Sasha Cruz enjoys the Special Olympics, softball, swimming and track. What she decidedly does not enjoy, however, are special education classes.
Cruz is a senior at Millikan High School and was diagnosed with autism at the age of 13. She said that in 2020, she was placed in a special education class without her mother’s authorization. She said she found these classes dull and felt like she didn’t learn anything, ultimately preferring the general education classrooms.
Her experience with these classes led her to vocalize her concerns at the Long Beach Unified (LBUSD) board of education meeting Wednesday where she strongly advocated for the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classes.
“We are people who like challenges, we want to become very successful, like everyone else,” Cruz said.
Cruz was one of the many speakers from the LBUSD Special Education Community Advisory Committee (CAC) who presented a series of recommendations to the school district on how to better serve special education students.
According to the LBUSD website, the CAC is a volunteer-based organization consisting of parents, teachers, persons with disabilities and community members who want to ensure students with special needs “obtain an appropriate, high-quality education.”
According to CAC secretary Kadi Gonzalez, the CAC has been hosting regular meetings and workshops speaking with parents and community members; the six recommendations stem from those conversations.
The recommendations, in order of importance, focus on:
- School Safety
- Bullying
- Individualized Education Programs (IEP)
- Access to one-on-one aids
- Staff training
- Disability Awareness/ Inclusion
“If our children are not safe, then pretty much nothing else matters,” Gonzalez said. She emphasized the importance of creating and implementing safety protocols that are specific to special education students and staff in case of an active shooter situation.”
The recommendation asks that the board create a clear plan that guides staff on how to protect themselves and special education students as well as drills to practice these procedures.
Another aspect of safety the CAC brought to the board’s attention was the problem of bullying.
“Many parents feel the issue [of bullying] is usually brushed off and the aggressor may have more protection than the victim,” Gonzalez said.
One mother, Monica Joya, on the verge of tears, shared her son’s experience with verbal, emotional and sexual harassment from seven of his peers.
“When I dropped him off at school, I [would feel] a great concern in my heart because there was no solution to this abuse,” Joya said.
The CAC recommends that not only should mental health services be offered as a part of intervention, but a multiple-option response plan should also be created. The plan would discuss with parents what steps need to be taken to address the problem.
As the father of an autistic child, board member Erik Miller said he understood these fears.
“I don’t want my little girl to be bullied. I don’t want my baby to be concerned about safety,” Miller said. “I want my daughter to have friends and I want my daughter to have a healthy, safe and fun environment within the [district] just like I did.”
Miller also emphasized the importance of sharing these testimonies and said he would continue to advocate for students with disabilities.
Another issue the CAC would like to see addressed is the long wait time surrounding Individualized Education Programs (IEP). IEP is both a process and a written document.
Once children are found eligible for special education, parents may start the IEP process by attending a meeting at their child’s school at least once a year. The IEP document explains the child’s level of educational performance, measurable goals, the services they need and dates for these services to begin.
In LBUSD, some of the issues parents face with IEP are the long process overall, delays in services if the IEP is not completed before the end of the school year and struggles with understanding the process, according to the CAC.
To solve these issues, the CAC recommends providing training for parents until the process is clearer to all and having school administration available during the summer to provide aid with the process before the next school year.
Marchell Bailey, an LBUSD mother of three, said she has had to reduce her work hours, and subsequently her income, due to the staggered IEP process.
Bailey has been trying to include bus services and transportation in the IEP for her twin daughters who were diagnosed with autism last year but has been met with constant delays. The delay in services has made it so she has to be the one to transport her daughters to and from school each day.
“An easier process would help tremendously,” Bailey said.
Board member Juan Benitez congratulated the CAC team and encouraged them to continue holding the district accountable. He said he will be pushing the district to incorporate concrete timelines to reach the goals and recommendations brought forward.
“Outcomes require timelines,” Benitez said.
Parents and community members can watch the full presentation here.
