Behind every evaluation for special education services is a student whose needs deserve careful attention and a family awaiting answers. Over the past two years, Pender County Schools’ Exceptional Children’s team has made significant progress in strengthening that process and addressing delays.
The district’s reported compliance percentage for Indicator 11, which tracks the timeliness of initial special education evaluations, increased from 72.2% in October 2024 to 91.56% in October 2025. The October 2026 report shows a further increase to 96.32%, a gain of more than 24 percentage points over two years.
Staff across the district’s Exceptional Children’s Program have worked together to follow procedures more consistently and address obstacles in the evaluation and eligibility process.
“Much of this work happens behind the scenes, but it matters to the students and families we serve,” said Kendy Walker, director of the Exceptional Children’s Program. “Our team deserves the credit for this progress. They have worked hard to strengthen our processes, address delays and keep evaluations moving forward while supporting one another and the families who depend on us.”
The report identifies improvements in how staff handle situations when consent for evaluations or services is not received promptly. It also notes that vision and hearing screenings are no longer causing the significant delays previously experienced.
These steps help the district move more efficiently through the process of evaluating students and determining eligibility for special education services. Timely evaluations help families and school teams understand a student’s needs and make informed decisions about appropriate support.
Superintendent Dr. Brad Breedlove recognized the improvement and thanked the staff involved for their work.
“This is substantial progress, and it deserves to be celebrated,” Breedlove said. “Our Exceptional Children’s team has worked together to strengthen procedures and address delays in the initial evaluation and eligibility process. I am grateful to Ms. Walker and every staff member involved for their effort and continued commitment to our students and families.”
The figures reflect successive gains in the district’s reported evaluation compliance. The 2024 and 2025 percentages come from OSEP final reporting data, while the 2026 percentage comes from the district’s transactional EdPlan data.
The latest results also leave room for continued improvement. Building on this progress means maintaining consistent procedures and continuing to address delays so students and families receive timely answers and support.