Lancaster, PA: District elem schools have 19 autism classrooms, middle schools 9
Autistic students are more prone to flee the safety of their classroom or school grounds, but the School District of Lancaster believes assigning more adults than the state requires in autistic support classrooms and making infrastructure changes on some campuses can make a difference.
Charles Hample, the top special education official in the district, appeared at the Nov. 4 district board meeting to answer questions in the wake of a third special needs student leaving a school campus unsupervised.
On Oct. 22, a 5-year-old Hamilton Elementary student diagnosed with autism left that school’s playground and was found later in a wooded area near a creek. The child’s parents complained at the time that they were not notified the child was missing until after he was found.
A Carter & MacRae elementary student left campus unsupervised in May, the second time she ran away, according to her mother. A pupil from Fulton Elementary ran away from campus Feb. 10.
Hample told the board that a student with an autism diagnosis may bolt after hearing loud noises or becoming unhappy with academic demands. Many of these students have trouble evaluating risks and struggle to communicate their feelings in the moment, Hample said.
“Sensory overload can prompt them to leave,” Hample said. “One of the traits is an impaired sense of danger. People with autism are typically not aware of the risks, like the risk of traffic or the risk of water.”
Financial challenges
District elementary schools house 19 autistic support classrooms. Middle schools contain nine classrooms, and Hample expects that secondary schools soon will need to add more spaces.
Providing services to this group of students is a priority, but an expensive one, according to district Chief Financial Officer Marcia Stokes.
Opening and staffing an autistic support classroom costs about $500,000, Stokes said. The district plans to open as many as five autism support classrooms, she added.
“Think about how much costs have gone up,” she said during the board meeting. “Think about how much the needs of our students have gone up.”
In addition, the district’s share of any additional money has decreased from 0.95% of state money to 0.92%, Stokes said.
“When the state does add new money, we’re just getting a smaller slice,” she said.
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