Tupelo schools quadruple graduation rate for special ed

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Tupelo Public School District officials estimate that the graduation rate for special education students has quadrupled over the past two years. They estimate that about 58 percent of its seniors in special education programs graduated this year — up from 14.4 percent in the 2012-13 school year.

"We've made some major changes in how we work with our special education students, especially at the high school," Director of School Improvement Lea Johnson told the Daily Journal (http://bit.ly/1IhVGjo ).

Assistant Superintendent Diana Ezell said more students with "Individualized Education Program" are in regular classrooms, so fewer parents are taking them out of school.