Elizabeth McWhorter, cochair of the Arlington Special Education Parent Advisory Council, presented the CPAC’s 2025 survey to the Arlington School Committee, saying the council’s role is “to advise, to advocate, and to guide.” The survey gathered 345 responses — up from 136 two years earlier — and included 258 open-ended comments, the CPAC reported.

Why it matters: CPAC members and district staff said the survey highlights issues that affect students with disabilities across Arlington Public Schools, including communication gaps between families and schools, uneven application of IEPs and 504 plans, high chronic absenteeism among some focal groups, and inconsistent progress monitoring. CPAC framed its recommendations as actions that would support the district’s five-year strategic plan and MTSS rollout.

The data and headline findings. McWhorter told the committee the survey reached families across demographic and special-education categories and that responses clustered around three themes: communication and collaboration; service delivery and progress monitoring; and culture and equity. She said districtwide achievement has improved in some measures, but “growth for students with disabilities remains flat and significantly and persistently below grade level.”

On communication, the CPAC reported that many parents recognize strong relationships with individual staff but that 96 open-ended responses flagged communication problems. The CPAC recommended more proactive, accessible communications, standardized transition protocols (particularly at Gibbs Middle School), and co-created training and workshops so caregivers and staff share expectations. “We would like to see an emphasis on workshops and trainings for parents and staff so that there can be collective engagement in creating, co creating some of the protocols or communication standards,” McWhorter said.

Service delivery concerns included mixed perceptions of whether IEPs and 504 plans are followed. McWhorter said roughly two-thirds of respondents — about 64–65% — felt their child’s plan was implemented with fidelity, and that “about half” said the plan met their child’s needs. She singled out reading interventions (naming Orton‑Gillingham and RAVE), counseling and academic supports as areas with improving responses, but said progress-monitoring practices remain inconsistent.

Equity and access. The CPAC highlighted high use of outside resources: 96% of survey respondents reported paying for or receiving an external evaluation, 40% said they contracted with an advocate, and 13% engaged an attorney. The council noted the financial burden and raised equity concerns about families who cannot afford similar supports.

District staff presentation and context. Dr. Ford Walker, who led the district’s data walkthrough, told the committee that Arlington’s accountability designation for 2024–25 is “meeting or exceeding targets,” and added, “APS is among only 13 other school districts in Massachusetts who have met or exceeded pre pandemic achievement levels.” She described the state accountability system, explained how district and cohort measures differ, and highlighted bright spots — including higher-than-state performance in many grade bands and a rise in advanced-course access, particularly among students with disabilities.

Nevertheless, Ford Walker and other administrators flagged areas for follow-up that align with CPAC concerns: multilingual learner outcomes that dipped in some grade bands, chronic absenteeism that remains elevated for students with disabilities and some high‑school focal groups, and variability in math and secondary-level curriculum alignment. She said the district will use cohort and year‑over‑year data together to target interventions.

Committee discussion and next steps. Several school committee members praised the CPAC’s higher response rate and asked for follow-up: Miss Exton asked for joint professional-development sessions that include caregivers, and one member suggested ‘‘temperature-check’’ outreach to Gibbs Middle School to see whether recent leadership changes have affected communication. District staff said they will continue MTSS rollout, expand IEP goal-writing training to include caregivers, review progress-monitoring approaches across buildings, and align curricular materials with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) standards so materials are accessible.

What the CPAC asked of the committee. McWhorter said CPAC wants to partner with the district and school committee to prioritize implementation of MTSS, strengthen UDL across materials and communications, and create shared protocols so families can be equal partners at IEP meetings. She closed, “behind every single data point in this presentation is a child, is a neighbor, is a family,” and urged timely action.

The full CPAC report and a presentation deck were attached to the meeting agenda; CPAC leaders told the committee they plan to re-administer the survey next February after refining some items.