Stoughton faculty board approves eight Ok-5 particular ed open enrollment seats, limitless common ed | Schooling
Stoughton Area elementary schools may add eight special education places for the 2022-23 school year.
The Stoughton Area Board of Education unanimously approved its enrollment vacancies for the coming year during its meeting on Monday 17th January with Board Member Holly Tellander absent. Open enrollment allows as many students as possible into regular education, provided there is space for them in a section, and eight special education spots for students with IEP or 504 plans. These special education places will not include speech and language therapy because those services are at capacity, according to a document in the board’s agenda package.
Under state law, the board had to approve the final numbers to allow families to begin the open enrollment application process between February and April for a final decision in May.
While the district is proposing few restrictions, there are grade levels where additional open enrollment students would be easier to accommodate than others. The highest flexibility would be in 5th grade, where there are 79 fewer students enrolled than district capacity, and the second highest in 9th grade, with 72 spots open. Grades 6 and 8 would be the most challenging for open enrollment as they have filled the majority of their capacity and seven open enrollment slots apiece are expected.
Pupil enrollment is expected to be 2,700 for the upcoming 2022-23 school year, about what was forecast last year. However, the district has a capacity for nearly 3,300 students, according to a document presented to the school board during Monday night’s meeting.
Open special education enrollments are decided differently, explained Keli Melcher, district student services director, because they determine the needs of special needs students who are currently in the district and where staff may be available to support those students.
