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Early childhood special-education teacher asks Judson ISD to add ECSE classrooms to reduce class sizes
Summary
An ECSE teacher told the Judson ISD board that class sizes in self-contained early childhood special-education classrooms are growing and urged the district to add both self-contained and co-teach ECSE rooms at each elementary campus to keep students on home campuses and improve outcomes.
Reagan Lovelace, an early childhood special-education teacher who said this is her first year in Judson ISD, asked trustees to allocate more ECSE classrooms districtwide to reduce class sizes and keep students at their home campuses.
“ECSE classroom numbers have grown exponentially,” Lovelace said during public comment. She described many of her students as having severe autism and said they “become overstimulated very easily,” which can lead to defiant or aggressive behavior. “They need access to smaller class sizes in order to not only make progress on their IEP goals but also to really benefit from that early intervention,” she said.
Lovelace recommended the district adopt a model she saw in Northside ISD — one self-contained classroom and one co-teach classroom per elementary campus — which she said would reduce travel for families and improve parent involvement. “Keeping all students at their home campus is ultimately what is best for the child, the school, and the families,” she said.
Why this matters: State special-education law requires that students who qualify must receive services; Lovelace framed the request as an instructional and safety issue for students with high needs and as a teacher-retention issue. Trustees asked clarifying questions but did not vote on a change; the remarks were part of the public-comment period and therefore did not trigger board deliberation or action at this meeting.
Board response: Trustees asked the teacher to provide specifics for staffing or classroom needs; no funding or program changes were proposed or approved in open session as a direct result of the comment.
Ending: Lovelace asked the board to “allocate more classrooms in the district for ECSE” for the 2025–26 year to reduce classroom numbers. The board did not take formal action during the meeting.
