WARREN Officials from state, school district in agreement on special-ed pupils

The schools superintendent said she was not worried by the investigation.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- City school officials did not exaggerate the number of special-education pupils in the district, state officials said.
Betty English, schools superintendent, said during a press conference Monday that the state Office for Exceptional Children reviewed the district's special-education program after receiving a complaint Oct. 10 that the school was mislabeling some children as having multiple disabilities.
Districts receive money from the state based on the number of special-education pupils.
English said she was not worried by the investigation and felt that the district acted properly.
Praise for district
"The district's referral, evaluation and determination of eligibility procedures were consistent with the rules for the education of handicapped children," the report by the Office for Exceptional Children states. "The district's staff was very cooperative, forthcoming and to be commended for their efforts at helping resolve the issue."
The report also states that as of December 2003, the district had 66 pupils identified as having multiple disabilities.
"The district staff also used assessment tools and standardized tests that appeared to reflect the student's aptitude or achievement level as well as using testing measures that indicated the student's area of need," the report states.
English, who has a bachelor's and master's degrees in special education, said the district makes every attempt to make sure children are not misidentified for special-education or multihandicapped classes.
English, acknowledged that people can make mistakes, but said that every special-education child and child with multiple disabilities must be tested and school districts must be able to justify a pupil's individual education plan. The tests are reviewed by supervisors.
sinkovich@vindy.com