Albemarle special education director details IDEA annual plan, staffing and federal grant uses

Ashley Stroutsneck, ACPS director of special education, presented the division’s IDEA-required annual plan for 2026–27 at the April 16 meeting, outlining program components, staffing needs and federal funding uses.

Stroutsneck said the December 1 special-education count — the state benchmark — was 2,030 students. She described staffing pressures as student needs increase in severity and intensity and reviewed positions requested to maintain compliance, safety and inclusive practice, including behavior specialists, learning-disability specialists and an additional adapted physical education (APE) teacher to replace an expiring UVA grant-supported intern program.

She explained four plan components: a regional jail interagency agreement with the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail to provide services for ages 18–22; Part B set-aside funds to support special education in private schools (including case management and vouchers for related services); the voluntary CCEIS status (ACPS is no longer designated as CCEIS and is not required to set aside 15%); and federal grant fund uses (funding approximately 36 A‑base teachers for students with autism and two ECSE teacher assistant positions for ages 3–5).

Stroutsneck also said the division is partnering with the Berkeley Group for an independent special education review, expected to conclude by the end of the school year, and that the report will be shared with the board when available. Board members asked about monitoring and VDOE data processes; staff described recurring reporting and state scrub processes used to validate division submissions.

Next steps: the annual plan will appear on the consent agenda for action, and the Berkeley Group review will be shared with the board when complete.