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Retired teacher urges Orange County School Board to form task force for dedicated autism program
Summary
At the board's public-comment period, a retired OCPS teacher urged formation of a task force to explore a dedicated autism program for K–12 students, citing neighboring counties' programs and division enrollment statistics.
Carla Hoard, a retired Orange County Public Schools elementary teacher, urged the school board to form a task force to study creation of a dedicated autism program serving kindergarten through 12th grade. Hoard said she is a 20-year county resident, currently working as a substitute teacher, and volunteered to serve on the proposed task force.
Hoard told the board that, she said, "Currently, there is no dedicated autism program in OCPS," and noted that neighboring counties including Spotsylvania, Culpeper, Louisa and Fauquier have such programs. She cited a Centers for Disease Control statistic that "1 in 36 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder" and provided division figures, saying that of 5,080 students in the division about 141 are diagnosed with autism; at Locust Grove Elementary School (LGES), she said, about 13 of 450 students have an autism diagnosis.
Hoard argued a specialized program would better meet autistic learners' "extremely unique and specific needs" and benefit general education teachers, administrators and classmates. "Please take action now. Form a task force and establish a specialized program for autistic learners," she told the board, volunteering again to serve.
Board members thanked Hoard for her remarks and accepted the materials she left with staff. The board did not take immediate action on forming a task force during the meeting; no subsequent direction to staff was recorded in the transcript.
