2026 CASE Conference

Zenia Burnett
Director, Office of Special Education Instructional Services
Virginia Department of Education


Zenia Burnett is the Director of Special Education Instructional Services at the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Her office runs point on instruction PK-12, transition, and provides instructional leadership for the Technical Training and Assistance Centers, leadership academies, and other state-directed projects and centers serving students with disabilities. Prior to joining the VDOE as a Monitoring Specialist in January 2020, Zenia was a teacher, and held various school-based and central office positions in mid-sized urban and large suburban school divisions, including a State Operated Program in Virginia. While her capacity has been vast, primarily the scope of her work has been dedicated to developing and leading instructional programming for students with disabilities and coaching for teacher effectiveness and leadership. Zenia is a graduate of Virginia Union University, George Washington University, and she received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Virginia Tech. Her current work in higher education includes curriculum design and preparation for graduate level teacher and leader preparation programs at various colleges and universities in Virginia.

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