Parents and advocates press Cobb board on special-education supports, book removals and ICE policy; superintendent responds on safety and procedures

Several parents and community members used the Feb. 13 public-comment period to raise concerns about special-education supports, book removals, immigration enforcement on campuses and the district communications team. Superintendent Ragsdale later addressed many of those topics in his remarks to the board.

Why it matters: Public commenters asked the board for clearer policies and stronger supports for vulnerable students; the superintendent’s remarks outlined district practices for campus safety, special-education compliance, and handling requests from law enforcement.

What public commenters said - Tova Ringlin, identifying herself as a special-needs parent, said her son’s classes lacked adequate staffing, described an instance she said led to a juvenile charge and said the Georgia Department of Education found the district had violated her son’s right to a free appropriate public education for failing to follow his intervention plan. "The moral of this story is that classrooms need to receive staffing and support to meet the students' needs," Ringlin said.

- Sharon Hudson spoke against what she called censorship and urged trustees to return certain titles to…