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EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION STUDENTS SHOWING STRONG PROGRESS MIAMI – Miami-Dade County Public Schools Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students showed strong academic progress this year, according to a report delivered to the School Board at its Dec. 14th meeting. Analysis of Schools with 15% or More Subgroup Students with Disabilities details progress along several measures of success, including: • The percentage of students with disabilities graduating with a Standard Diploma through the FCAT Waiver increased from 24 percent in 2004 to 36 percent in 2005. • 26 percent of students with disabilities were able to graduate with a special diploma in 2005. • Students with disabilities in grades 3 to 11 who received alternate assessment for FCAT reading and math showed a five percent increase in Level 3 and 4 scores. In writing, Level 3 and 4 scores increased by nine percent. • Students with disabilities in Grade 4 scoring 3.0 or above on FCAT writing increased 35 percent to 67 percent since 2002. One important finding is that ESE students are not causing schools to fail to meet accountability requirements. The number of schools failing to make adequate yearly progress required by the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind fell to two from 83 in 2004. Both of the remaining schools earned at least a B in Florida’s school accountability system. In many schools, gains by ESE students outpaced schoolwide gains. The report was developed following a proposal by School Board Member Evelyn Langlieb Greer to determine the need to restructure ESE programs in order to provide more personal services to smaller populations and to eliminate the necessity of ESE students traveling long distances to receive needed services. The State of Florida recently was granted a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education as to the interpretation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirement that all subgroups make adequate yearly progress. The interpretation provides that a subgroup must consist of at least 15 percent of a school’s enrollment for NCLB reporting purposes. Presently, some District schools have large ESE populations, while other schools have small ones. The plan outlines, on a school-by-school basis, enrollment adjustments that will let students with disabilities receive needed services closer to home in smaller learning environments while ensuring that schools achieve Adequate Yearly Progress under NCLB. Six schools will see adjustments in the 2006-2007 school year; 31 will see adjustments in 2007-2008. # # # 05-LJG/143/JJS |
