FIGHTING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

The LAUSD’s Continued Assault On Special Education

Events in the past few weeks have highlighted shocking choices made by District personnel that have hurt our most vulnerable students.

“We’re treated like problem parents instead of concerned parents.”

– Parent comment to LAUSD School Board

Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash

No group represents the frustrations of parents in the LAUSD more than those who have children with Special Education needs. Like any other parent, they just want their kids to reach their maximum potential but the District makes them fight for every service that can help them reach this goal. It is as if the law that guarantees them a Free and Appropriate Public Education does not exist.

As the LAUSD Board prepared to retreat behind closed doors this morning to evaluate Superintendent Carvalho, I delivered the following comments reminding the Board to include his performance in the area of Special Education:

Last month, we discovered that despite what the Charter School Division has been telling communities for years, the LAUSD is not forced by law to give unrostered classrooms to charter schools under PROP-39. Instead, José Cole-Gutiérrez and the Office of General Council chose to force some children into closets and stairwells to receive Special Education services.

While Superintendent Carvalho is not responsible for creating this policy, he has done nothing to end it. During the year he has been in his position, certain Board Members continued to be deceived. In evaluating him today you must determine if this act of insubordination was done with his knowledge or if he is not in control of the bureaucracy he is supposed to manage.

This is not the only example of the neglect of Special Education under Carvalho. Later today, you will vote on the proposed membership of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC). This item was pulled from the agenda on two previous occasions because the by-laws of the Committee were not followed. Even after this delay, the Division of Students, Families, and Community Engagement (SFaCE) did…