GRAND ISLAND — Renee Engel, director of special education for Grand Island Public Schools, gave an update to the Board of Education March 14 about special education statistics and programs in the district.
There are currently 85 special education teachers in the district and 130 paras. At the administrative level, Engel works with three special education supervisors. She showed a long list of specialists who work with special education students, including positions such as school psychologists, speech pathologists, physical therapists, and vision specialist.
There are 13 categories of disabilities. She described who’s eligible to be served by special education services. There are three prongs of qualification: diagnosed disability, diagnosed disability affects education, and whether the student requires specialized instruction.
Services are provided for children from birth through age 21. There are 1,838 students eligible for special education services in Grand Island Public Schools, which is 18 percent of the student population.
Students who are age 18 to 21 either attend classes at the Indra House or participate in Project SEARCH in cooperation with CHI-St. Francis.
In other business Thursday, March 14:
- *The Board approved by a 7-0 vote adding one English Language Learner teacher and one ELL para, both 1.0 FTE, at Stolley Park Elementary School; and one ELL teacher and one ELL para, both 1.0 FTE, at Grand Island Senior High School. Board of Education members Lindsey Jurgens and Katie Mauldin were absent Thursday.
- *One 1.0 FTE school social worker position was eliminated, effective as of May 23. That will reduce the number of school social workers at the middle school level from three school social workers to two school social workers. It was not specified which school social worker within the district would have the position eliminated.
- *A board policy “Professional Boundaries between Staff and Students” is proposed to have the following sentences added: “Electronic communication between staff and students may only take place through school email or district approved communication platforms. Coordinating communication through unapproved third-party apps is not permitted.”
- *A new board policy would be added titled “Online Media Accounts and Posts.” “The regulations provide guidance for online posting that mirror existing media release guidelines written specifically for online media posts.” Each elementary and middle school may have one official school account on online platforms approved by the Director of Communications. Each high school may have one official school account and one “activities’ account on online platforms approved by the Director of Communications. The intent is to streamline control of online media used within the district.
- *A multi-year agreement with Google Workspace Plus for $42,000 was approved by a 7-0 vote.
- *The Board approved updating three policies, “Board Operating Principles,” “Board Member Travel Reimbursement,” and “Board Member Code of Ethics.” All were approved by 7-0 votes.
