The Fredericktown Board of Education has approved an agreement with Mansfield Psychological Services to assist staff with caseloads and evaluation/re-evaluation management.
Superintendent Gary Chapman said at last week’s board of education meeting the district is seeing an increase in caseload for psychological services. More specifically, the agreement will assist the district with the large caseload of re-evaluations for the 2023-2024 school year.
It’s expected to cost the district $30,000.
The current number of re-evaluations stands at 76 with “the potential for approximately 10-15 initial evaluations based on previous year trends,” Chapman said.
The industry standard for manageable evaluation caseloads is between 50-70 depending on student disability categories to be assessed. That figure is coupled with the number of assessments needed for each student’s evaluation — and the time needed for each evaluation, Chapman added.
Mansfield Psychological Services uses a model endorsed by the Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children.
The caseload increase is multi-layered, with some students not receiving a full evaluation three years ago due to the closure of schools, known as the “COVID factor.”
New enrollment for the district this school year is another contributing factor.
“The full service model provided by Mansfield Psychological Services will benefit both our current school psychologist and our administrative assistant for student services by allowing them to handle many of the off-campus evaluations at the career center, alternative education locations and evaluations required for identified homeschool students,” Chapman said.