For Education Leaders Who Refuse to Accept the Status Quo

Your Federal Support Just Disappeared. I Can Help You Build What Replaces It.

Dr. Angela Kirby currently runs one of the largest state-level professional development and technical assistance operations in the country — 100+ staff, $35M+ federal budget, customized PD and TA across every major special education initiative. That same expertise is now available to state education agencies, regional service centers, school districts, university programs, and education organizations ready to build systems that actually work. Consulting available in all states except Pennsylvania.

Book a Free 30-Minute Call See What I've Built

About Dr. Angela Kirby

Not a Retired Consultant. A Sitting Director Who Does This Every Day.

Dr. Angela Kirby is the Director of PaTTAN Central — Pennsylvania's Training and Technical Assistance Network — where she supervises over 100 professional and support staff and manages a federal budget exceeding $35 million. This isn't someone who teaches TA system design from slides. Angela runs one of the most comprehensive state TA operations in the nation, right now, today.

Before PaTTAN, Angela served as Special Assistant to the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education and Interim Acting Bureau Director at the Bureau of Teaching and Learning Support. Her career spans every layer and every role in the education system — state administration, district administration, intermediate unit administration, special education teacher, reading specialist, general education teacher, inclusion specialist, and adjunct professor of education at the university level. There is no seat at the table she hasn't occupied.

Angela Kirby Consulting serves state education agencies, regional education service centers, school districts, university teacher preparation programs, and education organizations in all states except Pennsylvania — bringing the pattern recognition of someone who's managed these systems from the inside for decades, combined with fresh eyes on your unique challenges.

Ed.D., Educational Leadership

M.Ed., Curriculum & Instruction — Pitt

Applied Behavior Analysis — Penn State

Superintendent's Letter of Eligibility

PA Reading Specialist K-12

PA Special Education N-12

PA Principal K-12

PA Supervisory, Special Ed K-12

Why This Matters Right Now

The Federal Infrastructure Your State Relied On Is Gone

In June 2026, OSEP was transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services. Federal monitoring visits have been cut so drastically that each state may be reviewed only once every 25 years. The staff who investigated complaints, monitored compliance, and provided technical assistance have been significantly reduced. More than half of all states failed to meet their IDEA implementation targets this year.

Your legal obligations haven't changed. Students are still entitled to FAPE. You still owe OSEP an SPP/APR. You still face enforcement actions if your state is categorized as "needs assistance" for consecutive years. But the federal partners who helped you navigate all of this? They're largely gone.

The states that will thrive in this environment are the ones that build robust internal systems for customized professional development, technical assistance, compliance monitoring, and federal funding management — right now. That's exactly what I've spent 29 years building in Pennsylvania.

50%+

of states missed IDEA targets in 2026

25 yrs

between federal reviews at current pace

$15.5B

in IDEA funding still flowing to states

8.5M

students with disabilities depend on your systems

What Angela Has Built — And What She Can Build for You

Inside PaTTAN: A National Model for State-Level TA

Pennsylvania's Training and Technical Assistance Network is the system Angela manages today. Here's what it looks like — and what your state could have.

Tiered TA Delivery

Three-tier customized support model — Systemic (long-term, district-aligned), Critical (targeted skill-building), and Emergent (just-in-time response) — ensuring every district gets the right level of support at the right time.

Statewide PD at Scale

Week-long summer institutes, ongoing PD series, webinars, on-site embedded coaching, and individualized student/teacher supports — all evidence-based, aligned to IDEA and ESSA, and delivered by 100+ specialized staff.

Initiative Coverage

Comprehensive programming across literacy, mathematics, autism (including the National Autism Conference), school psychology, secondary transition, MTSS/PBIS, speech-language, educator effectiveness, and inclusive practices.

Federal Alignment

Every initiative maps to IDEA Part B indicators, SPP/APR targets, and ESSA requirements — so professional development directly supports the state's compliance and accountability obligations.

$35M+ Federal Budget

Deep expertise managing IDEA Part B funding, maintenance of effort, excess cost calculations, CEIS, proportionate share, and audit-ready fiscal documentation — at scale.

Equity & Access Focus

Culturally responsive PBIS, Framework for Access and Belonging (FAB), Universal Design for Learning integration, and accessible educational materials — embedded across all initiatives, not bolted on.

This isn't theory. This is a system built and run every day. Angela Kirby Consulting can help your state build something just as strong — customized to your context, your funding, and your priorities.

Signature Engagement

The 90-Day State TA System Audit & Roadmap

Most states know something isn't working — but they don't have time to step back and diagnose the system. This engagement gives you a comprehensive, outside assessment of your TA infrastructure and a customized roadmap to strengthen it.

