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Best Special Needs Schools in Beltsville, Maryland (2026)

Compare 2 special needs schools in Beltsville. Explore the ranked list and find a program that feels right for your child.

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School listings in Beltsville

2

The Pathways School - Edgewood

Listed
Beltsville, MD

The Pathways School - Edgewood is a nonpublic special education day program at 4600 Powder Mill Rd, Suite 100 in Beltsville, MD. It is one of three therapeutic education programs run by The Pathways Schools across Maryland's Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Prince George's counties, all approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the District of Columbia's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to operate nonpublic full-day programs. The Edgewood program moved into the Beltsville building and consolidated with the Horizons program at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Each Pathways school is kept small, with no more than 40 students, and Edgewood specifically serves up to 36 middle and high school students, ages 13 to 21, in grades 6 through 12. Students are admitted with an emotional disability as the primary disability, and the school also considers secondary diagnoses including specific learning disabilities, mild intellectual disability, traumatic brain injury, and autism spectrum disorders (including Asperger's). Placement runs through the student's Local School System (LSS): referral packets go to the Pathways Admissions Coordinator, the program principal reviews records and interviews the student and family, and an IEP meeting is scheduled once a student is accepted. Edgewood offers both a school-based track, with small structured classrooms using individualized behavior management and no restraints or seclusion, and a community-based track, in which Community Support Staff transport students to receive instruction in a range of off-site settings. Academics follow county curriculum through individual and small-group instruction, and students can earn a Maryland or District of Columbia high school diploma or a Certificate of Program Completion. The program also prepares some students for the GED, a return to a less restrictive school placement, or post-secondary education and career training. Therapeutic and related services include individual and group therapy, social skills counseling, specialized support groups, family support, mindfulness education, Right Response restraint-free crisis management, and speech and occupational therapy in a trauma-sensitive setting. Transition and vocational support is a central part of the program, with vocational assessment, career exploration, job development and coaching, internships, work crew experiences, Pre-ETS, a Young Entrepreneurship Program, and links to colleges, vocational programs, employers, and adult service agencies. The Beltsville campus is also an approved SAT and ASVAB testing site.

  • Nonpublic therapeutic special education day school (grades 6-12)
  • Emotional/behavioral support
  • Learning differences
  • Private school
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Nearby school options

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Planning guides

Plan your next school conversation in Beltsville

Use these guides before you contact programs, schedule tours, or ask your IEP team how a proposed setting will support your child's goals.

Maryland nonpublic placement guide

When the IEP requires it, the school system pays for a private special education school. How that works.

Maryland BOOST Scholarship guide

Award amounts, eligibility, and the next application window for private school tuition help.

How to choose a special needs school

Prepare school-tour questions, compare supports and family communication, and record what each program can show you.

IEP process guide

Bring your IEP, progress evidence, and focused questions to conversations about evaluations, services, or placement.

Comparing school options in Beltsville

Beltsville sits in Prince George's County, so public special education here runs through Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS). One address, 4600 Powder Mill Road, holds two state-approved special education schools: the Kennedy Krieger School Powder Mill Campus for students with autism, and The Pathways School - Edgewood for teens with emotional and multiple disabilities.

This page lists the Kennedy Krieger School Powder Mill Campus and The Pathways School - Edgewood, both at 4600 Powder Mill Road. The answers below explain who each school serves, how a PGCPS IEP team places a student there, how Child Find works for Beltsville preschoolers and private school students, and what the Maryland BOOST scholarship covers.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Special Needs Schools in Beltsville

Is there an autism school in Beltsville, MD?
Yes. The Kennedy Krieger School Powder Mill Campus serves about 50 students ages 7 to 21 with mild to moderate, and some severe, autism who need a highly individualized program. Students work toward a diploma or a certificate of completion, with small classes, high staff ratios, behavior supports and work-based learning in the community. The Maryland State Department of Education approves the campus as a nonpublic special education school for grades 2 through 12.
What is The Pathways School - Edgewood in Beltsville?
Despite the Edgewood name, this campus operates on Powder Mill Road in Beltsville. It serves up to 36 middle and high school students, ages 13 to 21, with emotional and multiple disabilities. Students follow either a classroom-based program or a community-based one, where a support staff member transports them to learning settings outside the school. Graduates can earn a Maryland or District of Columbia diploma or a certificate of program completion, and the school describes its classrooms as free of restraint and seclusion.
How does a Prince George's County student get into a nonpublic school?
Through the IEP. Both Beltsville schools hold state approval as publicly funded nonpublic schools, so the usual path is a PGCPS IEP team deciding that a public school setting cannot meet your child's needs and recommending one of them. When the district places your child, federal rules make the special education and related services free to you. Bring your own observations and any outside evaluations to that IEP meeting.
Where do Beltsville parents go for a preschool evaluation?
PGCPS Preschool Child Find takes written referrals for children ages 3 to 5, runs the evaluations and decides whether your child needs special education. The district's early childhood centers include the Frances Fuchs Early Childhood Center on Cherry Hill Road in Beltsville, 301-572-0600. Before age 3, refer your child to the Prince George's County Infants and Toddlers Program through the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program's online referral site.
My child attends a private school in Prince George's County. Can PGCPS evaluate?
Yes. Contact the PGCPS Child Find Office or submit its online referral. Child Find passes the referral to your boundary school, which holds an IEP meeting within 30 days of receiving it, and the team then has 60 days from your consent to finish assessments. At private schools PGCPS provides only limited speech-language and consultative vision services. For other services, your child must enroll in the boundary school. PGCPS does not serve homeschooled students.
Can a Beltsville student with dyslexia or ADHD get an IEP?
Yes, when the condition affects learning. Federal special education rules name dyslexia as a specific learning disability and list ADHD under other health impairment. Ask your PGCPS school for an evaluation in writing. If your child keeps up with instruction once given accommodations such as extended time, a 504 plan may be the better fit. The two Powder Mill Road schools are built for autism and for emotional disabilities, not for dyslexia alone.
Does Maryland's BOOST scholarship help with private school tuition?
Not for a Kennedy Krieger or Pathways seat that a PGCPS IEP team arranges, since the district pays for that. BOOST helps with tuition at private schools that signed up for it, for kindergarten through grade 12 students whose families meet the free or reduced-price meal income limits. The 2026-27 window closed May 8, 2026. The state sizes each award by income, grade and the school's own aid, and cuts it back if it tops the tuition owed.
What should I ask a Beltsville special education school before placement?
Ask whether your child would work toward a diploma or a certificate, because that choice shapes the next decade. Ask how many adults staff each class and how the school handles a crisis. At Pathways, ask how the community-based program picks job sites. At Kennedy Krieger, ask how speech and occupational therapy fit into the day and how the team plans a return to a PGCPS school.

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