Scores of parents, teachers and advocacy group members used the School Committee’s public comment period Thursday to press the district to remedy systemic problems in special education the state has identified and to improve communication and data-tracking.

Speakers described repeated missed services and scheduling that conflicted with Individualized Education Program (IEP) requirements. Several asked the committee to accept recommendations from an outside case review and to make more information about missed services available in aggregated, de-identified form.

Key concerns raised: Speakers and CPAC (the district’s parent advisory council on special education) said the district needs:
- A transparent, centralized tracking system for missed services (including speech-language, occupational therapy, counseling, paraeducator time and other IEP-mandated services) and regular public reporting in de-identified, aggregate form;
- Clear thresholds and a process to notify families when a child has missed services and to make timely compensatory-service decisions; and
- Additional training on conflict prevention tailored to students with autism and severe disabilities, plus improved collaborative planning time for general-education and special-education staff.

CPAC officers Jacob Drew and Dave Goran sent the committee a written list of concerns and specific requests that the committee review and respond to. The CPAC submission documented seven topic areas, including concerns from families with children placed out of district and questions about the district’s use of confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements in some special-education contexts.

Director of Student Services Matt Holloway and Assistant Superintendent (or designee) told the committee the district has launched a pilot tracking form to log missed services daily at the building level. Superintendent Bonner said the logs will remain confidential as individual records but the district intends to prepare periodic aggregate, de-identified reports for the committee and the public. The district said thresholds for family notification have been set: the student services team will contact families when a student misses services on three consecutive days or five days within a two-week period, or if the team discerns a pattern that suggests a need for compensatory services.

Parents and advocates said that practice-level clarity is essential because “paper compliance” can mask day-to-day gaps when paras or therapists are absent or when coverage is inconsistent.

Why it matters: The state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found districtwide problems that include IEP violations; committee members and public commenters framed the issue as both a legal compliance problem and an equity concern for students with significant needs.

What committee members asked for: Several members requested more frequent reporting of aggregate metrics to inform budgeting and staffing decisions and asked administration to return with data and a timeline for improvements. Superintendent Bonner and Director Holloway said the district will run the pilot for roughly two months, analyze the data and return with a proposal for regular reporting and potential staffing changes.

A note on process: Committee members asked the administration to ensure the digital tracking form is accessible and that any summaries provided to the committee are machine-readable and not only scanned paper copies, to support members and the public with assistive tools.