Reply to Dec 18th: FY 2026 Recommended Operating Budget

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Where in the budget are they listed? I didn’t see anything specific - meaning broken down into which programs and which level (ES, MS, HS, or special program). The budget did not look specific to me. [/quote]

Many SPED positions, especially paras legally needed for one to one, follow student needs.  If a school has incoming SPED students whose IEP calls for 1 to 1 para support, the para is needed at that school at that grade.   Right now there are so few paras that this legal need is not being met.  MCPS is dodging being sued by stating they are trying and unable to fill these legally required positions and so should not be liable.  But, this excuse will only last so many years.  Please ask questions about this on the SPED forum if you are unfamiliar with the issue,  it is shameful.

Instead of just thinking of SPED classrooms and programs,  where yes the need for a certain number of teachers and paras is linked to school/grade, think of mainstreamed SPED kids who are in regular classes for either all or a part of their day.  This is where the bulk of the para hires are needed.  If you think of the number of schools in MCPS then the number of hires is actually low.  And again, currently SPED kids whose IEPs (legally required accommodations) call for 1 to 1 para support, are going without and the excuse provided being no paras are available despite MCPS hiring for these positions.  So, yes something needs to be done to attract staff to these legally required positions.

Also, currently MCPS is having trouble staffing with SPED teachers its programs and is having to pay for expensive outsourcing to private schools.  Part of the issue at MCPS is retention. Having more paras in the SPED classrooms to support teachers would lower the burden on SPED teachers.  Again please go on SPED forums to see the extent of this issue.  
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Agree with the PP and want to add that MCPS has denied approving 1:1 para support for MANY of our students who clearly need this to function in a mainstream classroom. We have several low functioning autistic students, some needing toileting and some who have limited verbal communication abilities. Central office specialists have stated these elementary school students are likely unable to obtain a hs degree and can strive towards a completion certificate BUT ARE FINE REMAINING IN A GENERAL ED CLASSROOM without 1:1 support.

As a result, admin is forced to unofficially allocate a regular para position as a 1:1 in order for the teacher to be able to simply teach. This reduces the number of paras able to support the support the teacher as designed, which in turn means students who need academic support or lower levels of behavior support are not getting the help they need to thrive. I’ll be the first to acknowledge it’s ridiculous that MSDE has dinged MCPS for having too many SpEd students in self contained classrooms but MCPS absolutely needs to do more advocating against this stipulation. You can’t arbitrarily designate a number or percentage of students who need or don’t need to be in a self-contained classroom - you need to look at the individual needs of the students and look at the absurd amount of data we are forced to collect.[/quote]

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