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Special education office seeks $7.8 million in federal IDEA funds; child count at 4,658
Summary
Division officials presented the IDEA Part B flow-through application, describing staffing supported by the grant, set-asides for disproportionality and private-school/home-schooled residents, and required timelines for school-board certification and state submission.
Norfolk Public Schools' special education director presented the district's Federal IDEA Part B annual plan and budget to the board, describing the programmatic priorities and personnel the grant would support under a level-funding assumption.
Dr. Glenda Walter said the application is prepared under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Virginia special education regulations; the state uses the division's December 1 child count as part of its allocation formula. Walter reported Norfolk's December 1 child count at 4,658 students with disabilities.
Under the Section 611 (school-age) portion of the application, Walter outlined a proposed spending plan (based on level funding) of $7,785,763 that would primarily pay salaries and benefits for positions including 38 teacher positions, 75 paraprofessionals, three teacher specialists, four administrative secretaries, one parent resource center educator and other staff. Walter said Norfolk voluntarily continues a CEIS (comprehensive early intervening services) set-aside to address prior disproportionality in suspensions; that set-aside would fund one CEIS social worker and 12 student interventionists. The proportionate set-aside required for children who are residents but parentally placed in private schools or homes would be used mainly for contracted speech-language services.
Walter noted the federal grant application includes an indirect cost allowance (Norfolk's rate of 4.6% used in the draft budget) and that final awards could vary from the level-funded assumption. She also summarized the smaller Section 619 portion (early childhood special education), which the application would use for two early childhood special education teachers, one paraprofessional and a small materials allocation.
Board members asked whether the division expects funding cuts; Walter said historically funding has been relatively stable and that the state instructs divisions to prepare under level funding. Members asked about child-count fluctuation; Walter confirmed the state uses the December 1 child count and that the division's most recent counts remain in the 4,600 range.
Walter described monitoring and compliance practices the special education office uses, including record reviews, spot checks, mandatory training (235 professional-development sessions this year totaling roughly 525 hours and more than 3,000 attendees), and partnerships with state technical-assistance centers and parent organizations. The division indicated it will return to the board for required certification and submission to the Virginia Department of Education by the state's deadlines.
