LCPS outlines VUE Transition Academy to serve students with disabilities; opening targeted for 2028

Loudoun County Public Schools officials on Sept. 15 updated the joint committee of the Loudoun County School Board and Board of Supervisors on a new transition center they say will support students with significant disabilities as they prepare for life after high school.

"The LCPS transition center is a vital program designed to support students with disabilities as they prepare for life after high school," said Tedra Richardson, LCPS student services, describing a program focused on career and technical education (CTE) skills, independent-living instruction and vocational evaluations.

The program will serve high school students who are working toward, or have earned, an applied-studies diploma or an extended-standard diploma, as determined by their educational planning teams. Richardson said the center also will provide career exploration for middle-school students and vocational evaluations for high-school students to support early transition planning.

LCPS staff said the academy will be led by a multidisciplinary team including CTE- and special-education teachers, vocational evaluators, job coaches, behavioral supports and related-service providers. Richardson said staffing has been revised to align the center with existing CTE pathways.

School staff presented five pathway areas that will structure training: building and moving; creating and experiencing; caring for communities; cultivating resources; and connecting and supporting success. Richardson said the curriculum will include courses in personal finance, emergency response, personal health and customer service to support independent living and workplace readiness.

Richardson said a location for the academy has been identified and that LCPS has begun concept planning and design. "We are excited to share that a location for the academy has been identified, and LCPS has officially begun concept planning and design," she said. The district announced a target opening year of 2028.

The staff also presented a proposed official name: "LCPS VUE Transition Academy," where VUE stands for vocation, independence, employment and work readiness. Richardson said the proposed name is slated to appear on the LCPS consent agenda on Sept. 30.

Committee members responded positively and asked for program timing and budget details. Supervisor Brisbane asked when the academy will open and whether staff or budget requests are included in the Fiscal Year 2026 or 2027 budgets; Richardson answered the district is "slated to open 2028," said there were no resource requests in FY 2026, and that staff are still determining whether to seek resources in FY 2027.

Committee members also asked about student input into planning. Richardson said LCPS invited five students to the transition-center roundtable; two were former students and three were current students but none were able to attend, so staff collected feedback through transition teachers.

The presentation built on earlier co-chair remarks noting new LCPS programs this school year, including a recovery academy and an accelerated college-employability program in partnership with George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College. The transition center is intended to complement those pathways by focusing specifically on students with disabilities.

LCPS staff said next steps include continued concept planning, staffing alignment, and advancing the proposed name to the school board consent agenda. The committee did not take a formal vote on funding or site approval at the Sept. 15 meeting.