After three years in a special education program at Medford's Abraham Lincoln Elementary, Marina Dillard could sing her alphabet and count.

Because special education programs at Abraham Lincoln serve only students in kindergarten through second grade, Marina, who has autism, had to move to Hoover Elementary for the third grade in the fall.

"Overall, her stress was up and she was screaming and squeezing more," said Tracy Dillard, her mother. "She squeezes people really hard to communicate what's upsetting her because she doesn't have words."

To give special education students more stability, Dillard and four other parents recently teamed up to propose to the Southern Oregon Education Service District and Medford School District to keep kindergarten through sixth grade at the same school.

The Medford district has rejected the proposal for now. The ESD, which provides special education life skills classes called STEPS (Specialized Training and Educational Program Services) to districts by contract in two counties, is exploring other options for unifying the elementary grades, but it's unlikely to happen by next year, officials said. Possibilities include a school in the Phoenix-Talent, Ashland or Medford district.

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None of the school districts in Jackson County now provide enough space in any one school to host a STEPS program for grades kindergarten through sixth. Classes are typically divided into kindergarten through second grade and third through sixth grades, and each class is located at a different campus.

That's not the case for Medford students in regular education. Unless their families move or there is the rare attendance zone change, they remain at the same school from kindergarten until the sixth grade.

"We did suggest to districts five or six years ago it would be nice to have the continuity of K through sixth-graders in one building," said Evelyn Henderson, STEPS supervisor for the ESD.

It took months for Marina's new teacher to learn what skills she had, Dillard said. Mostly, Marina is nonverbal, able to say only simple phrases to express her desires.

Marina's class is filled with pupils who have a variety of disabilities, including autism and Down syndrome.

Autism can manifest itself differently in each child. Behaviors range from rocking back and forth and being silent to fixating on one interest to involuntarily echoing the speech of others, a condition known as echolalia.

"It takes a long time to understand each kid and their capabilities, habits and trigger points," Dillard said. "It doesn't make sense not to keep kids at the same school."

Abraham Lincoln student Stephen Eisenhauer, who has Down syndrome, likely will have to move to Hoover or Griffin Creek elementary school in the third grade, his mother said. He's currently in first grade.

Special education kids "need more stability than others, but they're just totally put on the back burner," said Lauri Eisenhauer. "If more regular education students move into the school, they can be moved."

Medford district officials said special education students are not given lower priority. They are often bused long distances to access specialized programs.

Transitions are handled very carefully, often with extensive preparation in advance, said Medford district autism specialist Kelli Schlapfer.

"It's a nervous time for families, but in time we might actually see the student made growth they wouldn't have before simply because things are different," Schlapfer said.

They said keeping special education elementary grades together isn't practical because of space constraints.

Not all students stay in the same special education program, so even if one campus offered a program for kindergarten through sixth grade, a child might still have to move to another campus to have her needs met, said student services coordinator Bob Hartwig.

Medford district officials said they also don't want to burden any one school with an inordinate amount of special education pupils who require more resources and attention.

Another factor for all school districts is the state Legislature's consideration of full-day kindergarten, which would consume more space at elementary schools.

The Medford district is going through a construction spurt, expected continue for the next three to four years. Students likely will be shifted to other campuses during construction, making it an unlikely time to reconfigure special education programs.

Reach reporter Paris Achen at 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.