Howard County schools superintendent says special education audit affirms progress

A highly anticipated audit on special education in Howard County public schools highlighted some longstanding issues staff and parents have raised for years.

Ahead of a presentation on the audit on Thursday at a Board of Education meeting, Howard County Public School System Superintendent Bill Barnes called the audit affirming.

Barnes said the audit shows the school district is working toward fixing the right issues in special education.

Some Board of Education members, though, felt the audit wasn't productive.

What's inside the audit?

For Barnes, undertaking this audit means the school district is responding to the concerns raised for some time.

"We're not sitting still. We're moving. We're moving forward now with them," Barnes said.

Barnes said the audit gives HCPSS a good picture. It was conducted by the nonprofit Research Triangle Institute, or RTI, from December 2024 to June 2025.

The audit highlighted some longstanding concerns, including increasing caseloads with fewer staff and providers, not enough professional learning for staff, a lack of supports for students and their IEPs, and families feeling they can't effectively communicate concerns.

One parent who was surveyed for the audit said, "It's always a fight. Every single time."

"We know that we have to do better in helping families," Barnes said. "It's our goal to ensure that families feel as if they are true partners in the process. Not every family is feeling that, so we have work to do."

Some of RTI's recommendations include developing supports to better monitor students' progress, including families more in the process, and reviewing staffing formulas.

Questioning the audit

At the Board of Education meeting, board members questioned how actionable the recommendations are.

Some board members went as far as to question the whole audit process, feeling it didn't go far enough.

"I was hoping that the report would actually include a recommendation for what Howard County should use. This is a summary of things we already know," said Board of Education member Antonia Watts.

Moving forward

Earlier this month, HCPSS unveiled dozens of new and repurposed special education positions to ease teachers' workloads. 

Barnes said moving forward, the audit will be influencing the creation of a strategic plan that's set to be released early August.

"There are no quick fixes; we didn't get here in one day," Barnes said. "We're not gonna get out of here in one day. The improvements are gonna take some time."