Happy New Year! Schools resumed operation this week after the students, teachers, staff, and administrators welcomed 2023. While the winter break represents the mid-point for the 2022 and 2023 school year, for me, the start of the new year, 2023, welcomes the start of finally peeling back the layers of the Connecticut "Least Restrictive Environment" proverbial onion.
Connecticut enjoys a stellar national reputation for its public school system. For example, the financial website, WalletHub (https://wallethub.com/edu/e/states-with-the-best-schools/5335) ranked Connecticut's Public School system 2nd in the nation based on an array of 23 broad measures. With such success, one might be surprised that Connecticut consistently ranks second in the country for outplacing students with disabilities from their home school district to private alternative special education programs. As of 2020, the latest data set available from the United States Department of Education, there were 5,343 students with disabilities outplaced to schools or programs different from their home school.
Looking at the 2020 IDEA Part B data and comparing Connecticut among the top ten public school systems by WalletHub, Connecticut is 5th out of the top 10 states in terms of rates of inclusion time spent by students with disabilities with their non-disabled peers. However, Connecticut ranks 1st out of 10 top states in outplacing students with disabilities. Connecticut enjoys a good reputation with its public schools; however, do students with disabilities, specifically those outplaced from their home school, share in that success? I will peel the layers of this onion in 2023. I will keep you posted.