Audit mixed on Dist. 300 special eduction program

An audit of the special education program in Community Unit District 300 identified areas in which the district is ahead of the curve and where improvement is still needed.

About 100 parents and educators of special education students in the district attended a forum Tuesday to review the audit by the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative. The Massachusetts-based network of educators works to improve services for students with disabilities.

The audit found that while special education students in the district are academically level with — if not slightly better — than their peers across the state, those students lag far behind their non-disabled peers in the district.

“That is somewhat good news,” said Ron Felton, executive director of the collaborative. “We don’t expect that gap to disappear, but we do expect that gap to narrow.”

Felton said that gap hinges on the rigors of instruction and access to the curriculum.

Part of the problem stems from a lack of inclusion within general education classes. Fenton said special education students attending regular schools are often in separate classes.

Furthermore, the district relies heavily on paraeducators and the district also relies on separate and private schools to educate students with disabilities.

But for some parents the plan to include their child in general education classes was concerning.

“You can’t do that,” said Dave VanDoorn, of Carpentersville, whose autistic daughter attends Algonquin Middle School. “People are rotten ... My concern is when you start to integrate these kids, as separate as they are now, they will become even more separate. They will become more alienated.”

Others, though, said they would invite the increased time their child spent in a regular educational setting.

“I want my son involved in a regular classroom as much as possible,” said Bob Wood, whose son is in the first grade at Neubert Elementary School. “We don’t give children enough credit when for being accepting. There is some concern, but not enough to not move ahead.”

Linda Breen, director of educational services for instruction, said the plan was not one size fits all.

“Some students would not learn best in a general education setting all throughout the day,” Breen said. “It would be based on individual needs.”

The district will take the recommendations from the audit to restructure the special education program. Details of the plan are expected to be released on May 2.