Winchester special education director outlines 2025–26 annual plan; SEAC voices support

Dr. Mullins presented the Winchester Public Schools 2025–26 Special Education Annual Plan at the board’s April 7 work session, describing enrollment trends, funding sources, federal compliance tests and proposed program allocations for the coming school year.

The plan, which the board must approve at its next regular meeting, covers students age 2 through 21 and lays out five components required for the federal use-of-funds agreement, including maintenance of effort, proportionate set-aside, preschool allocations, school-age allocations and program descriptions. Dr. Mullins said the division projects to meet federal maintenance-of-effort tests and that projections show planned expenditures at equal or greater levels than the prior year.

The presentation noted that Winchester’s overall special education identification rate has remained just under the commonly cited 14% threshold over the past several years. Dr. Mullins said the division brought its early child-find work in-house last year, which increased identification of young children (developmental delay category) because families previously were routed to an outside provider. She said the district expects to catch more children earlier as it opens its early childhood special education program in August.

Dr. Mullins described areas the district continues to monitor, including a recent uptick in students identified with emotional disabilities and the broader, sometimes overlapping “other health impairment” category. She told the board that the diagnostic team is reviewing local thresholds to distinguish behavioral needs from emotional disability designations.

Funding: federal, state, local and Medicaid

Dr. Mullins told the board the special education program operates from an approximately $12.5 million projected budget for next year, with the majority of funding coming from the locality and additional federal funds of “a little over $1,000,000” earmarked for the annual plan. She explained several federal compliance items: maintenance of effort (MOE) assurances, Comprehensive Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) requirements and the “proportionate set-aside” of funds for services to students who are homeschooled or attend private schools.

The district reported it is no longer subject to CCEIS corrective allocation after eight years, a change Dr. Mullins credited to targeted interventions, staff training and partnerships that reduced disproportionate identification. She said the district previously allocated roughly $166,000 annually to CCEIS work; after removal from CCEIS those funds will revert to the district’s special education budget.

Dr. Mullins also explained the proportionate set-aside for private and homeschooled students. Using last year’s counts and local per-pupil calculations, she said the district anticipates spending just under $21,000 next year on consultative and direct services for students at private schools (for example, Sacred Heart) and homeschooled city residents. She clarified these services are provided under a separate service plan (not an IEP) and that the district has more discretion about scope and location of services for private-school students than for students receiving a free appropriate public education in the public schools.

Preschool and staffing

Dr. Mullins said the district will take direct operational responsibility for preschool special education this year, reallocating roughly $33,000 previously passed through to an outside provider toward district preschool staffing and assistive technology.

She highlighted staffing stability in special education, reporting strong retention among hard-to-fill positions (speech-language pathologists, psychologists, diagnosticians and physical therapists). She said the department has maintained a high retention rate for special education teachers, with improved licensing rates among teachers in the last year.

Medicaid reimbursement

Dr. Mullins noted the division’s Medicaid reimbursements are a separate revenue stream. She said Winchester expects approximately $200,000 in Medicaid reimbursement for eligible services and that Medicaid reimbursement is not included in the federal annual plan totals.

Public comment and advisory committee support

Michelle Wainard, speaking on behalf of the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), told the board the committee reviewed the annual plan in March, that Dr. Mullins “did a wonderful job” explaining who receives services and how federal funds will be spent, and that SEAC supports the plan as presented. Wainard briefly described SEAC’s role as the local committee that identifies unmet needs for students receiving special education services.

Next steps

Dr. Mullins asked the board to be prepared to approve the annual plan at the next meeting and invited questions from board members about components of the plan.