Wake schools could cut $18M from special education. Here’s what to know.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wake plans $18M special-ed cut, eliminating 130 Cross Categorical Resource teachers.
- District will end CCK and phase out Middle Schools Essentials to reassign services.
- Teachers and parents protest; union warns larger caseloads and staff turnover risk.
The services that Wake County’s 22,000 special education students receive could be trimmed next school year amid budget cuts and program changes.
The Wake County school system plans to cut the special education budget by $18 million, which would lead to the elimination of 130 teaching positions. The district also plans to eliminate the Cross Categorical Kindergarten (CCK) program and phase out the Middle Schools Essentials program.
The cuts have led to protests by teachers and parents who want the changes dropped.
Here’s a look at the cuts, including how Wake says it will make them work and why critics are opposing them. :
Reducing the number of CCR Teachers
The biggest cut is the proposed elimination of 130 Cross Categorical Resource (CCR) teaching positions in the special education department for the 2026-27 school year. The district says affected teachers will be able to apply for other positions.
CCR teachers support special education students in regular general education classrooms or special education classrooms. They help develop and carry out a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) that’s required under federal law.
CCR teachers help with teaching the students and monitoring their behavior in class. They also attend IEP meetings with parents to discuss the progress of students.
Wake says the reductions mean the remaining CCR teachers will serve more students. This will affect how much time they spend in classrooms with each individual student.
But Wake says students will continue to receive all the services outlined in their IEPs. Wake says it’s made targeted adjustments to strengthen support for elementary schools with behavioral needs and to provide flexibility for scheduling at the secondary level.
However, the Wake County chapter of the North Carolina Association of Educators says the heavier caseloads will overwhelm CCR teachers, who will have to spend more of their time at home filling out paperwork to meet IEP requirements. Wake NCAE says the longer hours will cause some teachers to leave.
Eliminating Cross Categorical Kindergarten Program
The CCK program serves 184 kindergarten students, many of whom have been diagnosed with autism. Wake says it’s a “diagnostic year” to determine whether those kindergarteners should attend general education classes or special education classes.
Wake is citing how 87% of CCK students return to their base school to attend regular classes to argue the program can be eliminated next school year. But Wake NCAE says that same data shows the program is successful in helping special-needs students to make the transition to be with their typically developing peers.
Wake says most CCK teachers don’t meet the program requirements to be licensed to teach both kindergarten and special education. The district says this is exacerbated by how vacancy rates are higher in special education than in other areas.
In addition, Wake says the CCK students have minimal access to typically developing peers. The district says the best opportunity to close the gap for students with disabilities is to provide them a rigorous kindergarten year in a general education setting.
Wake says it will help balance the program’s elimination by taking steps such as assigning more behavior technicians and behavior analysts and expanding access to social-emotional learning coaches. In addition, Wake says it will provide more training to general education kindergarten teachers on how to help students with autism.
Phasing out the Middle Schools Essentials Program
The Middle Schools Essentials Program offers smaller classes to teach math and literacy standards to help special education students reach their IEP goals.
But Wake says it’s been a barrier finding Essentials teachers who are certified both in special education and the content they’re teaching. The classes contain students in multiple grade levels, so Wake says they often lack rigor in what’s taught.
Wake has a three-year plan for phasing out the program. Starting next school year, the program won’t be offered to sixth-grade students.
As the program is phased out, Wake says additional training will be provided to help special education teachers in designing instruction and for instructional assistants in how to deal with challenging student behaviors.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Wake schools could cut $18M from special education. Here’s what to know.."
