Update: TSC studies its programs to improve services for special needs students

Editor's note: This story has been updated since it originally was published online to reflect additional reactions from Tippecanoe School Corp. officials.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The future of special needs education in Tippecanoe County became a topic of discussion at the Lafayette school board meeting after learning that Tippecanoe School Corp. is studying its internal services for students with special needs.

However, there was a misunderstanding of the TSC's study. At the meeting, the LSC school board believed that the TSC would be reevaluating its place in the Greater Lafayette Area Special Services cooperative, commonly known as GLASS, but this was not the case.

GLASS is a joint special education service among the county's three public school districts that works with disabled students ranging from 3 to 21 years old who are enrolled in one of the districts.

“By the guidelines, should one of the three school corporations, West Lafayette, TSC or LSC, choose to opt out of GLASS, it takes an 18-month notification to the others,” Lafayette Superintendent Les Huddle said.

“With the TSC’s announcement that they are studying and hiring a consultant to look at their participation in GLASS. I want our board, our families, and our staff to know that should this happen, it’s probably two years down the road," Huddle said. "And LSC is probably prepared today to be our own administration of our own special needs program.”

Huddle reassured families and staff that GLASS services will still be available for the foreseeable future.

After the story appeared at jconline.com, TSC Superintendent Scott Hanback told the Journal & Courier that Huddle misrepresented the county school district's goals and purposes for the study.

The Journal & Courier called and emailed Huddle for comments to Hanback's comments. Huddle has not yet responded.

Hanback responded to the J&C questions about the initial story via an emailed statement.

In a follow-up interview on Friday, Hanback explained at a recent GLASS governing board meeting, TSC officials shared with the other two school districts that it would be commissioning this internal review study of the programs which was meant to study how the TSC could better its services to its students with special needs.

Hanback noted that TSC did not claim it would reevaluate its place in GLASS. That was a misinterpretation by the Lafayette school board.

"It was conveyed in such a way that it makes it look like TSC is studying to leave GLASS," Hanback said in Friday's interview. "We are not. We're probably still going to need to contract with GLASS for services like pre-K, like occupational therapy."

Hanback noted that he should have gotten on the phone with the Journal & Courier prior to the publication of the story, rather than emailing the J&C his initial response.

“TSC's special education feasibility study is an internal programmatic review of how best to serve our students with special needs,” Hanback said in Wednesday's email.

The school district hired a law firm to evaluate its special education program operations.

“We will allow data collection, open discussion, and thorough analysis to guide any future recommendations, if any, for revisions or changes to TSC's service of its special needs students, their families, and/or specialized staff," Hanback said in Wednesday's email.

"The study is underway and will be conducted in the coming months in anticipation of a final report being provided in the fall of 2024.”

Hanback noted that the TSC would not be moving forward on anything related to the matter until the school district's internal study is completed.

"Once we get the report, we will analyze it; we will talk about it to staff. I will talk about it to the school board, and if there are changes to be made in the way — we deliver services to TSC's 2,643 kids — then I'll start making recommendations to our school board," Hanback said.

"Could we pull out of GLASS? Sure anyone of the three of us could pull out of GLASS and that's what Mr. Huddle was saying. It takes a notification process and it takes time, but I just feel like people are jumping the gun here and it's causing confusion."

Hanback said TSC pulling out of GLASS is not the direction the county's largest school district is planning.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on X at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: TSC studies programs to improve services to special needs students