Shared Services to Strengthen Special Education

 Introductions  Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission  Founded in 1977, the Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission (MRESC) has provided Cooperative Educational Services to meet the needs of the twenty-four member districts and the region.  The primary purpose of MRESC is to provide high quality educational programs & services to districts in a cost effective/efficient manner.

 Special education requires a great deal of expertise and instructional support to effectively & appropriately implement the students’ IEP’s.  Shared services between public school districts allow for the leveraging of instructional, therapeutic, and programmatic expertise in the pursuit of quality outcomes for students in an efficient manner.

 Tuition-based Instructional Services  Non-Public/Charter Services  Collaborative Educational Services  Professional Development Services  Transportation Services  Cooperative Purchasing Services

Tuition-based Instructional Services  Provision of Special Education Programs  Self-contained settings  Full-time  Shared-time (e.g., MCVTS & Edison CBI)  Partnership with LEA’s  Partnership with Local Agencies (e.g., Princeton House)  Collaborative settings  Located within LEA’s  Provision of Alternative Education Programs  Self-contained and collaborative settings  Allow for small group instruction & credit recovery  IAEP (45-day Placement)  Summer School Programs

Non-Public/Charter Services  Chapters 192 & 193  Comp Ed, SI, Speech, Evaluations, AR’s  Child Study Team Services  Management & Oversight for LEA compliance  IDEA Non-public Proportionate Share  Therapeutic services  Materials & instructional supplies  Personnel (In-class resource faculty, instructional aides, etc.)  Management & Oversight for LEA compliance

Cooperative Educational Services  Home Instruction (Special/General Education)  Child Study Team Services  Evaluation Services (e.g., Augmentative, FBA, CBI, etc.)  Therapeutic Services (OT, PT, Speech)  BCBA Services (including evaluations & home programming)

Cooperative Educational Services (continued)  Community-based Instructional Services (e.g., Highland Park consultation, provision of job coaching, etc.)  Hospital Programs  Children’s Specialized Hospital  Partial Hospitalization program with Princeton House  Provision of Child Study Team members and paraprofessionals to LEA’s  Teacher of the Deaf & Consult Services

Professional Development Services  Workshops  Designed to meet LEA needs  Online  Onsite  Hot PD Topics (determined based on annual LEA survey):  iPad Usage Across Curricula & Instructional Settings  Interactive Whiteboard  Wilson Reading Certification  Oral Motor & Feeding Therapies  Topics in Community-based Instruction & Transition

 Transportation Services  945 Routes Transporting 11,000 Students  Special Education Training  Wheelchair & Tie Down Training  Behavior & Student Support Training  Jointures Creating Economies of Scale  Cost Effective and Timely  Bid, Negotiate, Quote - Field Trips, Athletics, Late Buses & Special Events  Complete Management of District Transportation Programs

 Transportation Services  Annual Transportation Meetings  Non-Public Transportation  District Coordinators and Business Administrators  Transportation Vendors

 Cooperative Purchasing Services  Largest State Approved Cooperative Pricing System  Serving Over 680 Public Agencies  Serving Over 530 School Districts  Providing 55 Bids and Other Programs  Saving Time & Money  Providing QPA & CEU Credits at No Cost  Operation of Electric & Natural Gas Aggregations

 Summary:  All of the programs, services, initiatives, and partnerships discussed are developed based on a annual survey/needs assessment.  MRESC provides what our LEA’s tell us they need to support their instructional programs.  The question to ask, if your county’s ESC or Special Services School District is not providing these services, why not.

 Mark J. Finkelstein, Superintendent  Gary Molenaar, Assistant Superintendent  Patrick Moran, Business Administrator The presentation may be found on the MRESC website: