Massachusetts Students with Disabilities in Out-of-District Programs: Preliminary Findings
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Transcript of Massachusetts Students with Disabilities in Out-of-District Programs: Preliminary Findings
Massachusetts Students with Disabilities in Out-of-District Programs: Preliminary Findings
Todd Grindal Abt Associates
School Mental Health: Treating Students K - 12 February 1, 2014
Research work conducted in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Hehir,., Monica Ng, Laura Schifter, Hadas Eidelman, & Dr. Shaun Dougherty
Primary Research Questions
Question 1: What are the student and district-level characteristics associated with placement in out-of-district programs?
Question 2: What are the processes and pathways through which students with disabilities are referred to and placed in out-of-district programs?
Question 3: What are the implications of enrolling students in out-of-district programs?
Massachusetts’s students with disabilities, on average, outperform students with disabilities across the country on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Massachusetts’s students with disabilities are educated in classrooms with their typically developing peers at similar (slightly higher) rates as students with disabilities across the country.
Massachusetts’s students are identified as eligible for special education vary substantially by category. In some categories MA students are identified at the same rate as students across the country and in other categories MA students are identified at rates higher than other U.S students
Special Education in Massachusetts
Displaying rates of disability identification in specific categories in MA and the U.S
Sources: MA DOE, 2011; IDEA 2010 Percentage of all Students in U.S. vs. Massachusetts
0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0% 5.0% 6.0%
Specific Learning Disabil ity
Health
Communication
Development Delay
Emotional
Autism
Intellectual
Multiple Disabil ities
Neurological
Physical
Sensory/Deaf blind
Sensory/Hard of Hearing
Sensory/Vision Impairment
U.S.
Massachusetts
4
Instructional settings for students with disabilities in 2012 (n=198,875)
Total Number of Students with
Disabilities
Percentage of Students with Disabilities
Traditional public school 177,417 89.21%
Charter school 4,867 2.45%
Private special education school 6,635 3.34%
Private non-special education school 1,107 0.56%
Collaborative program 5,039 2.53%
Home-schooled (Related services only) 1,396 0.70%
Early intervention/preschool 1,779 0.18%
Institutional (SEIS program) 240 0.12%
Out of state 304 0.15%
Correctional facilities 91 0.05%
Total Number of Students with
Disabilities
Percentage of Students with Disabilities
Traditional public school 177,417 89.21%
Charter school 4,867 2.45%
Private special education school 6,635 3.34%
Private non-special education school 1,107 0.56%
Collaborative program 5,039 2.53%
Home-schooled (Related services only) 1,396 0.70%
Early intervention/preschool 1,779 0.18%
Institutional (SEIS program) 240 0.12%
Out of state 304 0.15%
Correctional facilities 91 0.05%
Students for whom their local school district supported all or some of their tuition, transportation, or other special education associated costs. For more information on approved private special education schools see http://maaps.org/.
Instructional settings for students with disabilities in 2012 (n=198,875)
Total Number of Students with
Disabilities
Percentage of Students with Disabilities
Traditional public school 177,417 89.21%
Charter school 4,867 2.45%
Private special education school 6,635 3.34%
Private non-special education school 1,107 0.56%
Collaborative program 5,039 2.53%
Home-schooled (Related services only) 1,396 0.70%
Early intervention/preschool 1,779 0.18%
Institutional (SEIS program) 240 0.12%
Out of state 304 0.15%
Correctional facilities 91 0.05%
Public regional inter-district partnerships that provide direct services for students with disabilities, transportation, and support for special education professionals.For more information on collaborative programs see http://moecnet.org/
Instructional settings for students with disabilities in 2012 (n=198,875)
Rates of out-placement have remained stable over time, but the characteristics of
students who use these programs are changing.
Finding 1a:
01,
000
2,00
03,
000
4,00
05,
000
Num
ber o
f stu
dent
s ou
t-pl
aced
2006 2010 20122007 20082008 20112009
Emotional disability Autism Learning disability
Multiple disabilities Vision or hearing impairment Intellectual disability
*Data on the following disability categories are not displayed: developmental delay, physical disabilities,other health impairment, neurological impairment, and communication.
Number of students in out-of-district placements by disability category and year
Percentage of students within each disability category in out-of-district placements, by year10
%20
%30
%40
%0%
Per
cent
age
of s
tude
nts
out-p
lace
d
2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 20122007
Emotional disability Autism Learning disability
Multiple disabilities Vision or hearing impairment Intellectual disability
*Data on the following disability categories are not displayed: developmental delay, physical disabilities,other health impairment, neurological impairment, and communication.
Number of children in private special education schools and collaborative programs by disability category and year
Low-income students enroll in private special education schools at substantially
lower rates than their non-low-income peers.
