York Central School District Ordered to Fix Inadequate Special Ed Resources

YORK – The New York State Department of Education has ordered the York Central School District to improve their programs for special needs students, saying that their lack of a resource room impacted a special needs student during the 2014-2015 school year.

According to the findings of the Department of Education, when parent Otto Kuhn introduced the idea of a resource room program to the York School District’s Committee on Special Education (CSE), he was told that the school does not have resource rooms and his child was placed in a learning center offering supplemental learning instead.

“It’s really tough to see [my child] trying to go through her homework for hours and hours when I know the school hasn’t prepared [them] for it,” said Kuhn. “Any parents, not just parents of kids with special needs, know how frustrating that is.”

The Department of Education concluded that rather than developing any resource room programs in grades K-12 during the 2014-2015 school year, the District developed learning center programs to provide supplemental instruction by a certified special education teacher to groups predominantly composed of students with disabilities, resulting in de facto resource room programs but not in satisfaction of Kuhn’s child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

The Department of Education issued a Compliance Assurance Plan which requires the District to take the following corrective actions, to be enforced by interviews, site visits, and reviews of documents by Department of Education Regional Associates:

By Aug. 1, 2015, establish resource room programs for students who require supplemental specialized instruction from a special education teacher. Additionally, the CSE will consider resource room programs when determining appropriate special education services for students with disabilities.

By Aug. 1, 2015 submit a list of all students with disabilities enrolled in a Learning Center on June 1, 2015.

By Aug. 15, 2015 convene a CSE meeting for each student with a disability enrolled in a Learning Center on June 1, 2015, including the Student, to consider each student’s need for supplemental specialized instruction and determine if the student requires a resource room program.

By Aug. 31, 2015, submit documentation of the CSE process to consider each student’s need for supplemental specialized instruction. Documentation shall include the resulting IEP, SCE meeting minutes, and prior written notice.

By Sept. 15, 2015, submit rosters of students placed in all resource room programs and Learning Centers. The rosters will include each student’s name, grade level, and disability status, as well as room number and name, title, and contact information for each assigned staff member.

The York Central School District did not return multiple requests for comment.