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Protect special education students from budget cuts
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Sacramento City Unified School District must do better by special education students by Joseph Barry
of such a huge budget crisis? Nonetheless, I About a year ago, the Sacramento City Unified continued my work. School District came under scrutiny for vast But after watching the district board meetshortcomings in its special education program, ing on December 13, I felt even more uneasy. mainly for African-American students and SCUSD warned that it will go bankrupt in English learners. 2019 without cuts to employee health benefits. A 2017 audit by The Council of the Great But the Sacramento City City Schools found that Teachers Association is African-American students proposing cuts to adminiswere nearly four times more tration instead. The district likely to be given an outis in jeopardy of a state of-school suspension, and takeover. that English learners were I am a father of two receiving only about half of SCUSD students, as the required special educawell as an activist and tion services. The audit a doctoral student. I also concluded that both feel the same unease as African-American students other parents about what and English learners were budget cuts may mean for being diagnosed to need students. Unfortunately, I special education services see a very unhealthy narraat a far higher rate than tive developing that seems other students, and that the to pit teachers and unions district’s rate for separating against special education students with disabilities students. was higher than both state Joseph Barry is a disability rights activist in Of the district’s total and national averages. sacramento who ran for City Council in 2018. enrollment of 40,617, there In response, the district are 6,718 special education and its new Superintendent students, according to SCUSD. It spends about Jorge Aguilar made public claims that it was comprehensively adopting the council’s recom- $121 million on special education services, including about $84 million in local money. mendations and was committed to improving When cuts must occur, no one wants to be these shortcomings. immediately affected. However, the problem As a longtime advocate for persons with with such a battle for resources is that it exacdisabilities, these issues are what caused me erbates long-held prejudices that are unhealthy to begin studying the district as part of my for students and society in general. doctoral work at Sacramento State. By the When I expressed my concerns to SCUSD summer of 2018, I had worked extensively administrators, they assured me that this to understand SCUSD’s special education narrative would not be tolerated. For the sake shortcomings. Then news began to emerge about the extent of Sacramento’s history of diversity, I hope the superintendent and board members provide the of the district’s budget deficit. In September, leadership that is necessary. This crisis may the Sacramento County Office of Education create an opportunity to create a long-needed rejected SCUSD’s budget for the first time and win for teachers and special education students warned that $28 million in cuts were needed. alike. Ω The district board talked about closing schools and laying off teachers. I was devastated. How can the district afford to improve any outcomes in the face
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