Open enrollment seats determined

Students with significantly high needs have enrolled at multiple grade levels in the Cedar Grove-Belgium School District in the past two years, causing the School Board to not allow any more to attend next year via the state’s open enrollment program.

“We are at or over our limits in all of our (special education) classes so my recommendation is we do not have any openings,” Director of Special Education and Pupil Services Tamra O’Keefe told the School Board on Jan. 8, adding that four more special education students enrolled that week.

O’Keefe’s projects that the district will serve 178 students with special needs next year.

The special education classes are already either at or over capacity.

“Our case loads keep going up and up and up,” she said.

Students with high needs are increasing as well. While usually just a handful are nonverbal or need help with toilet training, O’Keefe said this year five students in the Early Childhood program are nonverbal and nine need adult help going to the bathroom.

“We’re just having much higher needs of students coming in who are requiring a lot more additional support,” she said.

While the district tries to do as much inclusion as possible, that requires more support, O’Keefe said.

Two high school students in different grades could attend as many as eight different classes, which requires personnel to go into each one to provide support.

The special needs students, she said, do not count the district’s English learner students.

The School Board did not put a limit on regular education students.

Last year, the district had room for special education students in open enrollment.