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Special-education staff and parents warn against eliminating small-group SAI classes
Summary
An education specialist and parents urged the board to retain small-group Specialized Academic Instruction (SAI) settings and raised concerns that removing them in favor of co-teaching-only models would harm students with IEPs and risk legal issues under IDEA.
Several speakers during public comment Thursday urged the San Marcos Unified board to preserve small-group Specialized Academic Instruction (SAI) classes and to involve stakeholders before changing service delivery models for students with IEPs.
January Freeman, an education specialist employed by the district, said the proposed shift toward co-teaching at all sites “directly contradicts the foundational principles of IDEA,” the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and risks denying individualized services required under FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). Freeman said decisions appear to be “predetermined,” described co-teaching ratios that often exceed recommended limits and warned that removing small-group instruction will “exacerbate” instructional gaps rather than close them.
Freeman also said staff were asked to change services without parent meetings in some cases and described operational concerns including inflated co-teaching class sizes, lack of instructional aides, and cases where middle-school co-taught classes masked high-school course needs.
Parent and community speakers reinforced the point that one-on-one and small-group supports are essential. Bria Cassidy, a parent, described how 1-on-1 special-education support has been critical for her child and urged the district to consider the real-world effects before cutting personalized services.
Board members and the superintendent listened and said staff would follow up. Dr. Johnson acknowledged the seriousness of the concerns and said staff will engage in follow up with parents and school leaders. No formal board action was taken at the meeting; the remarks were part of public comment, and Freeman’s testimony asked the board to halt or re-evaluate proposed service changes prior to implementation.
Freeman explicitly cited federal legal obligations and warned that predetermination of services could raise legal concerns under IDEA and FAPE if families are not consulted. Parents asked for greater transparency, data, and stakeholder engagement before any elimination of existing SAI classes.
