Information for Families of Students with Disabilities

Virginia Department of Education sent this bulletin at 12/09/2025 10:28 AM EST

Virginia Department of Education: Engage Your Family

Information for Families of Students with Disabilities - December 9, 2025

New Companion Resource for Families: Discipline and Students with Disabilities

The Virginia Department of Education's new Discipline and Students with Disabilities video supplements information found in The Virginia Family's Guide to Special Education. This concise and engaging video is designed to help families better understand the discipline process while being engaged in their child's education.

2026 Youth and Family Summit

The 2026 I'm Determined Youth and Family Summit is a three-day event held in June and sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University. Youth with disabilities across the Commonwealth meet to network and discuss issues of importance to youth and young adults with disabilities. This year's theme and focus is Relatedness.

Parents will attend separate sessions built specifically for them, focusing on the same components and also bringing in awareness of the resources and agencies available to families in Virginia.

Date: June 9-11, 2026 (Tuesday evening - Thursday afternoon)

Location: Festival Conference and Student Center at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Attendees: This event is limited to 50 youth and families residing in Virginia.

Ages: Virginia youth with disabilities ages 14-18 (as of June 9, 2026) and accompanying parent(s)/guardian(s). There are no exceptions to this age requirement.

If you would like to be considered to attend this in-person event, please complete and submit the 2026 I'm Determined Youth and Family Summit Application by January 11, 2026, before midnight.

Project ACCESS Student Survey

Project ACCESS, a collaboration between the Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living (VACIL) and the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) is working to create a self-advocacy curriculum for students accessing Pre-Employment Transition across Virginia.

Students are invited to share their ideas about what they want in a self-advocacy program through the Project ACCESS Self-Advocacy Survey. Your feedback will help shape a program that meets your needs and builds strong self-advocacy skills.

If you have questions about Project ACCESS, or the Self-Advocacy Survey, please contact Kelly Hickok, Community Services Manager, Resources for Independent Living, at hickokk@ril-va.org.

This service is provided to you at no charge by the Virginia Department of Education Office of Facilities and Family Engagement. Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit Subscriber Help.