By Lori Ehde
Luverne's reputation for its strong special education department is bringing more special needs students into the district.
At the same time, the district is better equipped to recognize special needs, which is also raising the number of students in Luverne schools.
While Luverne's total student enrollment has steadily declined through the years, the number of special needs children has increased, due in part to referrals from South Dakota hospitals.
At last count, on Oct. 29, there were 182 students in Luverne who met criteria for individual education plans. That compares with 177 in December 2000.
District Psychologist Renee (Breuer) Guy updated Luverne School Board members on the status of special needs programs in the district.
"I do think people have heard about Luverne and know that Luverne is a great place to be, especially if you have children with special needs," she said.
Guy said administration requested Luverne's special education department be evaluated by the Pipestone Special Education Cooperative, of which Luverne is a member.
"We have some concerns in our department with our case loads," Guy said. "We have more children with more severe needs, and there's a concern we may not be providing the best quality program. We're doing our best, but that's why we requested the evaluation."
Child Study Coordinator Carol Svingen, Luverne, is conducting the evaluation for the co-op. She has requested detailed information from special education staff and is interviewing each staff member individually.
"I wouldn't doubt there will be some recommendations," Guy said.
Specifically, she's worried about the ratio of professional special needs teachers to students. She said Luverne's response to increasing student numbers has so far been to increase the number of teachersÕ aides.
The result has been that the teachers are spending more time managing their aides than seeing students.
For example, middle school special needs instructor Lucinda Rofshus oversees 15 students and eight aides. "We have students with a lot more special needs," she said. "I've seen a real increase in the severity of those needs."
Special needs costs are reimbursed by state and federal sources, and services for open-enrolled students are billed to home districts. Slightly more than 6 percent of Luverne's special needs students are open-enrolled here from other districts.
Guy said she didn't want to leave the board with the impression that special needs students have not been served; rather she said evaluating the department will help her determine how best to serve them.
Svingen started the evaluation late in October and will likely conclude in the first week of December. There is no charge to the Luverne district for the evaluation.