A state complaint has prompted Academy District 20 to address the special education program at one of its schools following instructional losses and staff turnover over the past two school years.

The complaint alleged that D-20 denied a student their right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) by failing to implement their individualized education program (IEP) while they attended an unnamed elementary school in the district.

Dwindling staff, abuse by a teacher and an unsafe environment making instruction nearly impossible were detailed in an investigation conducted by the Colorado Department of Education in response to the complaint.

The district must now enact a number of changes to address each violation identified at the school over the next year.

The investigation, which includes interviews with parents, staff and teachers, along with district documentation, ultimately found that D-20 had violated state and federal law by failing to implement or revise multiple students’ individualized education programs (IEP).

“In sum, despite a high level of support provided by the District, this time period from the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year to October 10 posed, by all credible accounts, a great challenge to adequately addressing the SSN program Students’ needs,” state complaint officer Nicholaus Podsiadlik wrote in the state’s decision.

The significant support needs (SSN) program refers to the program in place at a school for students with a number of greater needs including cognition, communication, movement, and social and emotional abilities. Students in these programs may also have health, sensory, physical, or behavioral disabilities.

An IEP is a document unique to every student who attends a public school and receives special education in compliance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and state Exceptional Children’s Education Act (ECEA).

The primary reason for failing to meet these needs was reportedly due to a lack of needed staff.

2022-23

The parents of a student at the school alleged it failed to implement  the student’s IEP during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

The loss of learning is traced back to Nov. 1, 2022, when the complainant’s student’s full-time SSN teacher went on anticipated leave through Feb. 20. This led to instructional inconsistencies for the 10 students in the program that year.

Challenges included a long-term substitute teacher resigning, hiring multiple short-term substitutes without special education endorsements and a fluctuating number of paraprofessionals.

“When necessary, other staff at School would also help supervise the SSN program,” Podsiadlik said.

The teacher prepared learning arrangements for each student and their IEP, but this ultimately proved to be unsuccessful due to a lack of consistency. Upon her return, she noted the students showed some regression but were able to recover by the end of the school year.

Parents, however, reported behavioral loses over this period that were never recovered.

2023-24

The teacher informed the district they would not return to the program for the 2023-24 year. This vacancy wasn’t filled by the start of the year and the program now had five paraprofessionals and 13 students with “significant medical, behavioral, and academic needs.”

The school’s principal emailed D-20’s Executive Director for Special Education on Aug. 11 to express concern that support was insufficient going into the year.

“We need immediate assistance in SSN. Our paras are not in a good spot and may quit if attention is not given,” he wrote. “The tutor that was sent had no idea how to support SSN and no one else has been here … We don’t have any support in setting up our schedules and more students are being added to our caseload.”

Eleven short-term substitutes were hired over this time before a new full-time SSN teacher was eventually hired in October, leading to further inconsistency and aggressive behavior by students.

One student’s gastronomy tube was pulled out multiple times, while others hit staff and attempted to elope. On Sept. 26, one student, who required “adult supervision and support throughout the school day to ensure safety,” was found inside a closed dryer in a locked bathroom.

Two paraprofessionals resigned during this time and, following the dryer incident, the principal would also leave the school.

D-20 officials would then become involved in the SSN program and provide supplemental staff with varying credentials along with greater expert support to relieve staff and continue program operation.

“Even the service providers — the physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech-language pathologist — pitched in during their visits to supervise the children and give the paraprofessionals a break,” Podsiadlik said.

“There were, at times, no teacher in the room, as few as one or two paraprofessionals, and ‘daily schedule and routine changes due to a revolving door of substitute and district staff supporting in the classroom.’”

When the new teacher was hired in October, struggles continued, both in educating students and supervising their behavior. Instructional time was largely spent responding to unsafe behaviors, tending to students’ hygiene and helping students eat, drink, and use the bathroom.

The new teacher would also resort to physical intervention and verbal outbursts toward students out of frustration. Parents’ around this time consistently expressed concerns over the students’ safety and regressing academic and functional performance.

They began transferring their children from the program and, by the time the new teacher resigned on Feb. 12, only seven students were enrolled in the program.

A new licensed teacher was then hired by the district March 11, but the state of the program by that point still made meeting each child’s IEP needs a challenge.

“The SCO finds that … the opportunity for instruction was minimal, no expert was able to provide individualized adjustments to match the children’s performance, and the environment diminished Students’ ability to learn,” Podsiadlik said.

Going Forward

The state concluded that D-20 didn’t implement the specialized instruction and curriculum modifications required by the students’ IEPs, monitor or report their progress, resulting in a denial of FAPE.

To resolve these violations, the CDE ordered the district to submit a corrective action plan that addresses each violation noted in the complaint along with 64 hours of compensatory education for students during the summer to meet each student’s IEP goals, in addition to speech-language therapy, occupational therapy and behavioral education as compensatory services. All hours are to be completed ahead of the 2024-25 school year, but parents may opt out of some or all of this education. The services must be completed within the year without exception.

D-20’s communication department provided a statement to the Gazette confirming its work on resolving all the findings through a corrective action plan.

“Although we will not expressly comment on individual claims associated with this complaint, D20 is committed to working with all of our families to ensure the success of each and every student,” the statement read.

The district went on to say they have met with each family to ensure their needs are met, began offering compensatory services and added efforts and leadership in the school and program mentioned in the complaint.