Find the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s December 4, 2020 report on K-12 Special Education HERE. 

Find the December 14, 2020 presentation to the Commission HERE.

Find State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Virginia Department of Education response, December 14, 2020 HERE.

Background:

In 2018, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) directed its staff to review Virginia’s K–12 special education system. Staff were directed to review school divisions’ identification and eligibility determination processes; the processes used to determine where students with disabilities will receive their education; student outcomes; the adequacy of training and expertise in special education across school divisions; the effectiveness of the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) monitoring, guidance, and support; and spending trends in special education. (See Appendix A for the study resolution.)

To address the mandate, JLARC staff analyzed student- and state-level data on the enrollment, placements, discipline, and outcomes of students receiving special education, data on state and local spending on special education services, and data related to VDOE’s monitoring efforts. Staff interviewed school division special education directors, special education teachers, VDOE staff, parents, advocates, staff from education agencies in other states, and other stakeholders, including special education experts at Virginia’s special education Training and Technical Assistance Centers. JLARC staff also surveyed school division special education directors and parents of students receiving special education services and reviewed research literature on topics related to special education.