Manassas Park Schools unveils first Inclusive Action Plan to expand services for students with disabilities

Kiernan Graham, the district official presenting the initiative, introduced Manassas Park City Schools' first Inclusive Action Plan and described it as a living document meant to increase access to general-education settings and supports for students with disabilities.

Graham said the division's December 2021 count showed 468 students receiving special-education services, or about 13.3 percent of enrollment, roughly in line with national and state averages. She told the board the district's largest disability category is speech and language (about 24 percent of identified students) and that local data show a rapid increase in students identified with autism, reflecting a national trend.

Graham reviewed legal context from IDEA and Virginia's regulations governing programs for students with disabilities, noting those laws require placements in the least restrictive environment and appropriate supports unless a student's IEP specifies otherwise. She said the district completed school-based self-assessments and a staff survey in March 2022 that generated "over 150 responses," which helped shape four focus areas: a clear and consistent vision and vocabulary for inclusion, legislative and accountability alignment, effective use of resources and collaboration, and sustaining inclusive practices.

Key implementation items announced include a living Inclusive Action Plan to be completed by June 2023 and updated annually, expanded common planning time for teachers supported by a "common plan book" digital tool piloted at Cougar Elementary, and a December inclusive-schools week to celebrate and reinforce inclusive practices. Graham said the plan will be submitted to the Virginia Department of Education in January for that agency's review.

Board members pressed for detail during a question-and-answer period. Graham said survey participation exceeded 150 responses but did not provide an exact percentage of staff who responded. The board clarified that disability-category counts rely on each student's primary classification unless a student is coded as "multiple disabilities." Graham also said some indicators (for example, inclusion in general-education classrooms for 80 percent or more of the day) met state targets in the latest reporting period, but cautioned that pandemic-era reporting requires careful interpretation.

The board discussed two implementation themes at length: protecting teacher planning time and how to use the common plan-book tool. Graham described the tool as a shared database where teachers can store lesson plans, accommodations, handouts, and notes so co-teachers and inclusion teams can collaborate virtually. On planning time, Graham said the district is still working on how to "protect" common planning windows across schools and that results vary among buildings.

Chair direction: the board asked staff to continue refining the plan, develop procedures and timelines for implementation, and return with the finalized recommendations following VDOE submission. No formal action was taken; the presentation and discussion were informational.

The district provided board members with copies of the full Inclusive Action Plan and links to supporting data and resources.