Holly, director of special education for Lafayette Parish, told board members and attendees during a presentation that federal and state law require individualized education programs, related services and periodic reevaluations for students with disabilities.

"People first language is a major thing," Holly said as she opened the presentation, urging officials and families to focus on students rather than labels. She summarized the district's responsibilities under federal and state special-education rules and gave local counts and service details for Lafayette Parish.

The presentation said Lafayette Parish currently identifies 605 students for speech and language services and 4,160 students as receiving special-education services. Holly said the district completed more than 4,427 evaluations last year, including gifted-and-talented screeners, and that the district has 60 business days to complete an evaluation after a parent gives consent.

Holly reviewed the required membership and elements of an individualized education program (IEP), including that a principal, parents, special-education and general-education teachers and any necessary related-service providers must participate in the IEP team. She explained related services to include occupational and physical therapy, speech pathology, adaptive physical education, audiology and transportation when a student qualifies for it.

On assessments and placement, Holly said students with the most significant cognitive disabilities typically take an alternate assessment called LEAP Connect and noted district accountability and instruction are adjusted accordingly. She restated parents' procedural protections and options, including prior written notice, informed-consent requirements, independent educational evaluations at district expense when parents disagree with evaluations, and several dispute-resolution pathways.

District counts for dispute resolution mentioned in the presentation included roughly 10 mediation or mediated-resolution meetings this year, seven informal complaints handled by staff, 11 formal complaints, and one expedited due-process hearing the district said it won; Holly said one due-process case was pending. She stressed the district's preference for in-person conversations and local mediation when possible: "Every time I'm sat down with a parent, we've had 45 this year, I have 1 that I wasn't able to." (speaker's words transcribed as delivered.)

Holly described inclusion as the district goal "to the maximum extent appropriate," and credited district academic staff and school leaders for improving local outcomes. She highlighted specialized services and new facilities: a preschool assessment center located at a district building that brings OTs, PTs, speech pathologists and evaluators together so families avoid multiple visits; sensory rooms; community partnerships including Special Olympics; and a planned district cafe for job-skills and transition training.

She demonstrated assistive-technology examples the district has acquired, including high-, mid- and low-tech communication tools and an eye-gaze device that tracks a student's eye movements so the student can participate in class and take assessments. Holly said the eye-gaze technology revealed academic ability in a student who otherwise could not communicate: "We would have never known that," she said of the student who is now using the device to read and participate.

Holly also described extended-school-year offerings for students with significant cognitive disabilities (those on the LEAP Connect track), explaining eligibility is determined by the IEP team and that programs focus on social skills, behavior and adapted academics while including recreational elements.

She invited board members and community members to visit district sites and review materials, and closed by thanking staff and teachers for their support of students with disabilities.

Ending: Holly offered contact information and encouraged attendees to visit the programs and services she described, saying, "Please don't hesitate if you wanna come see something. I'll be more than happy."