Weston School Committee Flags Racial Disparities in Special Education Identification

WESTON — November 3, 2025 — Weston School Committee receives special education disproportionality report and takes first reading of MCAS replacement policy. The five-member board, chaired by Daina Selvig, voted unanimously Monday to adopt enrollment projections showing total district enrollment of 2,090 students this fall, with projections reaching 2,349 by 2031-32, while the district's finance director reported a projected first-quarter surplus of approximately $280,000. An internal special education review found Black students identified for special education at nearly double their enrollment share — 10.5 percent of special education eligibility against 5.5 percent of total enrollment — and the district has been formally found disproportionate by DESE in the specific learning disability category for Black students, triggering a requirement to spend 15 percent of federal special education grant funds, estimated at $125,000 to $130,000, on a corrective plan due to the state by end of December. The committee also took a first reading of a three-tiered competency determination policy replacing the MCAS graduation requirement, with administrators urging adoption at the November 17 meeting so current seniors without a competency determination can begin the assessment process before June.