A federal program that benefited Spotsylvania County Public Schools students with disabilities was abruptly discontinued in February, but a pair of lawmakers with ties to the Fredericksburg area are maneuvering to bring the program back.
U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-7th District) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) are among a group of legislators sponsoring a bicameral bill to restore the $45 million, 10-year initiative called the Charting My Path to Future Success Act. The program was canceled in February after more than $25 million had been spent, and many participating students had just begun receiving services.
The legislation was first passed under the President Donald Trump administration in 2019. Thirteen school districts across 11 states were impacted by its cancellation, including Spotsylvania.
The bill that Vindman and Kaine helped introduce will direct the U.S. Department of Education to issue the solicitation and award for the contract for the program, which was designed to support students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) across a wide range of disabilities. The program provided small group sessions, mentoring and year-round tutoring, and focused on helping students with special needs become self-sufficient adults.
“I am very happy to see the introduction of this bill by Sen. Kaine and Congressman Vindman,” Spotsylvania Superintendent Clint Mitchell told the Free Press. “SCPS was impacted by this program, and we hope that this bill gains the support needed to support our students and affected staff.”
More than 1,600 high school juniors and seniors participated in the program, including 91 Spotsylvania County high schoolers. Other participating school districts were in Alaska, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York and Utah.
A coalition of disability advocacy organizations endorsed the bill, including the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities Education Task Force, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, The Arc of the United States, the Autism Society of America, the National Disability Rights Network, and the Council of Administrators of Special Education.
But a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson told NPR in an April report that Charting My Path for Future Success was a project “with questionable implementation” and that too much of the funding went towards contractors and not the students. Vindman and Kaine do not view it the same way.
“Students across Virginia’s 7th District and our country deserve a real chance to thrive after high school,” Vindman said. “And yet, the Trump Administration just recklessly cut the Charting My Path for Future Success program from Spotsylvania County Public Schools, and I cannot let that stand. That’s why I am proud to introduce this bill — we owe it to students and families to restart this program and prohibit the administration from canceling it without congressional approval.”
Vindman is joined in the House of Representatives by Lucy McBath (D-Georgia-06), Juan Vargas (D-California 52nd), Sara Jacobs (D-California 53rd) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-California 10th) in introducing the bill. Kaine is joined by Sens. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) in the Senate.
Kaine said ending the program “with no warning” was “cruel” and hurts the future of the nation.
“Not only does this harm disabled students who are depending on this support, it also hurts the teachers and Spotsylvania schools whose jobs and school budgets depend on this funding,” Kaine said. “I’m proud to introduce the Charting My Path for Future Success Act to immediately reissue this funding and ensure all students are set up for success.”
