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The Westport Board of Education will wait until a study of the special education survey is completed before possibly moving forward with a compliance review of the special education program.

The board has been discussing hiring an outside firm to conduct a review of special education cases to ensure they comply with state and federal laws.

Board members, however, said tonight they want to wait until a committee reports on the results of a survey of special education parents survey before moving forward with a Request for Proposals. The committee is slated to give a progress report in December.

“I have a hard time determining what we need without the report from the committee looking at the survey,” said Marge Cion, a board member.

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The Westport Education Association and the Board of Education avoided arbitration by striking a tentative deal on a new labor contract, but details are not yet available.

Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon announced the tentative deal during tonight’s Board of Education meeting.

“The terms are confidential at this time,” he said.

The teachers union’s membership needs to ratify the deal, he said, before details are released.

Special education parents will have the opportunity to witness a mock special education meeting.

The Westport Special Education PTA (SEPTA) will host the mock meeting—which will show how a individualized education plan (IEP) is created—during its meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7-9 p.m. at Coleytown Middle School.

Presenters will re-enact two IEP meetings for a student with a disability. One shows a “nightmare” meeting and the other shows a “dream” meeting.

The presenters will provide tips to special education parents, and the laws governing the meetings will be discussed.

Westport school administrators participated in a “crisis preparedness” workshop on Tuesday using simulated emergencies at each level, the school district said today.

While the workshop had been planned during the summer, Superintendent of Schools Elliott Landon said that its timing was extremely serendipitous, according to a district news release.

The workshop coincided with the National Conference on School Safety this week that had been generated by the recent spate of school shootings.

Last Friday, prior to the workshop,  Landon had posted on the school system Web site a statement about the district’s state of readiness.

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More Staples High School students are taking Advanced Placement tests to earn college credit, but school officials are examining what the statistics mean.

The Board of Education Monday night reviewed a report on the results of all standardized tests students took during the 2005-06 school year, including Advanced Placement tests.

Of the Westport seniors who took the test—which earns them college credit—last May, 101 scored high enough to be deemed an AP Scholar.

Natalie Carrignan, director of instructional technology, said 93 percent of students who take an AP class are taking an exam, and 23 percent of the Staples population is taking at least one AP class.

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The Westport Board of Education is considering adding 10 new courses at Staples High School in English, science, art and music.

In addition, the plan calls to delete four courses in science and English. Three English classes would be offered every other year instead of every year.

In science, honors physics, AP physics C mechanics, AP physics C electricity and magnetism, medical terminology, chemistry B and physics B would replace AP physics C, physical science 1B and physical science 2B.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Staff Development Lynne Shain said the changes in the science course offerings is a reorganization while medical terminology finishes an allied health sequence.