DIRECTOR OF PUPIL SERVICES – Uxbridge Public Schools

About the role

The Director of Pupil Personnel Services serves as the district’s primary leader for special education and student support services, responsible for the design, delivery, compliance, and continuous improvement of legally required services that enable every student, including students with disabilities and other students at risk, to access and benefit from a free and appropriate public education. Reporting directly to the Superintendent, the Director provides district-level leadership, coordination, and oversight of special education, clinical and health services, behavioral and social-emotional supports, out-of-district placements, and educational stability programs across PreK–12. The Director partners with the Director of Teaching and Learning, building principals, related-service providers, and families to ensure a coherent, equitable, and high-quality system of support aligned with state and federal law and the district’s strategic priorities.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a contributing member of the central office and District Leadership Team, advocating for high expectations and effective, fiscally responsible programs and services that maximize the potential of every student.
• Develops and coordinates a coherent, district-wide system of student services in an educationally and fiscally responsible manner, establishing consistent procedures and clear direction across all pupil-services units.
• Provides technical direction and advice to administrators, principals, and staff regarding special-education law and compliance with mandated state and federal regulations.
• Builds collaborative relationships with district and building administrators, staff, the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), families, and outside agencies.
• Serves as a member of the District Response Team and supports crisis response, allocating resources as needed to resolve issues and ensure regulatory compliance and open communication.
• Serves as a Civil Rights Coordinator (Title VI and Title IX) for the Uxbridge Public Schools, in coordination with the Superintendent, ensuring nondiscriminatory access to programs and services.

Special Education: Programming, Eligibility & Compliance

• Plans, administers, and directs the district’s special-education programs and services to ensure full compliance with IDEA, Massachusetts special-education regulations (603 CMR 28.00), and applicable state and federal law.
• Establishes and monitors procedures for Child Find, referral, evaluation, eligibility determination, IEP development and implementation, re-evaluation, and procedural safeguards, including the timely resolution of rejected IEPs.
• Develops and expands in-district programs and services to educate students in the least restrictive environment and reduce reliance on out-of-district placement where appropriate.
• Collaborates with other departments on the purchase and implementation of special-education technology devices and platforms.
• Ensures students with disabilities access state assessments with appropriate accommodations, and oversees determination of student assignment for and participation in the MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt) where applicable.
• Develops best practices for student transitions to and from services, grades, schools, programs, and into post-secondary settings, including IDEA transition planning.
• Serves as liaison for the District with local private and parochial schools to ensure compliance with IDEA, Child Find, and other applicable state and federal law.

Clinical, Health & Counseling Services

• Provides oversight of district nursing and health services, ensuring delivery consistent with state requirements and the medical needs of students.
• Coordinates and supports school adjustment counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and clinical staff in the delivery of counseling and social-emotional support services, in collaboration with building administrators.
• Oversees the district’s participation in the Federal Medicaid reimbursement program for eligible services.

MTSS, Behavioral & Social-Emotional Supports

• Collaborates with the Director of Teaching and Learning, building principals, and instructional staff to implement and monitor the district-wide Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS); the Director of Pupil Personnel Services leads the design of intensive (Tier 2–3) behavioral, clinical, and special-education interventions while the Director of Teaching and Learning leads the overall framework and academic universal screening.
• Serves as the district lead for Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCIS) and positive behavior support programming, including training and implementation.
• Oversees district compliance with the Physical Restraint, Time-Out and Seclusion regulations (603 CMR 46.00), including staff training, documentation, and providing support for building-based reporting as required by DESE.

Out-of-District Placement & Educational Stability

• Supervises the determination process for all out-of-district special-education placements and services, including placement decisions, related contracts and tuition, and coordination with the business office and transportation.
• Oversees compliance with out-of-district placement monitoring and training of staff responsible for conducting referral or program monitoring visits.
• Oversees educational stability and access programs, including services and liaison responsibilities for students experiencing homelessness (McKinney-Vento), students in foster care, and military-connected and migrant students, in coordination with assigned district liaisons.
• Conducts and oversees the foster care school-of-origin Best Interest Determination (BID) process under ESSA, in coordination with the Department of Children and Families and the district’s McKinney-Vento liaison.
• Oversees Home/Hospital tutoring for students with documented medical needs, in accordance with 603 CMR 28.03(3)(c).
• Works effectively with educational collaboratives and private and out-of-district schools.

Budget, Grants & Fiscal Oversight

• Develops, analyzes, and monitors the budgets of all pupil-services units, implementing systems to control and report expenditures.
• Seeks, applies for, and administers IDEA entitlement grants (e.g., Fund 240/262) and special-education-related competitive state and federal grants, in coordination with the business office. (Title I and other non-special-education grants are administered by the Director of Teaching and Learning.)
• Affords assistance with quarterly Medicaid claiming and reporting.
• Affords assistance with annual circuit breaker claiming and reporting.
• Participates in and, where appropriate, oversees hiring processes for positions within pupil personnel services.

Data, Reporting & DESE Accountability

• Develops and maintains complete and confidential records for all students receiving services through special education, health services, Home/Hospital tutoring, and educational-stability programs, as required by state and federal regulation.
• Submits all required program documentation and statistical reports to DESE and federal agencies, including SIMS/SCS and EPIMS data, IDEA grant allocations and entitlements, and related state reporting.
• Maintains monitoring of district performance on DESE special-education accountability measures, including SPP/APR indicators, IDEA determinations, significant disproportionality, and tiered focus monitoring / program review; coordinates timely responses to DESE reviews and any required corrective-action plans.
• Utilizes program and student data to evaluate effectiveness, guide decision-making, and drive continuous improvement of student-services programs.

Family Engagement & Dispute Resolution

• Serves as the primary district liaison to parents, guardians, advocates, and legal counsel on disputed matters requiring resolution outside building-based operations.
• Leads preventative meetings and activities prior to mediation, hearing, or litigation, and serves as the district’s liaison to special-education counsel; participates in settlement, mediation, BSEA hearing, and arbitration as needed.
• Supports the SEPAC as an effective advisory body to the district regarding special-education programs and services.

Specialized Professional Learning

• Plans and delivers specialized professional development for pupil-services staff, including IEP development, related services, special-education law, restraint/TCIS, and clinical practice, in coordination with the district-wide professional-development system led by the Director of Teaching and Learning.
• Provides mentoring and training to building and district leaders and staff related to student support services.