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The city of Warwick was once known for its exceptional programs, especially those pertaining to Special Education. Since the first major consolidation, many families have chosen to move to more stable communities such as North Kingstown, East Greenwich, etc. Students who moved on to private institutions, such as St. Rose of Lima, St. Kevin, or Bishop Hendricken, who just recently added an eight grade class, still require Warwick Public Schools to provide special services for students with IEP’s. When the total number of students in a district decreases, but the number of students with IEP’s does not, it either increases the percentage or it remains the same.

Additionally, IEP’s govern a wide variety of situations today not just learning disabilities. There are many students who have IEP’s for social emotional situations such as: anxiety, ADHA, Asperger’s Syndrome, Cancer, and other physical and mental illnesses. Many of these students require special classes, or a case manager to follow them more closely. These case managers are trained to look for signs that might indicate an episode is about to happen and remove the child from the classroom before all of the other students’ education is disrupted.

Last year, the district tried to decrease the number of students with IEP’s by exiting them from Special Education. This stopped suddenly when City Council decided to look into what was going on. If you want to know the truth, I suggest you show up at the meeting to discuss Special Education issues in Warwick:

Meeting to discuss SPECIAL EDUCATION issues in Warwick*

Public Meeting Called for by Councilman Ladouceur and Council President Travis

Warwick City Hall

Wednesday, October 19, 2016, 6:30 P.M.

This meeting is an open meeting for people to state their views about issues relating to special education matters in the Warwick Public Schools.