April 2023
This month’s superintendent’s corner was written by our special education teacher, Mr. Louis Justman.
On Tuesday May 2 voters in Burt Township and across the rest of Alger and Marquette counties will see a Special Education Millage on the ballot from the region’s Intermediate school district (ISD) Marquette-Alger Regional Education Service Agency (MARESA).
Many may not realize just how many students are encompassed by the term “Special Education.” The U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that students with any of these 13 categories of impairment are eligible for special education services:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deaf-Blindness
Deafness
Emotional Disturbance
Hearing Impairment
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment, including Blindness
Other Health Impairment
IDEA ensures that any public education 3+ year old student who is negatively affected by their impairment in their schooling is still provided a free appropriate public education. Regardless of a student’s disabilities and unique needs, IDEA ensures that they are able to work to be prepared for further education, employment, and independent living.
When you zoom out and look at that large of a list and mission, it is easy to understand how a district’s population of students receiving special education services can climb. Here are some more statistics to consider:
More than 7 million students attend special education in the USA.
One in six children in the US has a form of developmental delay.
An equal number of boys and girls have multiple disabilities.
15% of all public school students require special education.
The number of students with learning disabilities who spent time in regular classrooms doubled from 1989 to 2017.
19.4% of students applying for college report having a disability.
19% of students receiving special education have speech or language impairments.
9.4% of children in the US have ADHD.
The federal government spends about $12.3 billion on special education for students aged 3–12.
Low-income families have about twice or more than twice the identification rate with emotional disability or intellectual disability as compared to non-low-income children.
MARESA’s special education services offer a wide variety of programs and services to students, staff and families, which are often expensive and cumbersome for a district to fund on their own – especially a small isolated district like ours in Grand Marais.
In my time in Grand Marais I have seen the number of students receiving services for special education reside around 25% (right about the rate you would expect based on the above statistics). As the students come and go, they bring their unique needs with them. One year, the district may have a need for an occupational therapist, and the next we might not. If a family moves to town or moves away, the carousel of services required moves along with them.
In my time at Burt Township School District, I have seen the district receive help in the service areas of Assessment and Diagnostics, Assistive Technology, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Hearing and Visual Impairment, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Social Work, understanding / applying Michigan and United States Policies, and transition services and planning for secondary students with disabilities.
MARESA staff also work with local districts to identify and provide staff professional development needs. Considerable effort and expense is devoted to planning, organizing, and supporting staff development opportunities for teachers, administrators, aides, and parents to acquire new skills and strategies that facilitate the success of students with disabilities and the growth of staff.