The Agency of Education (AOE) handles making sure that federal and Vermont state regulations are followed so that students with disabilities can have access to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). To do this well, the special education team commits to supporting families and Vermont schools that educate students with disabilities. We provide support in the form of both resources and technical assistance. Please contact our team. We're here to help!
Vermont Special Education
Special Education Team
Our team, together with all stakeholders, ensures access, opportunity and equity by providing solution-based oversight, leadership and support to build capacity and improve student outcomes.
Special Education Technical Assistance is available 24 hours/day through the general email and voicemail system. These methods of communication are monitored regularly during business hours and a response is generally provided within 1 business day: [email protected] or (802) 828-1256.
State Director of Special Education
Cassie Santo, State Director of Special Education
Chris Kane, Assistant State Director of Special Education
Sabine Perry, Assistant to Special Education Director and Special Education Team
Technical Assistance and Professional Development
Caitlin Chisholm, Inclusive Systems Coordinator
Emily Cogan, Inclusive Practices Coordinator
Tracy Harris, Coordinator for Behavioral Supports
Amanda Hass, Assessment Coordinator for Special Populations
Ana Russo, State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) Manager
John Spinney, Post-Secondary Transition Coordinator
Ernest Wheeler, Special Education Technical Assistance Provider
General Supervision and Monitoring
Tristan McNamara, Special Education Monitoring Program Manager
Michael Sassin, Special Education Monitoring Coordinator
Special Education Extended Team Members
Brandon Dall, Federal and Special Education Data Director
Alicia Hanrahan, Education Programs Manager, Interagency Coordinator
Andrew McAvoy, IDEA Data Analyst
Katie McCarthy, Early Childhood Special Ed/IDEA Part B 619 Coordinator
Amy Murphy, Early Childhood Inclusion Coordinator
J. Deborah Ormsbee, Independent School Coordinator II
Jennifer Perry, Special Education Finance Specialist
Clinton Sears, IDEA Data Analyst
Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities
Rights of Parents of Students with Disabilities can be found on Families Resources webpage.
Requests for Data
Periodically, members of the public may find that they have additional needs for state education data that are not met by the existing reports. We have provided two mechanisms by which the public may apply for accessing such data.
- Data Request Form should be used to make simple, non-research data requests. (Examples: media story, simple fact-checking.)
- Research Request Application should be used to make research data requests. The completed application is necessary in order for AOE to review the purpose of the research, specific data involved, and level of AOE staff time and effort needed to complete the request. It is also necessary to determine whether the research request is in line with the AOE’s analytic priorities. All research requests require pending or received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval before they can be reviewed.
Note: The agency will suppress data that is based on student counts of less than 11 students for all data requests. This is to ensure that student privacy is maintained.
To make a public record request pursuant to the Vermont Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. § 317, visit our Public Information page.