Feds: Delaware special education needs more work

After slapping Delaware with some of the worst ratings in the country last year, federal officials say the state is doing a better job serving students with special needs, but still has a long way to go.

The U.S. Department of Education in 2014 named Delaware one of three states that "needs intervention" in special education. This year, the feds bumped the state up one level, to "needs assistance."

That puts Delaware on par with most other states. Only one, Texas, remained in the "needs intervention" category, while 10 states were found to have "met requirements."

The reports look at how well states are complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is supposed to ensure all children with disabilities get the services they need to do well in school.

The department changed how it judges that compliance last year, focusing less on how well states were meeting procedural requirements and more on "results," like the gap between regular and special-needs students on standardized tests such as the National Assessment of Education Progress.

It has not yet released detailed state-by-state reports, only an overview with each state's rating. Last year, Delaware got dinged for allowing too many special-needs students to skip tests the feds say help keep high standards.

The report used data from the school years starting in 2013 and 2014; the previous, harsher version looked at 2012 and 2013.

Some advocates for students with disabilities say the report sums up where Delaware stands – there has been positive change for those kids in recent years, but more improvements are needed.

"When the report came out last year, the way I saw it was, 'This is an opportunity,' " said Bill Doolittle, the president-elect of the state Parent Teacher Association and a member of the Governor's Council for Exceptional Citizens.

One of the biggest areas of both progress and continuing concern, Doolittle says, is the state's Individual Education Plans. IEPs, as they are commonly called, are the legal documents that parents and schools negotiate that lay out what special services students should receive.

Parents of children with disabilities have long voiced anxiety about the meetings that create IEPs because they often involve complex legalities and educational jargon that confuse some parents.

"Too often it's been a contentious process between the parent and the school, and the goal is to move it to a more collaborative process," Doolittle said.

The General Assembly this year approved the recommendations of a task force led by then-Lt. Gov. Matt Denn aimed at improving IEP planning. That group called for schools to give parents more detailed information about their students' rights, give them the chance for some input on what their kids need before the big official meeting and improve the computer systems that manage the plans.

The group also called for "parent councils" to provide a place where parents can share their experiences with others and an annual survey to make sure schools are following the rules, among other recommendations.

"The IEP task force was a really good step," Doolittle said. "But there's probably five times that much work that still needs to get done, in my opinion."

Advocates for special-needs students also have called for better training for teachers in how to deal with special-needs students.

"The science has really advanced, and we need to catch up," Doolittle said. "We are taking the time of getting administrators up to speed on what the rules are and giving teachers professional development."

Delaware Department of Education officials in a statement said the state has taken several steps to push for improvements since the first report's rough review.

"Over the past year we have partnered with our districts and charter schools to examine data, provide additional educator training, begin new programs and clarify expectations for students with disabilities," Secretary of Education Mark Murphy said. "We know we have more work to do, and we are committed to continue to make improvements until all Delaware students have the best chance to make the most of their abilities."

In the last year, the state provided training for special education teachers, brought those teachers into training on the Common Core State Standards to help expose their kids to material at the level their peers are learning, helped create "transition plans" to help find jobs for older students, and gave technical assistance to some districts and charters, among other efforts, the statement said.

School leaders hope that, by the time the feds' ratings "catch up" to these years, they will show big gains.

"The mission of a public school system is to ensure the success of every student, regardless of his or her disability or socioeconomic status," said Indian River School District Superintendent Susan Bunting, in a statement. "The state of Delaware and the Indian River School District have made tremendous strides toward this goal since the initial [federal] evaluation in 2014."

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.