Mar 28, 2023, Lancaster, PA, LPN: Columbia drafts plan to serve its higher-than-average number of students needing special education https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-drafts-plan-to-serve-its-higher-than-average-number-of-students-needing-special-education/article_e0aea116-c90f-11ed-9ba6-b32352f656e9.html
When: Columbia Borough school board meeting, March 16.
What happened: Special education students in the Columbia Borough School District are more likely to need special education services than students across the state, district educators told the board. The district has just released a new plan to address those needs.
John Moslander, director of pupil services, presented the district’s proposed 2023-26 special education plan, which is being made available for public comment prior to board approval and submission to the state May 1.
Data: The district’s special education rate of 25.6% is disproportionate to the state average of 18.1%, according to state data. The student census at the time the data was gathered in December of 2020 showed 354 of 1,394 enrolled students received services for specific learning disabilities or for emotional disturbance.
Quotable: “We have to refer back to our district goal of high achievement for all students ... to remove barriers for all students, especially those students with disabilities, students who are English language learners, and students who are at risk,” Moslander told the board.
