Special Education Strategic Plan
The HCPSS Strategic Plan prioritizes a redesign of the special education program by re-evaluating staffing and personalizing instructional practices to ensure students receive specially designed instruction and have their needs fully addressed. The HCPSS Department of Special Education’s (DSE) strategic plan establishes the foundation for the adjustments and improvements that will be implemented so every student, staff member, and family is well-served.
Embodying a wide range of input, the plan incorporates priorities based on the experiences of students, staff and families, and identifies measures to assess whether the actions taken have the desired positive impact on students.
The DSE strategic plan identifies five key theme areas for improvement and aligns those themes to the district’s strategic plan.
Summary
Through feedback provided by students, staff, families and community partners, several areas of improvement were identified to advance student and staff outcomes. The five themes in the DSE plan are established and presented in alignment with the five priorities in the district strategic plan, and the themes are interdependent and connected.
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Theme 1: Accelerating Student Learning
This theme prioritizes consistent instructional implementation across all schools and classrooms. HCPSS will invest in continuous progress monitoring at student, classroom, school, and county-wide levels to ensure we are able to accurately identify areas of success, as well as those we need to adjust. This theme encompasses the efforts of all staff – not just designated special educators – to be responsible for the success of students with disabilities. Aligned with this theme, staff will implement consistent first instruction for all students, as well as strong interventions when data and families tell us our students need more, or something different, to learn. Additionally, through this theme, there will be an increased focus on specific interventions for students with autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia, and those who are twice exceptional.
This work will be measured by students demonstrating progress in Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, grade 10 students with an IEP meeting the College and Career Readiness standards, and a reduction in the graduation rate gap for students with an IEP.
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Theme 2: Enhancing Supportive and Safe Learning Environments
This theme focuses on the school learning environment for students so they may participate in meaningful learning experiences and increased engagement opportunities. It is critical to provide proactive and comprehensive support to meet the needs of each student. Just as in Theme 1, this work requires consistent implementation of a multi-tiered system that includes all staff knowing and implementing universal practices that support a safe and engaging learning environment. This theme also requires knowing and utilizing research-based interventions for students who need additional sensory, behavioral, or social emotional support to thrive.
This work will be measured through progress in the percent of behavioral and social/emotional goals met by students with IEPs and a reduction in the suspension rate of students with IEPs.
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Theme 3: Increasing Staff Support and Capacity Building
In this theme, HCPSS commits to improved support for all staff, including special educators, general educators, school administrators, and support staff, as it relates to their work with students receiving special education services. In the first two themes, areas were identified where staff will cultivate more consistent instructional experiences for students, and this theme focuses on how we will provide the training necessary to achieve the instructional vision. The professional learning will be readily applicable to classrooms and directly aligned to research, creating strong learning environments for students with disabilities.
This work will be measured through professional learning participation data and reflection data of staff confidence in being able to implement the learning strategies and meet the needs of students they serve.
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Theme 4: Implementing Organizational Improvements
As part of this theme, central processes and structures will be scrutinized to assess what may be maximized, revised, or created to better support the work of school-based staff. Clear staffing formulas will be established that align to the needs of students and improve conditions for staff. All existing programming will be reevaluated to ensure it meets the needs of students, and changes to the continuum of services will be adopted, including consistent application across the district. Additionally, recruiting and hiring practices will be enhanced to ensure sufficient special education staffing.
This work will be measured by the reduction of students referred to the centralized education placement team, the percentage of students with IEPs who are receiving their education in a separate, private, or non-public setting, and satisfaction data from internal and external stakeholders.
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Theme 5: Fostering Family and Community Engagement
This theme identifies the need to repair trust and enhance collaboration with families of students with disabilities. Clear and regular communication will occur with families and the full community about special education programming, resources, and engagement opportunities. Improved feedback processes will be established to learn about stakeholder experiences, and staff will use that continuous feedback to make real-time improvements to their work and the experiences of students, staff and families.
This work will be measured through family response rates to feedback surveys, improvements in parent responses to IEP partnership questions, and a decrease in the number of family complaints to the Maryland State Department of Education.