PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert County’s special education staffing preparations for the 2026-2027 school year are underway, with more teachers, instructional assistants and speech-language pathologists.
At the June 11 Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Chief Academic Officer Jacquelyn Jacobs presented the plan, outlining the district’s staffing plans to help meet the promise of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all, a core mission for special education.
The updated staffing increases include:
- Special education teachers: increase by 4
- Instructional assistants: increase by 13.5
- Speech-language pathologists: increase by 6.5
- Behavior specialist: increase by 1
- Adapted physical education and physical therapists: increase by 1
- Occupational therapy: increase by 0.5
Jacobs said that the primary driver for the staff increase is growth within the special education programs and that the increases were “intentional and targeted” rather than systemwide. Special education teachers also engage in a long list of work outside the classroom, including planning, individualized education program (IEP) meetings, Medicaid billing and more.
She added that there were more needs among younger learners, programs that have high instructor-to-student ratios, and more intense needs among the students, requiring more staff. Jacobs also said staffing plans could change based on enrollment, new IEPs or other staff decisions.
The district is actively engaged in the hiring process to recruit teachers across the district.
The staffing plan was reviewed by the Calvert County Special Education Citizens’ Advisory Committee (SECAC) and will be posted for 30 days with SECAC’s comments before the plan is voted on by the BOE.
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