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Regents 2008 Board Report

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Regents 2008 Board Report:
VESID: Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities

Special Education

The Regents seek to raise the level of achievement for students with disabilities, get more students educated in settings with their nondisabled peers, get more to graduate with Regents diplomas and go on to higher education or meaningful employment, and reduce the number of students with disabilities that drop out of school. There have been slow improvements. On the grade 3-8 assessments, students with disabilities improved overall, with a significant drop in the number of students showing serious difficulties in both English and math. This trend is a predictor of better graduation outcomes for students with disabilities.

Here are some of the details:

  • 41.3% of students with disabilities graduated with a regular high school diploma within four years, as of June 2008, an improvement of 2% over the previous year.
  • 6.5% of school age students with disabilities (ages 6-21) were in educational settings without nondisabled children (the most restrictive setting).
  • 92% of a representative sample of students with disabilities who left school during the 2005-06 school year were enrolled in post-secondary school or competitively employed or both during the year after leaving school.

For 2009 the Regents seek to increase the graduation rate for students with disabilities to 44% and to reduce to 5.5% the percentage of students with disabilities who are in educational settings that do not include any nondisabled children.

In-State Special Education Placements

VESID successfully collaborated with other state partners and service providers in 2008 to develop programs that allow students with significant disabilities to remain within New York and return students from out-of-state placements, as required by State law and Regents policy. Specifically, VESID achieved a reduction of nearly 15% in out-of-state placements, from 624 to 531.

Transition from School to Adult Life

In 2008 VESID completed the second year of the Model Transition Program (MTP) statewide initiative. The MTP provides funding for 60 projects in more than 150 private and public high schools. The primary goal of the MTP is to facilitate future employment opportunities for students with disabilities in integrated settings.

 

Last Updated:

April 6, 2009