Charlottesville City Schools’ special education leadership presented the division’s annual special education plan and program updates on March 27. Staff described enrollment counts, federal funding allocations and a series of program improvements generated after a VDOE monitoring review.

Director-level staff said the December 1 child-count remained largely unchanged from preliminary numbers reported in December, and that federal funds (IDEA) will shift a greater share of the annual allocation toward personnel services and employee benefits. The presentation said the district plans to increase special education teacher staffing at Charlottesville High School in order to open a new structured teaching classroom (pre-K through age 22 programming will be available across the district). Staff reported that current federal funds support several positions “in whole or in part,” including six teacher positions fully funded, four instructional assistant (TIA) positions fully funded, one coordinator funded and portions of three additional teacher positions.

Program highlights: staff said they filled a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) vacancy (Ms. Eubanks) and added a transition specialist focused on post‑secondary pathways and employer partnerships; the transition specialist is building use of the DARS (Division for Aging and Rehabilitative Services) and WIOA resources and expanding community-based instruction and employer connections. District staff described a new adaptive garden walkway and switch-adapted equipment as examples of adaptive supports added for students.

Monitoring review and corrective steps: VDOE monitors validated the district’s self-monitoring of more than 200 student records, conducted staff interviews and classroom walkthroughs, and reported praise for the district’s programming while identifying documentation and process updates needed. The VDOE team’s report included language the district quoted as high praise, saying it had seen “the best program for students with significant disabilities that they’ve seen.” Staff outlined steps taken to improve screening, transcript documentation, functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plan processes, and updated guidance on eligibility and recordkeeping. Staff said these documentation changes did not reduce services to students but tightened and clarified how the supports are recorded and monitored.

Funding and federal contingencies: presenters said the largest budgetary line for special education is staff. District staff acknowledged possible changes at the state or federal level and said they are prepared to develop contingency plans if funding rules change; they said next year’s funds had already been appropriated to the state and that the district was not anticipating immediate funding interruptions for FY26.

Next steps: staff will submit required monitoring follow-up documentation to VDOE and continue program-level updates and internal audits to ensure compliance and quality of service.