child's IEP met the child's needs and covered all appropriate aspects of the child's development.
As evidenced by survey results and interviews with staff and administrators, the report indicates a need for additional high-quality training for staff who support students with disabilities. In interviews, it was noted that staff often felt they did not have the level of training or knowledge needed to support students. In focus groups and interviews with teachers and administrators, most of the frequently mentioned topics and ideas for additional training and support were specific to supporting inclusion and resources for students.
Longtime Trustee Marvin Rainwater said in an email statement that Killeen ISD is not alone in experiencing these problems.
“KISD faces the same challenges that other schools in Texas face, especially in special education,” Rainwater wrote. He listed several situations.
“The coronavirus crisis, teacher shortages, increased enrollment of special education students, and increased needs for student services. A very strict accountability system has increased the pressure on our districts.” he wrote. “KISD has worked diligently on a difficult task and we have seen improvements. We are continually auditing our operations and have made significant progress. The work continues!”
Other school board members other than Rainwater did not respond to the Herald's requests for comment on the audit.
