Important Message: Continued Focus on Strengthening the FCPS Continuum of Services for Students with Disabilities – Survey Link Included
As we continue to work on our multi-year plan to strengthen our continuum of special education services. We want to hear from the voices of our stakeholders.
As background information, during the October 7, 2026 Board of Education meeting, special education leadership shared data related to our increase in students with disabilities.
- Over the last decade, our enrollment for students with disabilities has seen a 42% change with an increase of almost 1800 students as compared to the overall FCPS enrollment percent change of 16%.
- From the official Sept. 2025 student count, FCPS has almost 6,000 students with disabilities which is 12.4% of our total student population.
- As we review the service delivery models for each student with a disability, we have witnessed significant growth in our Expressions programs with an increase of 150 students from 2021 to today. In addition, Learning for Life has witnessed an increase of 92 students from 2021 to today.
- Over that same time frame, we have only increased 20 more students attending non-public schools (105 to 125).
What is the continuum of services for special education?
- The continuum of special education services is the range of supports, instruction, and learning settings available to meet a student’s individual needs. It includes both the help a student receives and where that help is provided. Special education is not one classroom or a one-size-fits-all program.
- For example, a student may receive special education support in the general education classroom, spend part of the day receiving instruction in a separate special education classroom, or need a specialized school setting. A student may receive a combination of services and settings throughout the school day.
- Families are part of the decision-making team. Together, you and the school team identify your child’s needs, develop the Individualized Education Program (IEP), and determine where those services should be provided.
- The starting point is learning alongside students without disabilities, with the supports needed to make that work.
- A separate setting is considered only when your child’s needs cannot be appropriately met in the general education classroom, even with those supports.
- The continuum is not a set of steps your child must move through. It is about matching services to your child’s needs and reviewing those decisions as your child learns and grows.
Our goal is to strengthen the continuum of services within each school and ensure that students are appropriately supported in their least restrictive environment.
The November 4, 2026 BOE presentation will focus on sharing initial thoughts and highlights of our multi-year plan to strengthen the continuum of special education services across FCPS as well as share some of the feedback received from this survey.
Please take a moment to share your voice so we can use your feedback to ensure that your perspective is reflected in this important work.
Here is a link to the survey which will remain open until Wednesday, October 21, 2026: https://fcps-md.formstack.com/forms/continuum_of_services_fcps.
Thank you for your partnership in this important work.