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Henrico presents Title VI-B special education annual plan; federal grant funds largely used for staff costs
Summary
Division staff presented the FY25-FY26 Title VI-B special education annual plan, saying federal funds account for about 17% of special-education support and are primarily used to pay salaries and benefits for specialized staff and contract services such as interpreters and therapy providers.
Henrico County Public Schools staff on April 17 presented the annual special education plan tied to the federal Title VI-B grant (presented as "title 6 b" in the meeting), explaining how federal funds will be allocated in FY25-FY26 and how those funds interact with state and local funding.
Staff said the majority of funding for students with disabilities comes from local sources; only about 17% of the division's special-education funding derives from the federal Title VI-B grant. The Title VI-B award is delivered in separate allocations: the "6-11" funds intended to support school-age children and the "6-19" allocation targeted to early-childhood special education.
How funds are used: The presentation listed positions funded partly or wholly by the grant, including 93 special education teachers, 52 instructional assistants, 27 elementary department tier stipends, two speech-language pathologists, one secondary school-based compliance coordinator, three special education coordinators, one annual resident educator and one professional learning specialist. The presentation also noted that a portion of grant funds supports contract services (sign-language interpretation, speech-language pathology, occupational and physical therapy and nursing services) and purchases of materials, assistive-technology devices and educational assessments.
Compliance requirements and other items: Staff described statutory and programmatic requirements such as proportionate set-aside for parentally-placed private-school students, maintenance of effort rules, and other monitoring obligations. The presentation also said the state had not yet provided final allocations for FY26; as a result, the division proposed level funding at FY25 levels for the grant application and noted a $150,000 decrease in allocations from the 23-24 to 24-25 school year.
Local partnerships: Staff said the division renewed an MOU with the county sheriff in February to support one special-education teacher for people detained and accessing educational services.
Board response: Trustees thanked staff for the detailed application work; board members asked clarifying questions and staff reiterated that the presentation was about allocation and compliance for the federal grants, not a programmatic performance review.
Ending: Staff said they would incorporate questions from trustees and finalize the plan submitted to the Virginia Department of Education consistent with the funding information available.
