1. Resident Pupils with Disabilities Provided Special Education (from the 12/1/04 PD 1/4 Report)
2. • Pupils provided special education by this district: 947
   • Pupils provided special education by BOCES: 57
   • Pupils provided special education in a residential school: 8
   • Pupils provided special education in an approved preschool program: 109
   • Pupils provided special education in the district preschool program: n/a
   • Pupils provided special education by an approved private day school: 38
3. Resident School Age Students by Age and Classification Serviced by District and BOCES:

4. Disability Category	4-5	6-11	12-13	14-17	18-21	Total
   Autistic	1	6	1	1	0	9
   Emotionally Disturbed	1	26	27	39	7	100
   Learning Disabled	0	198	98	225	28	549
   Mentally Retarded	0	7	5	9	0	21
   Deaf	0	0	0	0	0	0
   Hard of Hearing	0	2	2	1	0	5
   Speech Impaired	29	118	6	4	0	157
   Visually Impaired	0	0	0	0	0	0
   Orthopedically Impaired	0	0	0	0	0	0
   Other Health Impaired	0	33	9	13	1	56
   Multiply Disabled	2	55	24	21	2	104
   Deaf-Blind	0	0	0	0	0	0
   Traumatic Brain Injured	0	0	2	1	0	3
   TOTAL:	33	445	174	314	38	1004

• Consultant Teacher Services

  Consultant teacher services means direct and/or indirect services, as defined in Part 200 Regulations, provided to a student with a disability who attends regular education classes and/or to such student’s regular education teachers.

  1. Direct consultant teacher services means specially designed individualized or group instruction provided by a certified special education teacher to a student with a disability to aid such student to benefit from the student’s regular education classes.
  2. Indirect consultant teacher services means consultation provided by a certified special education teacher to regular education teachers to assist them in adjusting the learning environment and/or modifying their instructional methods to meet the individual needs of a student with a disability who attends their classes.
     Approximately 4 students receive this service.
• Related Services Only

  Related services means developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability and includes speech-language pathology, audiology services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, health aide, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling services, orientation and mobility services, medical services, parent counseling and training, skilled nursing, school social work, assistive technology services, other appropriate support services.
  Approximately 72 students receive related services only.

• Resource Room

  Resource room support provides supplemental instruction to students with disabilities who are in need of specialized supplementary instruction in an individual or small group setting for a portion of the school day.

  Resource room programs are offered in all building for all grade levels. The profile of a student who receives resource room support is a student who has academic delays of less than 2 years.

  Resource teachers deliver these services either through push-in or pull-out programs. The majority of delivery models are pull-out programs. However, some students at the elementary level receive services in their classroom.

  Approximately 270 students receive resource room support services.

• Inclusion

  Inclusion support services are provided for some students in grades 3-7. Students receive support by a special education teacher in the regular classroom setting. Students with mild to moderate disabilities with no significant behavioral challenge, who are motivated learners are typically students who receive this level of service.

  Approximately 95 students receive inclusion support services.

• Special Class (self-contained)

  Students placed in self-contained classes receive modified instruction that parallels New York State curriculum at all grade levels. Students receive support in either 15:1, 12:1:1 or 8:1:1 classes in district programs.

  In our district, approximately 338 students receive 15:1 support, approximately 118 students receive 12:1:1 support and approximately 99 students receive 8:1:1 support.

  (Circle of Courage and High School).

• Program Summary

  In accordance with the Commissioner’s Regulations, each student with a disability has access to the full range of programs and services offered throughout the school district (including extra curricular activities) to the extent that such programs and services are appropriate to each student’s special education needs.

  Some children receive services outside of the special education classes. These include students receiving home instruction (usually on a temporary basis awaiting placement). In addition, 5 students receive services from teachers of the visually and hearing impaired provided through BOCES itinerant services.

  Related services such as occupational and physical therapy are also provided to students within the school district whenever the services are recommended by the district’s Committee on Special Education. At the present time, there are 74 students with disabilities receiving occupational therapy and 33 receiving physical therapy.

  Speech therapists provide therapy to students exhibiting communication disorders such as articulation, oral motor and language impairments. There are 386 students with disabilities who receive speech/language therapy as a special education service.

  A number of students with disabilities are entitled to counseling as a related service as determined by the Committee on Special Education. School psychologists and school social workers provide this service to 284 identified students.

• Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE)

  The CPSE arranges programs for preschool students with disabilities in order to provide an enriched, structured, developmental program for children, aged 3 to 5 years. There are approximately 67 students currently receiving services in center-based programs. The Poughkeepsie City School District employs a CPSE Coordinator who facilitates this process, under the supervision of the Director of Special Education and the Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel.

  These programs address the various needs of children who have significant delays in one or more of the following areas: language and communication, social/emotional skills, fine and/or gross motor development and cognition, in the least restrictive environment.

  An additional 31 preschool students receive some level of itinerant services (special education, speech/language, occupational therapy, physical therapy) usually within a local regular education preschool program or at home. Therapists approved by the Dutchess County Board of Health provide these services.

• Twelve-Month Schooling

  In March 2000, Part 200 of the Commissioner’s Regulations were amended to reflect the availability of twelve-month programming for students whose disabilities are severe enough to exhibit the need for a structured learning environment of twelve-month durations to maintain developmental levels. Some district students receive twelve-month programming, as do several students in residential and day treatment programs. Additionally, some students are eligible for related services only as a twelve-month service.

  During the summer of 2003, the Poughkeepsie City School District initiated an approved summer program for students with disabilities. This year our program served approximately 86 students in a six-week summer program. The two programs approved by SED include a full-time center-based program and related services only (physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech).

The evaluation of program objectives is ongoing. Specific evaluation conferences are held between the Superintendent of Schools, the Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel and the Director of Special Education. Data is gathered through building and district personnel, including teachers (special education and content teachers), speech therapists, psychologists, social workers, administrators, physical and occupational therapists, parents, and other members of our educational community. Program options and review is an integrated part of our focus in order to ensure that the Poughkeepsie City School District meets the needs of our students as well as compliance issues.

To ensure that adequate and appropriate space is made available for special education classes provided by the district, as well as in programs provided by the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), the Board of Education will allocate an appropriate amount of space in district facilities to meet the needs of student in such programs. The allocation will be part of the biennial district plan for the provision of special education programs and services, as mandated by the Commissioner. The building plan allowed for additional classroom space for students with disabilities in district programs.

Cited below are budget estimates for the 2005-2006 school year. It must be noted that a significant portion of our instructional and tuition expenses are offset through the following year’s state aid (approximately 50% for BOCES and public school students; 70% for private tuitions). The school district is reimbursed at 80% within the current school year for twelve-month schooling.

Instructional, Instructional support and Related Services Expenses (Salaries): $7,973,033

Other Expenses (contracts, equipment, supplies, tuition, BOCES, etc.): $4,776,399

Approximate Total State and Federal Reimbursement for Instruction: $9,119,500

Approximate Transportation Expenses: $1,611,720

Approximate Reimbursement for Transportation: 90%

The changes include:

• Revised due process dissemination requirements;
• Revised impartial hearing procedures;
• Revised process for determining eligibility of students with learning disabilities;
• Revised requirements for certification of special education teachers;
• CSE procedures when parents and schools agree;
• Monitoring and enforcement of programs;
• CSE responsibility for all students with disabilities in private schools located within district boundaries (budgetary implications).

The special education administrative team consists of the Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel and the Director of Special Education, working collaboratively to provide support for all aspects of comprehensive programs for students with disabilities. Responsibilities include planning, managing, supervising, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the delivery of special education programs for all students classified by the District’s Committee on Special Education and the Committee on Preschool Special Education. Together, they assume responsibility to assure compliance with Federal and State Regulations, on matters related to special education services. Supervision is provided through the formal observation/evaluation process, case conferences, and as a result of regular meetings with administrators and teachers.

Personalized attention and support is given to parents frequently throughout the school year to explain IEP recommendations and student needs as well as to integrate appropriate parent concerns within each child’s special education program. A Parent University Program will continue to encourage participation of parents of students with disabilities as part of the district’s Parent Involvement Plan.

Our shared goal is for students with disabilities to leave school prepared to live independently, enjoy self-determination, make choices, contribute to society, pursue meaningful careers and enjoy integration in the economic, political, social, cultural and educational mainstream of American society.

Ways that will enable the Poughkeepsie City School District to work towards goals include developing systematic processes for:

• Pre-referral intervention (IST)
• CSE referral processes
• Compliance with state regulations
• On-going analysis of student achievement

These initiatives have been implemented and will continue to be developed through district work, including the District Steering Committee, the Parent Involvement Plan, the Plan for Restructuring at our Middle School, and staff development activities. State education initiatives will assist the district in refining plans for increased student success and opportunities for ongoing staff development activities will be offered to district staff.