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Special Education PTA to grant $4,000; parents urge policy for CPS allegations and SOTA seniors press to wear honor cords
Summary
During public comment, the Tacoma Special Education PTA said it will distribute $4,000 in bridge-the-gap grants; parents urged stricter recordkeeping and administrative-leave policies after a CPS claim, and students from Tacoma School of the Arts asked the district to allow honor cords at graduation.
Several public commenters at the Tacoma School District No. 10 board meeting on April 10 highlighted special education needs and student concerns.
“Katie Callahan, a parent and member of the board of directors of the Tacoma Special Education PTA, said, “this spring, we will be granting $4,000 in funding requests to help bridge the gap when budget constraints fall short,” and outlined plans to purchase adaptive technology, sensory supplies and support for community-based transition programs.
Katie Callahan said the PTA expects to fund "over $1,500 worth of adaptive technology and software, over a thousand dollars worth of sensory supplies" and more than $1,000 for the district’s community-based transition program.
Katie Young, who identified herself as president of the Tacoma Special Education PTA, urged the district to adopt a policy placing teachers on administrative leave when Child Protective Services (CPS) claims are filed. Young described a local case involving allegations in a program for students with the highest needs and said she found it “disturbing” that a teacher was offered disciplinary "choices" and the possibility that records could be expunged after 18 months. "When a CPS claim is made against a teacher that teacher should be placed on administrative leave to protect the most vulnerable students in this district," Young said.
Students from Tacoma School of the Arts also addressed the board. Adrienne Dyer, a senior, said the school had been told students would not be allowed to wear honor cords and other regalia at graduation. Dyer said she started a petition and that the majority of her class supported allowing cords: "I think that the seniors at Tacoma School of the Arts should be able to wear honor cords," she said, adding that students want to represent achievements and club participation at commencement.
Jelicia Santana, a junior at the School of the Arts, described her experience teaching elementary students through the district’s Beyond the Bell program and urged the board to sustain the initiative because of its positive effect on student leadership and skill-building.
Board president or staff briefly responded to some commenters; the transcript records a staff member saying they would "look into the issue." No formal board action was recorded during public comment.
Ending: The district’s public-comment procedures and board policy 1430 were read at the meeting; staff said they will follow up with citizens as needed after the meeting.
