Montgomery County Public Schools outlines special-education reorganization, says autism services will not be cut

Montgomery County Public Schools’ Division of Specialized Support Services laid out a reorganization plan for the 2026–27 school year designed to increase consistency, strengthen compliance and improve outcomes for students who receive specialized services, officials said during a district webinar.

Dr. Margaret Cage, the district’s chief student support officer, said the reorganization will change reporting structures and build leadership teams at the director, supervisor and coordinator levels to reduce silos and align services across schools and central office. "This work depends on strong collaboration across our schools, across our communities, and across our parent networks," she said.

Why it matters: district presenters said the plan is intended to close performance gaps for students with IEPs while protecting direct student services. Cage cited areas of progress — including graduation and participation measures and suspension rates ‘‘under 2 percent’’ — but said academic outcomes for students receiving specialized supports still need improvement and require a more consistent systemwide approach.

Staffing standards and rollout: Julie Hall, director for Special Education Systems and Management, described new staffing ceilings tied to least restrictive environment (LRE) categories. She outlined target ratios that, when fully implemented, would reduce variability across schools (for example, moving toward roughly eight students per teacher in LRE B and about five students per teacher in LRE C, with increased paraeducator support). Hall said the district will phase in the staffing model over multiple years, beginning with elementary implementation and continuing through middle and high schools into the 2030–31 school year.

Autism services and program models: Speakers repeatedly denied that autism supports are being eliminated. "We are not reducing support," Dr. Cage said, adding that the district is reviewing program models to make services more effective and sustainable and to broaden access by removing barriers that historically limited who received specialized services.

Professional learning and compliance: Officials said they will expand targeted professional development for both special-education and general-education staff, including trainings on writing and tracking IEP goals, service delivery strategies for inclusion classrooms and compliance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Cage said the division will also increase auditing of IEPs and service delivery to monitor implementation and progress.

Well‑being and community partners: The district summarized its school‑based supports — six full‑scale high‑school wellness centers, Bridge to Wellness programs at other high schools, 10 elementary health centers, and 33 Linkages to Learning sites — and named external partners (Thrive, Jessa, Conflict Resolution Centers of Montgomery County) that provide therapy and wraparound services. A community resource guide was posted on the MCPS website and district staff promoted a resource fair at Paint Branch High School.

Questions from parents and answers: In a chat‑moderated Q&A, parents asked about director vacancies, supervisory structure, program eliminations, LRE ratios and training timelines. Dr. Cage said the two new director roles described in the org chart will be advertised and are part of the 2026–27 structure; she stated that there are no current director vacancies affecting service delivery and that the advertised positions will come online for the 2026–27 year. On program cuts, Cage said again that no special programs will be eliminated for 2026–27.

How progress will be measured: District leaders said they will track multiple indicators — state special‑education performance indicators, MCAP and alternative assessments, IEP goal success rates, service‑delivery monitoring and compliance audits — to determine whether the reorganization improves outcomes.

What’s next: staff will publish recorded presentation materials and written responses to chat questions next week; the division said parents should expect additional opportunities for dialogue and posted training dates and resource links on MCPS webpages.