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WJCC board reviews special-education annual plan, details IDEA funding and staffing needs
Summary
Director Brooke Cruz presented the division's IDEA-funded special education annual plan, outlining federal allocations, staffing supported by those funds and maintenance-of-effort calculations; the board asked about services for parentally placed students and enrollment trends.
Brooke Cruz, WJCC director of special education, presented the district's special education annual plan for the 2025–26 school year and asked the board to approve the plan required by the Virginia Department of Education to receive federal IDEA funds.
The plan matters because it certifies how the district will spend federal IDEA Part B funds and documents compliance with maintenance-of-effort rules that protect federal dollars for students with disabilities. Cruz told the board that approval is required before funds may be spent and that the school division cannot report on 2024–25 implementation until the year ends.
Cruz said the district's IDEA Part B 611 allocation is $2,466,890 and will support the salaries and benefits of 16 special education teachers, four speech-language pathologists, six special education assistants and a half-time parent resource coordinator. IDEA Part B 619 funds for preschool total $34,118 and will support one teacher in the Early Childhood Bright Beginnings program. Cruz noted salary and health-care cost increases mean federal funds will not cover as many positions as they once did.
Cruz reviewed required plan components: superintendent certification; policy statements and assurances; services for students in local and regional jails; last year's implementation report (to be included in next year's presentation); maintenance-of-effort (MOE) calculations; coordinated early intervening services (15 percent set-aside option); and the proportional set-aside (PSA) for parentally placed private-school and homeschooled children. She said 119 students qualified under PSA this year, with an average allocation of $1,257.89 and a total set-aside of $129,618.42.
On funding, Cruz provided the district's MOE projections. She said the local contribution for MOE is projected at $23,399,969.30 and combined local and state funding at $29,973,276.30. On a per-student basis, the local per-capita amount for students with disabilities was shown as $11,148.15; the combined local-and-state per capita was $12,203.02 (figures as presented). Cruz reminded the board that failure to meet MOE could risk federal funding.
Board members asked for clarifications about services for parentally placed students and about whether families were moving into the division because of special education services. Cruz said the division offers an ISP (an equitable version of an IEP) with virtual direct speech services or academic consultation delivered to homes or private school locations and that she had fielded phone inquiries from families outside Virginia considering moving to the area.
Cruz also said the department will file the annual plan with the Virginia Department of Education by May 9, 2025, and that federal funds will be dispersed in two phases: 29.8 percent on July 1, 2025, and the remaining 70.2 percent on Oct. 1, 2025. She asked the board for favorable approval at its March 18 meeting.
SOURCES: Brooke Cruz, Director of Special Education; Dr. Keever, Superintendent (remarks identifying the plan as a VDOE requirement).
