Farmington, ME: "Special education needs growing more complex"

Oct 5, 2026, Central Maine: Special education needs growing more complex, Farmington schools find

Special education needs growing more complex, Farmington schools find

The 10-town district is expanding specialized programs, staffing and training as it sees more students with autism, health impairments and intensive support needs.

Regional School Unit 9 is seeing increasingly complex special education needs, even as its overall identification rate remains relatively steady, driving expansion of specialized programs, staffing, training and transportation services.

Director of Special Services Cynthia Bernstein said the district has seen significant changes in the types of services students require over the past five years.

Identification of students with specific learning disabilities has decreased by nearly 31% during that period, while autism identification has increased nearly 26%. Identification under other health impairments, including attention challenges or anxiety, has increased 67%. . . .