School board gets update on special ed. enrollment
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

MARLBORO - School administrators believe the special education enrollment in Marlboro's K-8 district has stabilized.

Robert Klein, the director of special services, made a presentation to the Board of Education on Dec. 12 regarding the future of the special education population in the district.

According to Klein, the number of 3- to 5-year-olds in the special education program has stabilized over the past three years. In the past the district experienced a significant increase in the number of these students from year to year, he said.

In 2001 there were 82 classified students between the ages of 3 and 5; in 2002 that number rose to 105 students; and in 2003 there were 122 classified students in that age group.

From 2003 to 2005 the district experienced a slight increase in the number of 3- to 5-year-olds in the program. This year, however, there was a decrease of five pupils from the 2005-06 enrollment numbers.

Klein said it is not unreasonable to believe that these numbers may have plateaued for this age group.

A part of this may be due to the state readopting a code this year which created more rigid criteria for entering the program, which Klein said will keep the numbers steady.

Due to the increase in 3- to 5-year-olds in 2001 through 2003, the upper grades are now faced with rising numbers in special education enrollment. Klein said this will create the need for additional special education teachers at the elementary and middle school levels next year.

The department expects the need for two additional elementary classrooms and one additional classroom at the Marlboro Middle School next year, Klein said.

However, after next year administrators are expecting the growth to moderate considerably and school officials do not anticipate the need for any additional rooms, Klein said. He added that administrators do not anticipate the need for any additional classrooms at the Marlboro Early Learning Center, which houses all of the district's kindergarten pupils.

As for teachers, Klein said the department expects the number of special education teachers needed in the district to continue to rise slightly. In 2001 the district employed 55 special education teachers. This year there are 78 special education teachers employed by the district.

The one area Klein did express concern with was students who have been diagnosed with autism. The number of first-graders through eighth-graders classified as autistic is equal to 1 percent of the overall district enrollment, according to the presentation. In 2005 the statewide average was equal to one-half of 1 percent.

Autism is the one classification category that continues to experience what could be characterized as significant year-to-year growth, according to the presentation.

In 2001 the number of students with autism was 17; that number rose to 31 in 2003. The number of autistic students in 2004 was 44, which rose to 55 in 2005. This year the district has a total of 62 students diagnosed with autism enrolled.

Klein said if the autism program continues to grow beyond its current level, additional speech language specialists will be needed.

Klein noted that the department renamed several classes serving autistic students to serve both multiply disabled and autistic students. He said this enables the district to service more students in a classroom without having to create additional rooms.

As for students with multiple disabilities, Klein said that number has stabilized. In 2001 there were 36 students who were multiply disabled. That number rose to 61 in 2005 before declining to 55 this year.

Board member Cynthia Green questioned how many students the department declassifies from the special education program and at what age that normally occurs.

Klein said about 10 to 20 children a year are declassified, typically after the fourth and fifth grades. He noted that is not a significant number. The department declassifies no more than 3 to 4 percent of the special education population, Klein said.

Assistant Superintendent Marc Gaswirth noted that as the children get older, the district's support becomes less intense.

Linda Attanasio, supervisor of special education, agreed with Gaswirth's comment and said in the upper grades there are more resource rooms and in-class support than at the lower levels.

Board member Murray Hoffman questioned whether autistic students require less intense instruction as they go through the program.

Klein said there are currently 20 students with autism who are not in self-contained classrooms. It does happen and the department would like to see it happen more often, he added.