Board Hears Report on Independent Special Education Review 

Members of the Bexley Board of Education received a presentation from the district administration on Aug. 13, regarding the outcome and recommendations of a comprehensive review of Bexley’s special education services, which was completed by the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (ESCCO) last school year.

ESCCO’s review was borne from a Letter of Understanding (LOU) in the negotiated agreement between Bexley Schools and the Bexley Education Association (BEA). The agreement letter called for an independent review of staffing, workload, class composition, and the delivery of educational and specially designed services for students with disabilities.

The following statements are part of the ESCCO’s report to the district and the BEA:

Identified District Strengths

• Strong commitment to inclusive education and physical access to general education settings.
• Highly dedicated staff with strong interpersonal collaboration, particularly during IEP and 504 processes.
• Positive working culture that supports retention and morale.
• Expanding use of trauma-informed and SEL-aligned practices.
• High levels of procedural compliance and individualized student support planning.
• Positive parent feedback highlights strong relationships, responsive communication, and inclusive practices that make students feel valued and supported.

Summary of Findings

• System Design and MTSS: Efforts are underway to build a comprehensive Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), but implementation is inconsistent across buildings and service tiers.
• Staffing and Workload: While staffing is strong in commitment, uneven scheduling, unclear roles, and high workloads limit service alignment and sustainability.
• Instructional Practices: Use of high-impact strategies is not yet systematized. Instructional access varies by building and team, particularly at the secondary level.
• Service Continuum and Inclusion: Elementary practices are stronger than secondary. A unified service delivery model is needed to support flexibility and equity.
• Communication and Collaboration: Staff collaboration is strong at the team level, but system-level communication and stakeholder engagement remain inconsistent.

Key Recommendations

• Establish a District-Wide MTSS Framework: Develop a unified, tiered support system with fidelity tools, clear protocols, and training for academic, behavioral, and SEL interventions.
• Adopt a Workload-Based Staffing Model: Move beyond caseload counts to include service intensity, planning responsibilities, and behavior support in staffing allocations.
• Systematize Instructional Frameworks: Align instruction to research-based models such as UDL, HLPs, and Hattie’s Visible Learning to ensure consistent, equitable practices.
• Strengthen Co-Planning and Inclusion Protocols: Expand co-teaching, clarify paraprofessional roles, and build inclusive service structures across all grade bands.
• Enhance Communication Systems: Create role-specific expectations and a multi-tiered strategy to improve transparency, family engagement, and student voice in decision-making.

Chief Academic Officer Casey Cosgray presented the report’s key components and answered Board members’ questions during the meeting. She told the Board, “We work every day to try to figure out unique and creative processes to meet the needs of all students with special needs. That was some of the premise of this review: how can we do things different, how can we do things better, and how can we meet the need of every single student under our care.”

She also shared that six faculty and staff members have been named to meet as a committee during the 2025-2026 school year to discuss the ESCCO’s recommendations and next actionable steps that could be taken.

Dr. Aimee White, the district’s new Director of Student Services & Accessibility, will be part of the collaboration team. She and members of her staff will be responsible for carrying out much of the work needed to move forward with the review’s recommendations. Dr. White is an experienced administrator, having served as principal of Jones Middle School in Upper Arlington Schools and also as the district’s Student Services Coordinator. Her career in education began in Gahanna Jefferson Public Schools, where she served as a paraprofessional and an intervention specialist for 12 years.

“To address needs of the district for the future in the next three years, I’m sure much of this work will continue on because it is a process,” Ms. Cosgray said during the Board meeting. “Things don't happen overnight. We wish it could, but systemic change and sustainable change have to be deep-rooted, inclusive, and all moving forward together.”

You may click below to watch Chief Academic Officer Casey Cosgray’s Special Education Review presentation on the Board of Education. 

Presentation Slides | Presentation Video