First and foremost, our students with disabilities are general ed students…All of them.” – Anthony Aguilar, LAUSD Chief of Special Education The end of 2019 brought a conclusion to the Chanda Smith consent decree and its modification. For the first time in over a generation, the delivery of special education services within the LAUSD is […]
The LAUSD’s 2019 Report Card
There were huge changes in the last year for the second largest school district in the country. A look back at some of the major events…
Using Students with Severe Special Education Needs As Lab Rats In An Education “Reform” Experiment
Was LAUSD’s plan to limit accessibility to Special Education Centers in the best interests of the students who needed those services?
The Hijacking of Special Education
The Chanda Smith consent decree should have helped every LAUSD student with special education needs. Instead, it harmed the most vulnerable.
The LAUSD’s Hostility Towards Special Education
On November 16, 2016, the Office of the Independent Monitor held its semi-annual public hearings about the services provided by the LAUSD to students with special education needs. The following is a copy of my testimony before Dr. Rostetter: When I saw your reaction to Adam’s speech, it gave me something that I haven’t had […]
Monica Garcia Votes to Continue Court Fight with Parents of Children with Special Needs
Last month, the 9th Circuit overruled a lower court and stated that parents did have the right to intervene on behalf of their children as they fight to keep special education centers as a choice available to them during the IEP process. While the LAUSD’s lawyers had reportedly already filed the paperwork, the Governing Board […]
The LAUSD Empire Strikes Back
“The district court further erred when it found intervention unnecessary to protect appellant’s’ interest in ensuring the receipt of public education consistent with their disabilities and federal law.” – Judge Carlos T. Bea The LAUSD claims that “special education centers are unnecessary because the District can ‘provide all supports and services…at a general education site”, […]
Education Should be Based on our Children’s Needs
On May 11, 2016, the Office of the Independent Monitor held public hearings and “parents of children with IEPs [Individual Education Plan] and all other members of the LAUSD community [were] invited to provide comments to Dr. David Rostetter”. The following is a copy of my testimony before Dr. Rostetter’s office: Two of my triplets […]