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The Westport Board of Education tonight received the results of a survey of special education parents, which shows the majority of parents are overall satisfied with the program.
The survey results—which were initially only provided to the school board—will be available on the school Web site starting Tuesday. They are part of a report that is more than 160 pages.
More than 1,000 parents were sent the survey, but 352 of them returned it, which is about 35 percent.
Of those responding 81 percent agreed on some level that they are satisfied with the programs offered by the school system, and 76 percent the programs meet the needs of their children.
Rebecca Walker, Glen Martin Associates representative, said many of the answers with higher levels of dissatisfaction were tied to time matters.
“Time comes up a lot when people disagreed,” she said.
When asked, one-third of the parents said they had a disagreement with school staff over a child’s special education program, Walker said.
Of those, three-quarters were not satisfied with how the problem was solved, she said.
Also, she said, 60 percent of parents were aware of parent training and information sessions, but less than one-quarter of them had attended.
Board Chairwoman Mary Parmelee said she understands the public has not reviewed copies of the report yet, but tonight’s discussion would not be the last on the report.
“This won’t be one evening and then it goes away,” she said. “We all need more time to absorb it.”
Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon said he plans to create a committee of parents and staff to review the study and craft action plans.
