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Virginia Beach City Public Schools, VA: Audit of Special Education

Evergreen Solutions was engaged with Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) to conduct an Audit of Special Education. At the time of the study, VBCPS was the fourth largest school system in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 86 schools and centers serving over 68,000 students. In the most recent comprehensive audit, completed in February 2008, it was reported that more than 10,000 students annually received individualized services and support for the previous ten years. However, since that time, the number of students receiving this support has steadily declined. For instance, the 2006 December 1 Child Count according to the last audit was 10,133 students. The 2014 December 1 Child Count, which will be used for the purpose of this audit, was 7,917 students. This represents a decrease of 22 percent from the previous audit.

The special education audit included the following: review of staffing and organization of the division’s special education personnel; review of quality and effectiveness of Special Education teacher pedagogy; review of outcomes for students with disabilities; review of the provision of FAPE in special education programs; conduct a cost analysis of the provision of the comprehensive special education program; review of record keeping system for special education; conduct a comparative analysis with similar school districts in the management of special education; and review of the development and functionality of the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) as outlined by the Virginia Department of Education VAC 20-81-230 D.