While complimenting Pittsburgh Public Schools' progress and promise in special education, evaluators from the Council of the Great City Schools said the district needs to work on placing fewer students in special education.

"It was clear to the team ... that too many teachers and staff members were using special education as an escape hatch when they did not know what else to do with students who were experiencing learning or behavioral problems," the report stated.

"This is not an unusual situation in many public school systems across the country, but the Pittsburgh Public Schools has the potential to make a real dent in the problem because of its determined leadership, strong collaboration with its teachers union and its forward momentum."

One sign of progress, the report noted, is that Pittsburgh was one of the few urban districts that met its targets last year for adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind Act, including those for special education students.

While the performance of special education students has improved in some grade levels, it still lags significantly behind that of other students.

In addition, the district has been developing tools -- including curriculum, interventions and professional development -- aimed at better meeting students' needs before a special education placement becomes necessary.

Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, and others from his organization presented the report to the school board this week.

The school district commissioned the report for a cost of up to $40,000. The council is a national group of the nation's largest urban school districts.

Districtwide, the percentage of city children in special education has dropped, from 19.9 percent last school year to an estimated 18.2 percent this school year. Enrollment of all students totals 26,123 this school year, according to the report.

For special education students, this year's percentage is still higher than the statewide average of 15.2 percent and the national average of 13 percent in 2009.

One category of special education students that stood out are those who are considered to have "emotional disturbance." Of the city's children in special education, 16.9 percent were classified as having emotional disturbance, compared to 9.2 percent statewide and 7.4 percent nationally.

About one-third of the students referred for possible emotional disturbance came from seven schools, with the most referrals from Pittsburgh King PreK-8 and Pittsburgh Faison PreK-8. More than 40 percent of those referred by King were not found to have emotional disturbance although they may have been eligible under another disability classification.

Black students were nearly three times as likely as other students -- and more than three times as likely as white students -- to be identified as having emotional disturbance. Black students also were twice as likely as other students to be identified as mentally retarded but are the least likely to be classified as autistic.

The report noted that Pittsburgh has started a strong framework for "response to intervention," known as RTI, which is a way schools try to provide enough help early so students won't later need special education services. The district began using RTI in 2008 in reading in kindergarten through third grade.

For some students, adequate reading skills are critical for avoiding a special education placement, said Mary Jane Conley, district senior program officer for special education.

She said some of the students who were referred for emotional disturbance never learned to read, became frustrated, acted out and became unmanageable.

"We really believe the interventions, the solid curriculum Pittsburgh has at this time is really going to help," she said.

In addition, the district started positive behavior intervention in 2007-08 in 30 schools, the report noted. It was too early to fully evaluate its impact.

At the same time as an effort is made not to identify too many children for special education, Patricia Gennari, assistant superintendent of support services and special schools, said, "Children who need services will get services."

Pittsburgh also has a relatively high percentage of students with disabilities placed outside of the district in approved private or licensed private schools. The district is considering reopening a school building, such as Knoxville, or expanding the current Pittsburgh McNaugher program for students who need emotional support.

The report can be found on the Council of the Great City Schools website, www.cgcs.org/publications/Pittsburgh_SpecEd.pdf.

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