WELCOME TO SEAC!

 The primary role of the LCPS Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is to advise the School Board on unmet needs of special education students. SEAC is composed of 21 members who are parents and at least one educator who volunteer their time to our community. They are appointed for two-year terms by the School Board through an application and recommendation process. The executive committee of SEAC is elected by its 21-person membership to lead the work of SEAC throughout the year.  SEAC also requests that a PTA/PTO Representative for each LCPS school be appointed each year to attend meetings, participate in discussions, and report back to the school on matters that affect special education.

SEAC has a very important role in working with the School Board, Administrators, Parents and Teachers who are responsible for students receiving special education services to study and help identify unmet needs in LCPS special education and make recommendations to address those needs. SEAC focuses on the needs of the entire special education community and therefore, seeks to identify themes and trends, rather than focus on individual issues. Individual matters are best addressed directly with teachers, the school’s administration, the special education supervisor and/or special education director for LCPS. Certainly, individual experiences may be an indicator that wider systemic issues exist, and it is the role of SEAC to help determine where anecdotal situations are indicative of a larger unmet need in the school system.  As such, please be mindful to protect confidentiality when discussing your experiences through the public comment process or in other public forums, as we wish to respect students, families, educators and unique circumstances.

More specifically, according to the Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia (effective 01/27/2010, page 120 8VAC20-81-230-D), the purposes of SEAC are as follows:

• Advise the local school system of the needs in the education of children with disabilities.
• Assist the LCPS in the development of long-range plans which will provide needed services for children with disabilities.
• Submit periodic reports and recommendations regarding the education of children with disabilities to the LCPS School Board.
• Review annually LCPS’s updated special education plan and application for federal funding.

We welcome and encourage parents, students, teachers, administrators, staff and others interested in special education in LCPS to attend our monthly meetings. Specific annual meetings dates and topics for panel discussions are available on this website. Please contact the Chair of SEAC at SEACChair@lcps.org with any questions. Contact information for all SEAC Officers is available on this site.

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