Enrollment - Special Education
Date posted: 04/15/2008
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The term 'Special Education' is defined a variety of ways depending on the source. For the purpose of this page, the definition from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) was used. 'Special Education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings (Colorado Department of Education).'
Please see Additional Information for a list of disabilities considered by the Colorado Department of Education to be eligible for enrollment in Special Education, including a brief definition of each.
What this chart shows: Enrollment in Special Education - Larimer County School Districts, 2003-04 to 2007-08
Data Source:
What this chart shows: Special Education Students as a Percentage of Total Enrollment - Larimer County School Districts, 2007-08
Data Source:
What these data tell us:
Between 2003 and 2007, Poudre School Districts' special education enrollment increased by 188 students or 7.7%. Thompson School Districts' special education enrollment decreased by 43 students or 2.4%. The Poudre School District increase is attributed to an increase in identification of students with physical disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder.Park School District had a 28% decrease in special education enrollment from 2003 to 2004. During that year, Park School District implemented an intervention process which addresses many student needs without placement into the Special Education program. This process involves teachers brainstorming on a regular basis regarding classroom accommodations for students to assist them in their learning. This allows a student to remain in the mainstream class rather than being referred to a Special Education unit. The process has been successful in the Park School District grade schools. Officials say that the Colorado Department of Education is encouraging districts to implement the process statewide.
Between 2003 and 2007, Park School District had a 38% decrease in special education enrollment, or an actual loss of 67 students. During this same period, total enrollment in Park School District decreased by 155 students or 11.4%. Between 2003-04 and 2004-05 there was an actual loss of 101 students from total enrollment. This decrease in Park School District enrollment was reported to be the result of a kindergarten program opening at a local church, in addition to some families leaving the area for employment reasons. Between 2004-05 and 2007-08 school years, Park School District enrollment continued to decline with a 4.3% decrease or a loss of 56 students.
In 2007-08, special education students comprised 10.9% of the total student enrollment in Larimer County public schools. According to State officials, assessment of special education students has been changing since the late 1970's. This has contributed to the increase in special education enrollment as additional conditions have been added to the list of recognized disabilities. For example, 30 years ago, Emotional Disability was not a special education disability. Additionally, in more recent years, Autism has been assessed as a full spectrum disability. A student who has mild Autism is now identified as having a disability rather than being a 'problem student.' Earlier detection of disabilities that interfere with learning has also contributed to the increase in numbers.
Additional Information:
Special education is a state and federal mandated program. Every school district, or special education administrative unit, provides special education services. Special education is provided from preschool through the twelfth grade.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Federal law concerning the education of students with disabilities, requires schools to provide a full explanation of the Procedural Safeguards Notice, available under the IDEA and U.S. Department of Education regulations, to parents of a child with a disability notice.
The Exceptional Children's Educational Act defines 'children with disabilities' as persons between the ages of three and twenty-one who are unable to receive reasonable benefit from regular education without additional supports in the public schools because of specific disabling conditions.
The definitions of disabilities listed below are still in use. For a more in-depth look at disability classification as it is now, go to page six of the Exceptional Children's Educational Act, effective December 2007.
Students enrolled in special education programs are reviewed during annual instructor staffings to determine whether they need to remain in special education classes. Children with preschool disabilities are referred to the programs through Early Childhood Connections (Child Find), parental referrals, or preschool teacher referrals.
The following definitions are used by Colorado Department of Education at this time, and can be reviewed in the Exceptional Children's Educational Act.
- Significant Limited Intellectual Capacity - Limited intellectual capacity or ability which usually originates in the developmental period and exists concurrently with impairment in adaptive behavior.
- Emotional Disability - Impaired emotional or social functioning which might include exhibiting depression, unexpected and atypical affect for the situation, excessive fear and anxiety, withdrawal, or seeming out of touch with reality.
- Specific Learning Disability - A disorder in one or more of the psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language. This category is also referred to as 'Perceptual/Communicative Disability.' This does not include students who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, motor handicaps, or limited intellectual capacity or who are of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage; or limited English proficiency.
- Hearing Disability - A deficiency in hearing sensitivity as demonstrated by an elevated threshold of auditory sensitivity to pure tones or speech where, even with the help of amplification, the child is prevented from receiving reasonable educational benefit from regular education.
- Visual Disability - A deficiency in visual acuity and/or visual field and/or visual performance where, even with the use of lenses or corrective devices, the child is prevented form receiving reasonable educational benefit from regular education.
- Physical Disability - A sustained illness or disabling physical condition which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from regular education. Conditions such as, but not limited to, traumatic brain injury (TBI), autism, attention deficit disorder and cerebral palsy may qualify as a physical disability, if they prevent a child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from regular education. TBI and Autism are reported separately by Larimer County School Districts.
- Speech/Language Disability - A dysfunction in one or more of the following areas: articulation, fluency, voice, functional communication or delayed language development.
- Multiple Disabilities - A child who has two or more areas of significant impairment, one of which shall be a cognitive impairment except in the case of deaf-blindness.
- Preschool Disability - A child three to five years of age with either long-term physical impairment or illness, significant limited intellectual capacity, significant identifiable emotional disorder or identifiable perceptual or communicative disorders, or speech disorders.
On Compass -
- Birth Defects
- CSAP Scores
- Dropout Rate
- Enrollment - Ethnicity
- Enrollment - School District
- Enrollment - Public, Home-Based and Non-Public Schools
- Funding per Pupil in District
- High School Graduation Rates (Ethnicity, School District)
- Low Birth Weight Babies
- Perinatal Alcohol & Tobacco Use
- Prenatal Care
- Teen Fertility & Birth Rates
Outside Compass -
- Ask Colorado - Interactive online librarian service from Colorado libraries
- Barton Early Childhood Center - the central facility for the Poudre School District Early Childhood Programs
- Colorado Department of Education
- Colorado Resource Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorders - Colorado Department of Education
- Early Childhood Connections
- Early Childhood Programs - Poudre School District
- Early Childhood Programs - Thompson School District
- Park School District
- Respite Care - provides short-term care for children with developmental disabilities.
Data Tables:
Enrollment in Special Education in Larimer County School Districts
|
Park |
Poudre |
Thompson |
Total |
|
|
2001-02 |
188 |
2,447 |
1,710 |
4,345 |
|
2002-03 |
180 |
2,508 |
1,750 |
4,438 |
|
2003-04 |
176 |
2,453 |
1,825 |
4,454 |
|
2004-05 |
127 |
2,487 |
1,740 |
4,354 |
|
2005-06 |
115 |
2,571 |
1,801 |
4,487 |
|
2006-07 |
119 |
2,618 |
1,809 |
4,546 |
|
2007-08 |
109 |
2,641 |
1,831 |
4,581 |
Special Education Students as a Percentage of Total Enrollment
|
Total Students |
Special Education Students |
% of Total |
|
|
Park |
1,206 |
109 |
9.0% |
|
Poudre |
25,610 |
2,641 |
10.3% |
|
Thompson |
15,305 |
1,831 |
12.0% |
|
TOTALS: |
42,121 |
4,581 |
10.9% |