The New York State Education Department's (NYSED) Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) has completed the Special Education Quality Assurance Focused Review in the Kingston City School District initiated in the 2004-2005 school year.

The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Focused Review examined the district's compliance with selected Federal and State laws and regulations governing the education of students with disabilities, as well as its ability to meet key performance indicators identified by the State Education Department.

The review was conducted by VESID's Special Education Quality Assurance office and included representatives from the school district, school community and parents. The review process involved a review of school records for selected students with disabilities, classroom visitations, and interviews with selected administrators, teachers, students and parents.

Several meetings of the Committee on Special Education were observed, and parents participated in a Parent Forum as well as completing a Parent Survey. Classroom visits provided information on instructional practices, the provision of supports, services and program modifications, and the implementation of individualized education programs (lEPs) for students with disabilities.

Classrooms were reported to be positive environments where a comfort level existed between students and teachers. Students were found to be actively engaged and interacted well with their peers. Staff reported that students with disabilities receive services consistent with their lEPs and have access to general education curriculum regardless of their placement.

They also reported that there are a number of general education supports available to all students, including students with disabilities. Teachers used a variety of teaching strategies based on the students' different learning styles and the strategies used in the classrooms were beneficial to all students. Staff indicated a need for more integrated classes at the elementary level and early identification and intervention to address the growing numbers of students in special education.

At the observed Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings, participants provided a good breadth and depth of information about the students and shared information in understandable terms. Committee members did a nice job of interacting with parents and obviously valued their input. While it was evident that participants were prepared and had thought about possible recommendations, the actual decision making process occurred at the meeting and the CSE Chairperson looked for consensus regarding the recommendations.

The Special Education Quality Assurance Regional Associate from the State Education Department and the Special Education Training and Resource Center (SETRC) Professional Development Specialist met with 6 parents of students with disabilities from the district. The group was representative of students from five of the district's eleven elementary schools. Information gleaned from the forum was broadbased, addressed numerous topics and represented a variety of perceptions and responses on those topics.

A parent survey was also sent out to approximately 500 parents of students with disabilities in the district at the elementary, middle and secondary levels. The results of the survey were not available from the State's contractor at the time this report was issued. The focused review resulted in planned areas of improvement to further support positive student outcomes.

Kingston's improvement plan will focus on making improvements in the integration of students in general education 40% or more of the school day and decreasing the district's classification rate. Information from each review activity was used to identify compliance issues.

The compliance areas that were reviewed were those identified by the State Education Department as being linked to the placement of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The documentation of the corrective actions is attached to the final report and identifies what issues were determined to be out of compliance and what actions the district is responsible for to address those compliance issues.

An overview of the findings of the review will be presented and discussed at the October 5, 2005 meeting of the Board of Education, after which, a copy of the final report may be obtained from the Superintendent's office, located at 61 Crown Street, Kingston, NY 12401.