Kings County Special Education

Kings County Special Education is an alternative public school in Hanford, CA that serves 341 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, with a focus on providing education for students with special needs. While the school has seen increased spending per student, from $64,739 in 2020-2021 to $95,625 in 2023-2024, it has faced significant challenges in supporting the academic and social-emotional needs of its student population.

Over the past few years, Kings County Special Education has had very low 4-year graduation rates, ranging from 15.8% to 86.4%, which is significantly lower than the state average of around 85-90% and the nearby Crescent Valley Public Charter II and Special Education, both of which had 86.4% 4-year graduation rates. Correspondingly, the school has had very high dropout rates, ranging from 8.2% to 78.9%, much higher than the 8.9% dropout rate seen at the nearby charter and alternative schools.

Additionally, Kings County Special Education has had chronic absenteeism rates between 20.4% and 57.9%, substantially higher than the 20.4% rate seen at the nearby schools. The school also had 0% of students scoring proficient or better on the Smarter Balanced Assessments for both English Language Arts and Mathematics, compared to the state averages of around 45-50% proficiency. While these challenges are not entirely unexpected for a specialized school serving students with special needs, the data suggests that the school may need to explore best practices from the higher-performing nearby schools to enhance student engagement, academic support, and overall outcomes.