Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) families of students with disabilities can attend a free, daylong conference on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria.

The annual Special Education Family Conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the FCPS conference page. The district is billing the event as "Connected Communities, Thriving Students."

Registration is open. Families can request childcare, special accommodations and language interpretation when they sign up.

New opening panel

A panel discussion will kick off the morning. The district's Oct. 28 newsletter said the opening session is new this year and will feature an FCPS student, a high school principal, a community partner and a parent. Panelists will share personal experiences and practical ideas about building inclusive school communities, the newsletter said.

After the panel, the day includes three breakout sessions, an exhibitor hall and a student showcase. Lunch is provided. Childcare opens at 8 a.m.

Families with questions can email [email protected].

Resource fair follows Nov. 19

A separate event, the Moving on to Life in the Community Resource Fair, is set for Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Fairfax High School. That fair is aimed at students with developmental and intellectual disabilities who will need continuing support after leaving FCPS. Agency and vendor representatives will be on hand, the newsletter said.

Accreditation milestone holds

The conference announcement landed alongside a district recap of school accountability results. All 195 FCPS schools earned full accreditation for the 2026-27 school year, the second consecutive year every school met the benchmark, as we reported Oct. 27. That includes McLean High School, Langley High School and Cooper Middle School.

Accreditation is based on operational compliance rather than academic outcomes. Statewide, 99.7% of Virginia's 1,818 schools earned full accreditation.

Superintendent Michelle Reid highlighted the results in her weekly reflections, noting that 56% of FCPS schools earned a "Distinguished" rating under the state's School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF), up from 38% the prior year. The district did not release school-by-school SPSF ratings, so individual results for McLean-area schools are not yet available. Families can look up their school at schoolquality.virginia.gov.

The Special Education Family Conference registration form is available on the FCPS conference page at fcps.edu/special-education-family-conference.