The school board meeting May 3 became emotionally heated as parents of special needs students addressed the school board during a public comment period.
First they listened to the annual update on special education from Joann Biondi, Director of the Special Programs Department, and results from a recent district forum on special education from Nancy Vandell, head of the PTA’s Special Needs Committee.
Then some special education parents made suggestions while others vented their frustration and anger at the district.
Most of the 11 parents said the Individualized Education Plans were not being honored. An IEP is drawn up by parents, teachers and school administrators for each of the district’s 2,371 special needs students as a contract that details the services the child is to receive. Some frustrated parents who feel they can no longer work within the system have filed compliance complaints in court, and the district has been doing legal battle over IEPs for years, according to the annual report. There were five hearings in 2005 with four of them in the district’s favor. These four have been appealed to Federal Court and are currently in federal mediation.
David Weinstein, who has a son at a Sycamore Valley Elementary School, told the board that the district is poor to respond and asked for phone calls to be returned and letters to be answered. He suggested the school adopt a more business-like approach to communication.
Kim Ii, whose son suffered brain damage from a vaccination, said he was not receiving the services promised in his IEP. She said his speech therapist often did not show up. She felt the district gave face time but was not committed to an open dialogue with parents. She and her husband have filed a compliance complaint.
Jim McVay said his son was being harassed and bullied by his aide and that when he demanded to observe his son’s classroom, he was told he had to give 36-hour notice. He argued the 36-hour notice made it impossible for him to get an accurate picture of what is going on in his son’s classroom.
Parent Tammy Brock ended her comments with, “My hopes have been shattered and my dreams have become nightmares.”
Both school board members and members of the public appeared rattled after the public comment session ended.
In an interview after the meeting, Vandell, who has a child with attention deficit hyperactivity order, said she sympathizes with the frustrated parents who came to the board meeting. She pointed out that the people who are having the worst problems are usually parents of severely disabled children.
“It’s very hard when you have a child with special needs. You have to go through a grieving process. You have this idea of the future they’re going to have. They can be successful. They just need the support,” said Vandell.
She said she also sees the district’s point of view and feels it has been supportive of families with special needs children.
“Parents do expect the district to do more than they’re mandated to do. It’s a very sad situation, but it’s not fair to the district or to the other children to put all the resources in one place,” Vandell said.
After the public comment session, board president Joan Buchanan said she was hurt at the suggestion that the district is uncaring.
“It’s impossible to be successful 2,300 times,” said Trustee Greg Marvel.
School board member Paul Gardner recognized the “disconnect” between parents and schools. He said there is a lot more the district needs to work on.
He cited the special programs office’s annual report as proof that special education services are improving and also pointed out the human error involved in these services.
The report showed there were signs of improvement. Staffing, noted as one of the major challenges in special education, is up from 1999-00 with 38 more one-on-one aides.
The report also included some promising results from an online San Ramon Valley Special Education Programs Survey. It showed that the 411 parents who participated in the survey were generally satisfied with special education services; 75 percent either agreed or strongly agreed that the district provided the support their children needed as written in their IEPs.
The school board is still deciding on how to follow up on all the feedback. It will also take into consideration feedback from the special needs’ Forum for Collaboration in April. The forum, hosted by the school district and the PTA, was an opportunity for parents to give their input. Even though 2,300 parents were invited and only 25 showed up, the forum yielded constructive suggestions, the organizers reported.
In an interview after the school board meeting, board member Nancy Petsuch said despite the tension, there has been progress in special education.
“For me personally, I think the board really does want to make this better. I think that the annual review of special education does truly show that we’re improving and that we have a way to go. Our goal is to have no parent feel the way those parents feel.”
Measure A asks Contra Costa voters to decide future of county's urban limit lineMay 11, 2026 9:05 am