Arlington parents push back as APS phases out inclusive pre-K program
Families are asking what replaces Integration Station as APS moves to end the partnership by 2030.
Parents dressed in red packed an Arlington Public Schools board meeting Thursday night, 7News / WJLA reported, pushing to save Integration Station, an early-childhood partnership with The Children’s School. The program lets students with disabilities, including Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder, learn alongside general-education students, according to WJLA. Parents told WJLA they were devastated by APS’s plan to phase out the partnership and said the district has not shown a clear alternative or comparable districtwide options. APS said the program is set to phase out through 2030 in a way designed to minimize disruption, and said the move came from a broader early-childhood review aimed at expanding inclusive opportunities closer to where students live and learn. Budget was a factor, but APS said it was not chiefly a budget cut; WJLA reported FY2026 included $513,000 in one-time funding for the program and more than $156,000 in tuition costs for unfilled seats, which APS said should not be characterized as net savings.
Why it matters: Families in Northern Virginia told WJLA they have spent years navigating medical, state and local systems, so program changes land as access questions, not just budget line items. APS is framing the shift around inclusive services closer to where students live and learn.
Sources
This post summarizes reporting by the outlets above; read them for the full story. Fact-checked against the sources before publishing. Corrections: ashik@ashik.ai