APS highlights gains for students with disabilities, English learners and gifted programs

Atlanta Public Schools assistant superintendent Dr. Shatina Love told the school board on May 4 that the district is strengthening instruction and supports for students with disabilities, English learners and gifted students and has set measurable short‑term targets to track progress.

The presentation framed those subgroups as drivers of districtwide success and set specific goals: “We’re striving for a 10% increase in proficiency for students with disabilities and a 5% increase for English learners by June 2026,” Dr. Shatina Love said. She told the board that students with disabilities met improvement targets in nine of 11 areas on the 2025 GMASS and that 98% of IEPs are now completed on time after systems changes following a 2024 internal audit.

Why it matters: the district says focused investments in staff and systems have improved compliance and outcomes and will shape budget priorities for FY27. Board members pressed staff for detail on how dollars translate to classroom support and asked for follow‑up data on the dual language immersion (DLI) program and gifted identification.

What the district presented - Staffing and funding: Dr. Love said roughly 90% of recent exceptional‑education funding goes to personnel directly supporting classrooms — teachers, paraprofessionals and itinerant staff — and pointed to staffing increases as a primary driver of gains. - Systems improvements: APS adopted the GO IEP platform (state‑supported) and Goalbook for progress monitoring, increased cross‑functional training (MTSS teams, school psychologists, lead teachers), and implemented more rigorous IEP audits; initial evaluation compliance now exceeds 98% and more than 3,000 students are monitored through MTSS. - Assessment results and tracking: staff reported expanded access and growth on Georgia Milestone assessments and ACCESS language testing for English learners; APS uses composite ACCESS exit criteria and subgroup reporting to measure DLI impact. - Gifted services: Dr. Cadence Spearman said about 4,000 students are referred annually and roughly 27% of those referred qualify for gifted services; approximately 12% of the district’s enrollment receive gifted services and every school has at least one gifted lead.

Board follow‑up and parent engagement Board members requested additional data on DLI outcomes, the district’s roadmap for expanding regional classroom availability (a Douglas cluster pilot for 2026–27 was announced), and how family outreach is being scheduled to increase parent participation (APS reported handling more than 8,000 translation requests and said it uses parent cafes and in‑person community meetings).

A board member asked whether identification increases (300 additional students identified with autism over three years) reflect better identification or shifting enrollment; Dr. Love said it is likely a combination of both and noted a CDC figure referenced during the discussion.

Next steps District staff agreed to provide follow‑up data requested by the board — including DLI impact metrics and appendix breakdowns of where gifted students are enrolled — and to align the exceptional‑education investments to FY27 budget discussions.

Sources: presentation and Q&A led by Dr. Shatina Love and Dr. Cadence Spearman to the Atlanta Public Schools Board, May 4, 2026.