Support Specialist, Special Education

Position Type:

Date Posted:

ABOUT CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) is Ohio's third-largest public school system, serving more than 35,000 students.

 CMSD strives to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education, regardless of the provider. To that end, CMSD lets families choose which District schools their children attend, with options that include STEM, the arts, single-gender education, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and early college.

 Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing their school as a high-quality, high-expectation academic center focusing on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results.

 CMSD ensures that students have access to technology and training to prepare them for the future. The District provides a free laptop or tablet for every student and connects every family that needs internet access. Graduating seniors leave commencement with not only a diploma but also a laptop.

 In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we strive to ensure that all of  our learners, both scholars and educators, to be challenged with academically and intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their efforts and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their best work.

BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES

The Cleveland Board of Education adopted the Building Brighter Futures (BBF) initiative on December 9, 2025. Building Brighter Futures is a strategic and data-driven plan shaped by more than a year of community engagement, information analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. The goal of this plan is to strengthen enrollment and ensure scholars attend a newer school building that offers more educational opportunities, including algebra in the eighth grade, more sports and extracurricular activities, and college credits and college and career pathways in high school. BBF is ensuring academic excellence so every CMSD scholar can thrive.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Work with parents to complete enrollments, transfers, and withdrawals for students with disabilities
• Respond to records requests
• Coordinate transportation for students with disabilities through the transportation dept
• Process SSI requests 
• Provide clerical support (day-to-day, submitting purchase orders, processing paperwork, etc.) for Director of Instructional Services and Program Managers
• Enrollment - Work with parents to complete enrollments, transfers, and withdrawals for students with disabilities
• Maintains the back end of the IEPPlus and PowerSchool Special Programs databases 
• Train and assist staff utilizing the front end of the systems
• District point of contact for the special education data systems (IEPPlus and PowerSchool Special Programs)
• Collaborate with special education stakeholders to ensure accurate creation and completion of special education documents
• Assist with EMIS reporting components required for students with disabilities
• Collaborate with outside districts and separate facilities providing services for CMSD students. 
• Complete enrollment for CMSD students educated outside of the district (foster placements, court placements, etc.)
• Maintain special education EMIS data for CMSD students educated outside of the district
• Maintain state reporting data for students with disabilities
• Assign Parent Surrogates 
• Able to handle basic correspondence without supervision, including memos, letters, and electronic transmissions to internal employees and external customers
• Responsible for organizing and supporting the day-to-day activities to ensure efficient office operations
• Screens and handles incoming and outgoing electronic communications
• Maintains the confidentiality of information that could immediately negatively impact the district, performance, or perceived value if shared beyond its intended audience.
• Assists with updating division information on CMSD website as needed
• Operates a variety of office equipment
• Implements District and/or Board of Education policies and procedures
• Performs all other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 3+ years’ experience in a position of support for administrators at senior level or higher
• High school diploma or GED required; Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Detailed knowledge of CMSD organization, organizational procedures, and personnel preferred
• A personal sense of accountability around the ultimate success of CMSD transformation
• Entrepreneurial energy and focus on the ultimate goals of CMSD
• Ability to perform multifaceted tasks concurrently with minimum supervision
• Ability to maintain a professional manner when interacting with Cleveland Metropolitan School District staff, external colleagues and the public
• Demonstrated proficiency and experience using Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint; ability to manage Access databases (mailing lists) and prepare and edit basic PowerPoint presentations.
• Excellent decision-making skills to respond to high-pressure situations
• Demonstrated time management skills to plan, manage, and coordinate
• Ability to work well under pressure
• Exhibits good customer relations skills in answering phones, screening, and responding to inquiries and requests from district officials, parents, students, media, and other external customers

Working Conditions/Physical Demands:

The characteristics listed below represent the work environment typically encountered while performing the essential duties of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

• Expected moving, walking, and standing consistent with an office environment and occasionally lifting up to 15 pounds
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, and sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms
• The employee is frequently required to talk and/or hear.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to a normal office environment
• Local travel may be required for training/meetings

NOTE: The above stated duties are intended to outline those functions typically performed by individuals assigned to this classification. This description of duties is not intended to be all-inclusive or to limit the discretionary authority of management to assign other tasks of similar nature or level of responsibility. 

Education

To Apply

EEO Statement

We believe that equity and inclusion at CMSD is an essential call to action, a catalyst to ensure value and appreciation among all our employees, so we may be fair and welcoming now and in the future.  CMSD provides equal opportunities for employment, retention and advancement of all personnel by administering all terms and conditions of employment regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex, disability or genetic information, age, citizenship status, military status, sexual orientation or expression, socio-economic status, title, other dimensions of identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The District’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Discriminatory Harassment, and Sexual Harassment and the District’s Title IX grievance procedures, including information on how to report or file a complaint of discrimination, how to report or file a formal complaint of sexual harassment, and how the District will respond, may be accessed on the District’s Civil Rights Notices webpage, available atClevelandMetroSchools.org/domain/105. The District’s Title IX Coordinator / Director of Equal Employment Opportunity may be reached at:

1111 Superior Avenue East, Suite 1800

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

(216)-838-0070

TitleIX_EEO@ClevelandMetroSchools.org