Dear Current and Future District 86 Families,
During the board of education meeting on May 12, two community members made public comments about the special education graduation rates for our district, with specific emphasis placed on the recent rates for Hinsdale South. As part of their comments, these individuals provided their interpretation of data they collected from sources such as the Illinois Report Card. While their efforts may have been well-intentioned, the information they presented was incomplete and opinions/conclusions they shared were misleading.
The figure that was brought up repeatedly by the two community members was 35%. More specifically, they stated that only 35% of those in the class of 2021 from South who had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) graduated in four years. However, per the data below, this percentage failed to present a complete or accurate picture of the critical transition services we offer to our students with special needs, or the path they take to pursue their ideal future.
- There were 377 students in the class of 2021 at Hinsdale South. Of those students, 324 (86%) of them graduated.
- Sixty-nine of the 377 students (18%) had IEPs and were eligible to receive services through the district’s Transition Program. In order to be eligible, these students had to have enough high school course credits to graduate.
- Forty-five of the 69 students with an IEP and enough credits to graduate (65%) chose to move on to the Transition Program.
- Twenty-four of the 69 students with an IEP and enough credits to graduate (35%) completed their high school career and moved on to something other than the Transition Program.
There are a few additional facts and factors to consider.
- As stated above, all students who matriculate to our Transition Program have the option of walking in the graduation ceremony with their classmates.
- Despite having enough credits to graduate, there is an existing state law that precludes students who participate in transition programming from being included in our graduation rate until they are done receiving services from Transition/District 86. In addition, if these services extend beyond six years (four years in high school and two years in Transition), the state will not include them in our graduation data regardless of when they finish with us. For some of our students, this does not occur until they turn 22. The district has been working with the state for several years to get this law changed.
- There was a state law passed in 2007 that mandates transition services be made available to eligible students until the day before their 22nd birthday. That law was revised in 2021 to extend the eligibility for these services to the end of the regular school year for students whose 22nd birthday falls during that year.
We intend to address the graduation rate issue and provide a detailed overview about our Transition Program (e.g., mission, goals, services, resources, benefits, accomplishments, etc.) during the board meeting on June 2. We hope you will join us for this meeting in person or
online. In the meantime, you can use the links below to learn about the important work that the staff from Transition does on a daily basis to help young adults with disabilities acquire the knowledge, develop the skills and gain the experience they need to optimize their success following high school.
Lastly, we encourage you to please contact Kristin Marks Pascavage (630-468-4290;
kmarks@hinsdale86.org) if you have questions or need more information about the special education department at Hinsdale South, and Tina Kinsey (630-468-4318;
ckinsey@hinsdale86.org) if you have questions about the Transition Program.
Sincerely,
Tammy Prentiss
Superintendent