You'll get a clear picture of where your federal, state, and local systems are aligned (and where they're not), where your PD is hitting and where it's missing, and exactly what to prioritize next — with a practical implementation timeline your team can actually execute.

Book a Free Call to Discuss

Discovery & Data Review

Deep dive into your SPP/APR data, IDEA determination history, current TA offerings, funding architecture, staffing model, and stakeholder feedback. Understanding your state comes before any recommendations.

Gap Analysis & Alignment Mapping

Identify where compliance processes aren't connected to instructional improvement, where funding is underleveraged, where TA isn't reaching the educators who need it, and where your state's strengths can be amplified.

Customized Roadmap Delivery

A detailed, actionable plan — prioritized recommendations, implementation timeline, resource requirements, and quick wins your team can start executing immediately. Presented to your leadership with full briefing.

Optional: Implementation Support

Ongoing consulting to help your team execute the roadmap — building PD content, training your trainers, redesigning monitoring protocols, or standing up new TA delivery systems.

Full Consulting Services

Every Critical Challenge Your State Is Facing — Covered

From workforce crisis to federal compliance to AI integration, Angela Kirby Consulting addresses the full spectrum of challenges facing state special education systems.

Special Education Workforce Pipeline Design

The 17%+ national vacancy rate in special education demands systemic solutions — not another job posting. "Grow your own" teacher pipelines, alternative certification pathway design, paraprofessional-to-teacher ladder programs, structured onboarding for alternatively-certified educators, and retention strategies that address why teachers leave.

Disproportionality & Equity Systems

When states trigger significant disproportionality, 15% of IDEA Part B funds must be redirected to CEIS. That's a compliance crisis and an equity crisis. Angela helps states analyze the data, redesign referral and identification processes, implement culturally responsive PBIS, and navigate the community conversations this work requires.

Customized Professional Development Design

PD grounded in how humans actually learn — behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist frameworks translated into practical, scalable training. From summer institutes to embedded coaching to virtual series — content design, delivery models, and evaluation systems built for your state.

MTSS/PBIS System Architecture

Most states have MTSS frameworks that exist on paper and collapse in practice. Angela helps states design multi-tiered systems that actually work — data-based decision-making at every tier, fidelity monitoring, integration with special education referral, and PBIS implementation with real behavior data systems. Directly impacts Indicators 4, 5, 9, and 10.

Post-COVID Compensatory Services Strategy

States still owe compensatory services from pandemic-era disruptions, and the legal exposure is enormous. Scalable compensatory service delivery models, prioritization frameworks, documentation systems, and progress monitoring protocols that reduce risk while actually reaching the students who are still waiting.

IDEA Compliance & General Supervision

Strengthen your LEA determination framework, compliance monitoring protocols, corrective action systems, and noncompliance correction timelines. Build general supervision systems that catch problems early and fix them within the one-year federal window.

SPP/APR Strategy & SSIP Development

Set rigorous targets, design your State Systemic Improvement Plan, connect indicators to instructional practice, and build the data infrastructure to tell your improvement story — with nearly two decades of state-side reporting experience behind every recommendation.

Federal Funding Strategy & Fiscal Compliance

Maximize IDEA Part B, Title I, and ESSA funding. Navigate MOE, excess cost, CEIS, proportionate share, and supplement-not-supplant. With $35M+ in federal budget management experience, Angela knows where the fiscal risks are and how to build audit-ready systems.

For District Special Education Directors

The District Special Education Deep Dive

A comprehensive, building-by-building analysis of your district's entire special education operation — compliance, instruction, staffing, budget, outcomes, and family engagement — with a prioritized action plan your team can execute immediately.

What Gets Examined

IEP Quality & Compliance Audit

Randomized IEP review across buildings — evaluating goal quality, present levels accuracy, service delivery documentation, progress monitoring fidelity, and timeline compliance. Not just "are the boxes checked" but "would these IEPs survive a complaint investigation?"

Staffing & Caseload Analysis

Caseload ratios by building, vacancy rates, turnover patterns, paraprofessional deployment, related services coverage, and workload distribution. Identifies where your staffing model is creating compliance risk and burnout — and where reallocation could solve problems without new hires.

Evaluation & Identification Pipeline

Child find effectiveness, referral-to-evaluation timelines, evaluation quality, eligibility determination consistency across buildings, and re-evaluation compliance. Identifies bottlenecks and over/under-identification patterns by disability category, grade level, and demographics.

