Idea #131 – Provide Regionalized Special Education

Report Status: Fully Reviewed

Researched by: Aaron Pikcilingis

Original Idea as Submitted

Share Special Education costs with Lexington, Arlington, Bedford, and Burlington – Ongoing collaborative provides high quality services at a lower cost than third party

Other ideas included in this report

  • None

Idea intent

This idea seems to suggest something we already do, which is to offer special education services as part of a regional collaborative.

Weighted Final Score: N/A (already implemented)

Background Information

  • LABBB was originally formed in Lexington and Arlington and approved by the state in 1974.

  • Belmont joined the existing LABB collaborative in 1996, making it the current LABBB (Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, Bedford, Belmont)

  • The collaborative offers the combined district more flexibility through different structures and settings, allowing them, collectively, to meet the needs of a wider variety of students

  • LABBB has similar programs to and serves the same population of students as the following a collection of private schools

    • In FY19 LABBB tuitions ranged from $50,140.00 to $61,266.

    • Our highest tuition is for students with severe behavior challenges, students on the Autism spectrum, and students with multi-handicaps.

    • It is important to note that all LABBB tuitions include summer programming (198-215 days) and all therapies are included. There are no additional costs.

    • Our lower tuitions and lower transportation costs for transporting LABBB students, proves to be cost effective for our member districts.

  • Private equivalent options run from $64k - $122k

Recommendations

  • We recommend that Belmont continue to participate in the LABBB Collaborative as it is a cost-effective way to provide better services than we would be able to provide as an individual district.

Next Steps

  • None

Further Reading