HCPSSBuilding a More Strategic Future for Special Education Services
June 30th, 2026
Staff in the Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) Division of Academics and Department of Special Education (DSE) are continuing to implement the targets identified in the five-year DSE Strategic Plan as they work to improve outcomes for both students and staff.
Along with building Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), redesigning roles and expanding coaching and professional learning opportunities, HCPSS is evaluating and expanding its continuum of special education services in response to growing student enrollment and increasingly complex student needs.
To do this, HCPSS is implementing a long-range plan to offer specialized programs in HCPSS schools throughout the County so students can receive services closer to where they live—currently, some students travel significant distances within the County to attend existing regional programs. This effort to expand programmatic offerings will reduce student transportation time, make better use of staff and facilities, and ensure specialized programs are available in the areas of the County where they are most needed.
Dr. Melissa Brunson, Executive Director of Special Education, explained, “By aligning program locations with student needs across the county, we are creating a more efficient and responsive service delivery model. This long-range planning ensures that we can continue to provide high-quality specialized instruction while maximizing resources and supporting positive outcomes for students.
The Long-Term Vision
To begin this long-term effort to reimagine HCPSS’ regionalized special education service model, HCPSS is analyzing student data, program requirements, facility utilization, transportation capacity, and projected enrollment to identify the special education services needed across the County. This analysis will help determine which schools are best equipped to deliver the specialized programs and services envisioned for the future.
Part of this effort involves working with a consultant who has been tasked to evaluate every school and administrative building in the school system, document existing programs, review educational specifications, evaluate how buildings are being utilized, and analyze whether or not buildings sufficiently meet the program and educational specification standards.
“If we’re strategic about where programs are located, we can look at our facilities and determine what modifications are needed to support those programs,” said Cornell Brown, Chief of Operations. “Then we can create both short- and long-range plans that align our facilities, transportation, staffing, and budget decisions with the needs of our students. This work will become part of our Educational Facilities Master Plan.”
The data collection process is anticipated to be completed by fall 2026 with the goal of having a comprehensive plan that outlines priorities and recommendations by spring 2027.
Brown added, “This is a long-term effort, and some pieces will happen faster than others. But we’ve brought the right people together, we’re using data to guide decisions, and we’re being intentional about how we align facilities, programs, transportation, staffing, and resources.”
The Immediate Changes
While the long-term plan is in motion, there are some changes that will happen more quickly. In fall 2025, DSE conducted a comprehensive review of services to help identify groups of student learner profiles of students who would benefit from enhancements to the existing continuum of programming.
As a result, two new programs are scheduled to launch at the start of the 2026-2027 school year: The Therapeutic Enhanced COMPASS Program at Thunder Hill Elementary School and the RISE Program at Triadelphia Ridge and Deep Run elementary schools.
COMPASS stands for Creating Opportunities to Manage Progress, Achieve Success, and Self-Regulate. The COMPASS program is a trauma-informed program, located within a school, which offers specialized support to students, enabling them to develop academic, behavioral, and social-emotional skills. This setting allows students to practice these skills in a less restrictive environment while receiving direct instruction and positive behavioral support in a more structured setting.
“We are starting by offering the new Therapeutic Enhanced COMPASS program at Thunder Hill because it’s reasonably centrally located and the school has a classroom suite that’s appropriate for the program,” said Kristin Ericson, Director of Specialized Programs. “Facilities matter. You need the physical space for these programs to work.”
The Therapeutic Enhanced COMPASS program is being developed for students currently served in the COMPASS program who have significant, documented trauma-informed histories. The classroom setting will look and feel different from traditional COMPASS programs.
Ericson explained, “We’ll provide professional development specifically focused on supporting students with trauma-informed backgrounds. We’re also looking at staffing differently—how social workers and board-certified behavior analysts function within the program. And, we’re examining what we can offer families in terms of support and intervention.”
The second new program offering – the RISE program—is designed for neurodiverse students whose needs are not being adequately met in existing COMPASS programs. The program will feature predictable schedules, motivational supports, flexible seating, neurodiversity-affirming practices, and environments designed around student needs.
Ericson explained, “We know these students will need explicit instruction in social skills, organization, and self-advocacy. It will be a combination of time in general education and time in special education.”
While these are two immediate changes for the 2026-2027 school year, HCPSS is actively looking at many other possibilities with the long-term goal of developing a consistent suite of programs in every region.
A School’s Perspective
The proposed expansion of specialized programs in HCPSS schools is a direct response to the expressed needs and desire for change by school administration and staff.
Susan White, a Special Education Instructional Team Leader at Clemens Crossing Elementary School, has been a special educator for 29 years, 19 of which have been in Howard County.
She explained, “What we’ve been advocating for over the last decade is that our population is growing faster than our structures are expanding which is challenging. We’ve experienced an influx of students with autism who present a wide range and level of needs.”
White continued, “What I really value about Dr. Webster’s [Chief of Academics] approach is that she started by looking at what we already have, clearly defining those programs, identifying who they’re serving, and building from there.”
Michelle Leader, Principal at Clemens Crossing Elementary School, who has had previous administration experience at a school that explained, “The decision to separate COMPASS into more targeted programming makes sense to me. Identifying those who have an emotional disability, those who are trauma-impacted, those who are neurodiverse, and so on is necessary because they each have different needs and you cannot serve these students effectively when everyone is grouped together.”
“Expanding specialized programming in HCPSS reflects our commitment to providing students receiving special education services with access to appropriate and meaningful educational opportunities aligned to their specific needs,” said Brunson.