Outcome Data Deep Dive

Graduation and dropout rates for students with disabilities, assessment participation and proficiency, LRE data and placement patterns, suspension/expulsion rates, post-secondary transition outcomes, and disproportionality indicators — all benchmarked against state averages and comparable districts.

What Else Gets Covered

Inclusive Practices & LRE Assessment

Building-level analysis of co-teaching models, supplementary aids and services, continuum of placements, and principal engagement with special education. Examines whether students are placed in the least restrictive environment based on need or based on building-level convenience.

Budget & Fiscal Health Check

IDEA and state funding utilization, maintenance of effort compliance, excess cost calculation accuracy, contracted services cost-effectiveness, and whether the district is leaving federal dollars on the table or spending them in ways that create audit risk.

Family Engagement & Dispute Prevention

Parent satisfaction patterns, complaint and due process history, IEP meeting practices, communication systems, and dispute resolution capacity. Most due process complaints are preventable — this assessment identifies where relationships are breaking down before they become legal problems.

Professional Development Gap Analysis

Current PD offerings mapped against actual teacher needs — evidence-based instructional practices, behavioral intervention, progress monitoring, assistive technology, co-teaching, and transition planning. Identifies the gap between what staff need and what they're getting, with a customized PD roadmap.

The deliverable: a comprehensive written report with prioritized recommendations, quick wins, long-term strategy, and a 12-month implementation calendar — presented to your leadership team with full briefing.

Inquire About a District Deep Dive

Executive Coaching

The Advisor You Wish You'd Had Your First Year

Leading special education at the state, regional, or district level might be the hardest job in public education — managing federal accountability, complex budgets, political pressure from advocacy groups, and a workforce in crisis. Turnover is high. Leaders are often promoted from within without preparation for the scope of the role.

Angela offers a 6-month executive coaching engagement for new or struggling special education leaders at every level. One-on-one, confidential, peer-level support from someone who's been in the seat for nearly two decades.

What's Included

✓ Two confidential calls per month

✓ Unlimited email access between calls

✓ Document and decision review

✓ SPP/APR and OSEP response strategy

✓ Federal compliance gut-checks

✓ Political navigation and stakeholder strategy

Inquire About Coaching

Ways to Work Together

Three Engagement Models — Designed for How States Actually Buy

Urgent

Crisis Response
90-Day Turnaround

Bad IDEA determination. Significant disproportionality finding. OSEP corrective action deadline. When your state is in crisis, Angela delivers rapid assessment, corrective action plan development, and implementation coaching — fast.

Best for: States facing enforcement actions or compliance findings

State Cohort
Cross-State Learning

Join a cohort of 4-6 states working on the same challenge — TA system redesign, workforce pipeline development, or MTSS implementation. Learn from peers, benchmark across states, and get facilitated expert guidance. Your time is leveraged, the value is multiplied.

Best for: States ready to invest in long-term system change

Ongoing

Monthly Retainer
Trusted Advisor on Call

Not a project — a relationship. Two calls per month, email access, document review. Think of it as a fractional chief of staff for your special education division. Continuous strategic support from someone who understands the role because she lives it.

Best for: Education leaders who want ongoing expert counsel

What Sets This Practice Apart

AI-Enhanced Technical Assistance: Scale Your Impact Without Adding Staff

Your TA center can't hire its way out of the teacher shortage. But AI tools built on learning science can extend your reach to every classroom in the state — if someone who understands both AI and special education helps you integrate them.

AI-Powered Lesson Differentiation

Help your state's teachers instantly adapt any lesson into tiered versions — below, at, and above proficiency level — while maintaining core content across tiers. This is what special educators do manually for hours. AI tools grounded in your state's academic standards can do it in minutes, freeing teachers to focus on instruction.

Standards-Aligned Lesson Planning

Generate classroom-ready, standards-aligned lesson plans mapped to your state's specific academic standards and curricular frameworks. Especially powerful for new teachers, long-term substitutes, and the growing number of alternatively-certified educators entering special education classrooms.

Training Your Trainers on AI Integration

Training for your TA center staff to integrate AI tools into their existing coaching and support workflows — so your consultants can show teachers how to use AI for differentiation, accommodation planning, and standards alignment as part of the TA they're already delivering.

Custom AI Skills for Special Education

Beyond off-the-shelf tools, Angela helps states develop custom AI-powered workflows for their specific needs — IEP-aligned lesson modification, accommodation implementation guides, progress monitoring interpretation, transition planning support, and more. Built on your state's standards and your TA model.

The states that figure out how to put AI-enhanced instructional tools into the hands of every special educator — responsibly, grounded in learning science, aligned to their standards — will leapfrog a decade of capacity challenges overnight.

Let's Talk About AI-Enhanced TA for Your State