ACPS presents special-education annual plan; division no longer cited for disproportionality set-aside

Katie Campbell, director of special education for Albemarle County Public Schools, outlined the division's Special Education Annual Plan for 2025–26 at the April 10 school board meeting.

Campbell said the division's December 1 count of students with disabilities rose from 1,449 in December 2011 to a high of 2,018 in December 2024, and described the annual plan's four parts: the interagency agreement for the regional jail population, Part B set-aside uses, CCEIS (comprehensive coordinated early intervening services), and federal IDEA grant funds.

The plan includes an interagency agreement with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail to provide special education services to adults 18–22 who have individualized education programs and to support learners in the jail's GED program. On federal fund uses, Campbell said the division uses IDEA Part B funds to provide a special education teacher who consults with private schools and families, and to fund vouchers for certain related services: "We provide 14 vouchers for students in private schools to receive speech and language services and 1 voucher for occupational therapy," she said.

Campbell told the board that, for the 2025–26 year, ACPS is "for the first time ever" not required to set aside 15% of Part B funds for CCEIS because the division is no longer cited for disproportionate identification of Black students in the intellectual-disability category. "This coming school year will be the first time ever that we are not," Campbell said, adding that the change reflects years of work including professional development, more rigorous pre-referral review, and earlier engagement with families.

She described how IDEA grant funds are applied locally: primarily to support autism-based (A-based) teachers and to staff early childhood special education. Campbell said A-based programs are located across the division: "We have A-based programs at the elementary level at 12 of our 15 schools," and multiple programs across secondary schools and high schools to serve students whose needs require those services.

Board members asked about how planned local placements (for example, moving students back from outside placements to Ivy Creek/other local programs) will affect Part B funding and how the freed CCEIS set-aside money will be used. Campbell said the division will be able to use the former set-aside funds primarily toward A-based programs and preschool supports while continuing to fund other preschool and Part B needs with local funds.

No formal vote on the annual plan occurred at the April 10 meeting; staff confirmed the plan is scheduled to appear on the consent agenda for the April 24 board meeting for approval.

The presentation materials cited federal IDEA requirements and referenced the Virginia Department of Education December 1 enrollment benchmark used for year-to-year comparison.