We must improve special education in NYS now

The state Education Department recently released scores from its latest round of state testing in spring 2023. But those math and English Language Arts proficiency rates for students in grades 3-8 did not include scores for students with disabilities.

So how is this critical group of students doing? Unfortunately, not well at all. Current state School District Report Card data for grades 3-8 from a sample of similar school districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties shows that the average ELA proficiency rate for general education students in both counties was three to four times higher than for students with disabilities, and two to three times higher in math.

Nearly identical disparities are seen in state data from 2019, when different standards of measurement were used and before the pandemic’s negative impact on student achievement.

As a former special education teacher with a doctorate in special ed, I know this problem requires our urgent attention. According to the state comptroller, 13.5% of Long Island’s school-age students are students with disabilities. About 60% of these students have mild disabilities such as a learning disability or speech/language impairment. Close to 92% of Long Island students with disabilities attend local public schools and are educated for some part of the day alongside their general education peers in general education classrooms.

These students should be achieving more. The learning gaps between them and general education students can and must be reduced. Failure to do so will result in ongoing academic deficiencies, putting them at risk for significant postsecondary options, including college and/or meaningful employment. Administrators, teachers, parents, and community members share the responsibility for improvement.

District and special education administrators must provide ongoing staff development for general educators working with students with disabilities in their general education classrooms. Team teaching and modifications to curriculum and design, testing and assessment should be part of any such program. Regular educators should have access to files of students with disabilities to better understand each student’s specific disability.

General education teachers should teach “to the student,” not the disability label. For all educators, the focus should be on “learning to read” in K-3. Beyond that, the focus transitions to “reading to learn” — that is, content. Such staff development must also be provided to building principals and assistant principals.

School counselors — working with colleges — need to know that many postsecondary institutions have admission programs designed to admit and provide support services to students with disabilities. Other county and state vocational programs offer similar accommodating programs. Students themselves must be able to articulate their own learning needs; they need to become responsible for their learning as well.

Parents of students with disabilities should not be satisfied simply because their children are being educated in a regular education classroom. They should monitor that their children are receiving quality instruction in those classrooms. Superintendents and boards of education should establish learning goals for students with disabilities. Only when all constituents are working together will improvement be realized.

Lastly, the community needs to know how students with disabilities are achieving. State and other assessment results must be publicly reported at board of education meetings. After all, Long Island school districts spend on average $26,446 more on a student with disabilities than on a general education student. Most of this is absorbed by local taxpayers.

The return on investment for taxpayers and educators alike must go beyond sheer technical compliance. Students must also learn and achieve at a level comparable to their general education peers.