Finding 1b:
Low-income students enroll in private special education schools at substantially lower rates than their non-low-income peers
Low-income students enroll in private special education schools at substantially lower rates than their non-low-income peers
Non-low income students with emotional disabilities are approximately twice as likely to be
placed in private special education school than their similar low-income peers.
Low-income student
Disability category, grade, student race, student over-age for
grade, District percent low-income
Controls:
Odds Ratio = 1.9; p<0.001
Non-low income student
Towns vary widely in their use of out-of-district placements.
Finding 1c:
Town-level variation in the percentage of special education students enrolled in private special education schools (2012)
Question 1: What are the student and district-level characteristics associated with placement in out-of-district programs?
Question 2: What are the processes and pathways through which students with disabilities are referred to and placed in out-of-district programs?
Question 3: What are the implications of enrolling students in out-of-district programs?
Primary Research Questions
The majority of children move into out-of-district placements in late middle and
early high school.
Finding 2a:
Profiles for initial placement in private special education schools by grade
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4Fi
tted
prob
abilit
y of
enr
ollin
g in
a p
rivia
te s
choo
l
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Grade
Emotional disabilities Autism Learning disabilities
Multiple disabilities Hearing or vision impairment
Special education directors cite safety as the main reason for referring students to
out-of-district programs.
Finding 2b:
• Distributed to 277 Directors of Special Education.• 239 Directors (86%) responded to at least one
question.• 221 Directors (79%) completed the survey.
Table of respondents by district size.
Number of Students in District Number of respondents
Percent of all respondents
Less than 1,000 students 35 15.09%
Between 1,000 – 2,000 students 64 27.59%
Between 2,000 – 4,000 students 80 34.48%
More than 4,000 students 53 22.84%
Survey
Reason for OOD referral across all categories.Reason % of all respondents
Access to related services 3%
Academic difficulty 21%
Problems with peers 23%
Inappropriate school behavior
46%
Social Emotional issues 60%
Survey Results
This pattern differs slightly by student disability type
• “This student physically harmed one of our staff members (broke ribs) when attempting to physically attack another student.”
• “She engaged in self harm, tantrums, acting out, disrupting others, and did not show any remorse/ or willingness to be learn appropriate coping strategies. The student has a history of cutting at home, bringing this to school… Safety is the concern. We could not guarantee her physical safety in the larger school environment.”
Quotes from Special Ed. Directors
The outplacement process for children with emotional, developmental and
learning disabilities is less contentious than placements for other types of
disabilities.
Finding 2c:
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
65%
16%13%
The district lawyer was somewhat or deeply involved
47%
24% 26%
A parent or advocate first suggested the out-of-district placement
64%
39% 36%
Special education di-rector believed that child's needs could have been met in-
district
Learning Disability
Emotional Dis-turbance
Autism
“Students placed at private 766 schools to address specific learning disabilities is a disservice to students. The curriculum is not rigorous, students are removed from
their community and in reality, leave these schools with skills far more deficient
than when they left the district.”
Special education director commenting on private placements of children with learning disabilities
“Student was receiving services in substantially separate program with all available district resources in place. The students behaviors continued to escalate and was unsafe despite the efforts of all
district service providers, outside consultants, and parent collaboration. “
Special education director commenting on private placements of children with emotional/behavioral disabilities
Question 1: What are the student and district-level characteristics associated with placement in out-of-district programs?
Question 2: What are the processes and pathways through which students with disabilities are referred to and placed in out-of-district programs?
Question 3: What are the implications of enrolling students in out-of-district programs?
Primary Research Questions
Relatively few out-placed students ever return to an in-district placement.
Finding 3a:
17.8
Private Schools
25.4
Collaboratives
The percentage of out-placed students who ever return to an in-district program
17.8 % of students placed in private schools ever return to an in-district
program
25.4 % of students placed in collaboratives ever return to an in-district
program
Students who enroll in out-of-district
settings, on average, do not experience greater or lesser gains in reading or
mathematics MCAS scores when compared to similar students who were not outplaced. Enrollment in an out-of-
district program is associated with greater increases in student attendance.
Finding 3b:
Districts that place a larger percentage of special education students in private
schools, on average, receive a significantly larger per-pupil reimbursement from the
circuit breaker.
Finding 3c:
Estimated Per Pupil Reimbursement from the Circuit Breaker (2012)
Recommendations1. Improve General Education Approaches to Discipline
and Behavior2. Promote Inclusion and Universal Design for Learning3. Improve High School Options for Students with
Disabilities4. Provide Low-income Parents Access to Meaningful
Advocacy Support.5. Create Opportunities for Private Schools and Public
Schools to Collaborate to Help Support Students in a More Fluid Manner
6. Restructure the Circuit Breaker to Directly Support the Expenses Related to Children with Complex Needs
Thank you!
Please contact Todd Grindal with further questions or comments.