CAC Statement at May 14 School Board Meeting
At the May 14th School Board meeting, the CAC made this statement during the open comment period, followed by the following email to the board.
Palo Alto CAC Statement 5-14-19
From: Kimberly Eng Lee <kimberlyenglee@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, May 14, 2019 at 11:58 PM
Subject: Palo Alto CAC for Special Education Statement
To: Jennifer DiBrienza <jdibrienza@gmail.com>, Todd Collins <tcollins@pausd.org>, Kenneth Dauber <kdauber@pausd.org>, melissa baten caswell <mbcaswell@yahoo.com>, Shounak Dharap <sdharap@pausd.org>, Don Austin <daustin@pausd.org>
Dear PAUSD School Board Members and Superintendent Austin,
Attached is the statement that we made tonight asking for an explicit commitment to and funding for the 2018 “Vision for Special Education”, along with a call for more transparency in decisions that impact Special Education students and staff.
We also wish to highlight our community’s satisfaction with contributions by Ms. Conway, who was hired especially for her special education expertise and turnaround skills. She restored a much needed trust relationship for parents and staff. This is a key reason that the restructuring of Special Education management without notice or full articulation is questioned by many, despite our full support of General and Special Education partnering. It remains unclear if and how Special Education/Inclusion and Equity reform will be related and implemented in the future.
We believe that the Board plays a key role in building up public understanding of PAUSD’s commitment to improvement, in addition to sustaining increases in student achievement and wellness. We hope you concur. Going forward, the Palo Alto CAC looks forward to working with both Directors of Special Education.
Respectfully,
Kimberly Eng Lee
On behalf of Palo Alto CAC for Special Education
Linked Attachments:
PAUSD Special Education Council’s May 2018 “VISION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION’
PAUSD’s March 2019 proposed 3-year Special Education plan
February 2019 Joint PTAC and CAC response to 2019/20 proposed Budget & PAUSD Promise