Knox County Schools (KCS) unveiled a new plan to help special needs students improve academic achievement faster.¶
The school board presented the plan during its meeting last Thursday amid calls from parents and community members to update its policies. The plan includes efforts to increase reading and math proficiency, improve individualized education plans (IEPs), and increase graduation rates.¶
Context
KCS reported academic gains among its special education students between 2022 and 2024, with Assistant Superintendent of Student Success Dr. Andrew Brown telling board members during a January 2025 meeting that English Language Arts proficiency increased 1.4 percent and math proficiency rose 3.5 percent. The district also reported that 79.29 percent of students with disabilities were educated in less restrictive settings, exceeding the state’s goal of 77.2 percent.¶
Later that year, the district reported that its analysis showed its disabled students spent more than 80 percent of their time in general education classrooms, exceeding the state standard.¶
However, the group found four major problems: conflicts between parents and educators, staffing and compliance pressure, weaknesses in inclusion and co-teaching, and achievement gaps between special education students and their peers. The group gave KCS 14 recommendations, including stronger accountability monitoring, data-driven placement decisions, improved specialized reading interventions, and more, which were taken into account when creating the new plan.¶
What’s in the Plan
Overall, district representatives said during its Sept. 10 meeting that the plan aims to measure special education academic progress through IEP audits, annual performance report data, school report cards, parent surveys, and ongoing board updates.¶
A key point of the new plan is to make special education services an integrated model centered on students’ IEPs and coordinated teams of educators. The district set a goal in the plan to raise special education students’ academic growth rates to match those of non-special-education students.¶
Knox County Board of Education Assistant Superintendent of Policy and Impact Kori Lautner emphasized that the goal is rooted in accountability.¶
“We are not carving out a separate set of outcomes for a subgroup of students,” Lautner said. “We believe that all students are capable of accelerating at the same rate, and we're going to hold ourselves to that standard for special education.”¶
In its first year, the district will co-audit high-quality instruction materials and teaching strategies, train kindergarten teachers to deliver more coherent interventions, improve transition plans, and track graduation readiness. It also aims to increase the district’s special education graduation rate from 79 percent to 83 percent.¶
Family Involvement
Knox County Schools Executive Director of Inclusive Services Dr. Brad Carr presented the plan to the board, saying one of its biggest focuses is improving families’ trust in the district by increasing their involvement in their children’s education plans.¶
“At the end of the day, your experience in the IEP meeting should be that you're a partner with us, that when you bring things to the table, they're heard and considered and talked about with evidence,” Carr said. “It may not be that we always agree, but if you bring something to the table, it shouldn't just be, 'Yeah, thanks, but no.'"¶
The district is also establishing a permanent P.A.C.T. Council (Performance Accountability Collaboration and Transitions) during the plan’s first year to review how new policies will be implemented, recommend changes, and monitor the district’s goals.¶
Surveys will also be distributed after IEP team meetings, asking parents whether they received enough notice about the meeting, understood what happened during it, and felt they could contribute to decisions. The district is also set to overhaul its existing parent resources, training materials, and website, and clarify the roles of IEP team members.¶
Lautner said the district expects to present the first progress report at a December board meeting.¶
