Boston Adult Technical Academy Over-aged Students Cindie Neilson, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Special Education Tommy Welch, Academic Superintendent, Network 9 Presentation to Boston School Committee January 16, 2019

BPS Policy In 1999 the School Committee approved a policy establishing a maximum student age of 22 The policy was adopted to maintain consistency of programming opportunities with state and federal laws that govern the rendering of services to students with disabilities Historically the maximum age policy was not uniformly implemented across the district In SY 17-18 BPS identified students exceeding the age of 22 without being appropriately served This led to an audit of placements, including Special Education and Alternative Education Notes The school committee policy is reflected in our current superintendent’s circular AMT-5

Background As part of this process, BPS identified students at BATA who would turn 22 during the 2017-2018 school year To allow the school to prepare transitions, BPS requested, and the BSC approved, a waiver of the maximum age policy for the 2017-2018 school year for students at BATA BPS staff worked to identify transition options for individual students from April through the summer of 2018 Approximately 40 BATA 22+ year old students were counseled at the end of the spring 2018 semester on HiSet/GED and Adult School options, and 20 more were counseled prior to September 2018 Notes Bullet 2 talking point: although most consistently implemented in the case of Special Education, The intent was to return to compliance with the current policy after the one-year waiver

BATA Challenges BATA is a program designed to serve students aged 19-21 years old The majority of the BATA students enroll in the school as under-credited English Learners In BPS, past practice has allowed over-aged students to remain on rosters due to the district policy being inconsistency enforced, yet the transitioning planning processes in Special Education led to greater uniformity with regard to students with disabilities as the district worked in conjunction with adult service agencies Last year’s School Committee action to serve 22 year old students ended in June 2018, and the School Committee asked for a more comprehensive review

Current State of 21.5+ year old students in BPS The district currently has 97 students who are 21.5+ who are active at 16 schools across the district 34 of the 21.5+ year olds have IEPs that outline the reasons a student is required to stay in K-12 through 21 and are not diploma bound Of the remaining 63 students, 7 are at BDEA (and are allowed to stay until they are 23 years old due to Horace Mann Charter status) Of the remaining 56 students, 29 are at BATA 25 students will turn (or have turned) 22 years old from Jan 1st through June 30th, 2019 4 of these 25 students will turn 22 years old in January 4 students turned 22 in December (still in ASPEN as active students) Re-state that this includes all of the students, EL, SWD, gen ed in the district. This is about 100 students a year, though this can fluctuate, the students span across the district.

Option 1: All students turning 22 finish the year Option 1: Amend the BPS policy and allow students who turn 22 years old during the school year to exit at the end of the school year (with clear counseling of future options - documented - at age 20.5, 21, and 21.5 years old) Considerations: Must be consistent policy for special education and alternative educations students There are significant concerns regarding the impact of transitions for special education which warrant further analysis: Families may appreciate being able to stay Possible significant negative impact on adult services agencies if larger numbers of students transition at once Students may lose their spots in adult programs if they do not transition at age 22 Continuation of Related Services, Transportation, etc. Dave: If we are including this slide I think it is imperative that we preface it by saying that these are the options we considered, but that ultimately the conclusion of the administration team is that this would not be advisable. Significant concerns on the impact of transitions for special education We start transition planning at 20 with outside agencies to prepare for the 22nd birthday. Positives Parents/Families may want to stay due to familiarity Challenges Impact on Adult Serving Agencies, For example, one agency, the Department of Developmental Services or DDS will receive about 44 students from in district schools and additional students from out of district. Next school year, that number will be 66 students from in district. Receiving all of the students at the same time may put a strain on the agency. Students may lose spot in program if they do not transition at 22. Out of District Placements may not be able to serve students past 22 due to their licensing, the minimum per day cost per student would be $______ in addition to transportation costs. Related Services 1:1 paraprofessionals 1:1 and general bus monitors

Option 2: Create an adult school hybrid at BATA Option 2: Introduce a hybrid alternative ed. / adult ed. program, under the auspices of BATA and Boston Central Adult High School, allowing for dual rosters for BATA teachers to support 22 year old students to finish the semester or school year: Considerations: Impact on other alternative ed. or adult ed. programs Teachers remain assigned to BATA, but will have a double-roster to serve 22 year olds if needed Since 22+ year old students will technically graduate under the BCAHS program, they will receive that diploma, though services will be through BATA until the end of the academic year in which they reach age 22 Students will need to receive clear, documented counseling of future options at their time of enrollment (age 20.5, 21, or 21.5 years old) as well as transition planning to GED or adult programs in June of their final year, aligned to current Special Education practice at this age. Pros/Cons Look at enrollment age… Enrollment at a later age makes it very difficult for students to graduate from BATA No impact to Special Education. teachers remain assigned to BATA, but will have a double-roster to serve 22 year olds if needed Since 22+ year old students will technically graduate under the BCAHS program, they will receive that diploma, though services will be through BATA until the end of the academic year in which they reach age 22 Students will receive clear, documented counseling of future options at their time of enrollment (age 20.5, 21, or 21.5 years old) as well as transition planning to GED or adult programs in June of their final year. Legally, it is a local decision to designate a program as an adult school program, or in this case a hybrid program CC met with adult ed team… intense classes for adult school… JVS program. Boston Housing Authority focuses on HiSet. Can BPS replicate in the future? CC: The least controversial: allow any student to finish the year after 22nd bday Seems to be a lot of “squishiness” in the enforcement of the state policy Anecdotal word… not uncommon to let students finish Not just a BATA issue Maintaining the policy… extending the adult school option. Any student in BPS can enroll in BATA Adult School at age 22 Cliff Chuang note: Check with legal to make sure we can do the dual designation for BATA (local decision - not a state policy) Build in the communication structures for all students. This is key! Meeting with students and during intake and semi-annually.

Extension through the end of January 2019 BPS will hold on enforcement of the age maximum for the 8 BATA students who have or about to turn 22 through at least the end of the semester (January 31, 2019) By doing this, BPS will allow the students an opportunity to complete their current semester BPS will return to the School Committee on January 30th with a proposed long-term solution to account for over-age students; OR a request for extension of existing policy waiver for BATA through end of current academic year while long-term solution is designed.

Discuss with state agencies and partner providers Next Steps Continue to evaluate these options, in consultation with BATA and other impacted alternative & special education programs Discuss with state agencies and partner providers Update School Committee on January 30 with proposed solutions or waiver extension Talking points update and recommendation on January 30