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 media centers. Hudson cited the legal standard known as the Miller test and asked the board to "let [librarians and teachers] do their jobs and leave decisions on books to educators and each child's parent."

- Tracy O’Connor asked whether Cobb County Schools has a written policy governing responses if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other federal agencies come to campus, and whether staff have been trained on any such policy. She said public access to a clear written policy was important to reduce confusion and rumor.

- Jennifer Susco alleged the district’s communications team acted to provoke reactions around a past event and said records she reviewed show the district moved to cause "fireworks, not for safety," and that the district’s response has been an attempt to justify those actions in litigation. Susco said the documents she cited totaled roughly 740 pages.

- Michael Garza urged the board to prioritize support for students with disabilities, citing examples of students who prospered with adequate help and criticizing district leaders for focusing on metrics and external accolades rather than targeted student services.

Superintendent remarks and district responses Superintendent Ragsdale opened his remarks with condolences for two students who recently died and then reviewed district priorities and practices. On special education and staffing he thanked parent mentors and district counselors for their work and acknowledged that schools must provide appropriate learning environments.

On the question of federal agencies, Ragsdale said, "We do not collect information regarding the immigration status of our students. Our job is to educate, not to investigate." He added the district will comply with lawful directives from law-enforcement agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while continuing to follow state reporting guidelines.

On book challenges and media-center materials, Ragsdale said the district’s recent removals involved a small number of titles judged to contain age-inappropriate material and framed the district’s process as intended to ensure materials available to students are age appropriate. He said the U.S. Department of Education reviewed pending cases and that district decisions about age-inappropriate content are local determinations.

On safety, Ragsdale said the district has more than 370 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) across schools and conducts regular training and drills. He said Cobb is adding Vapor Wake dogs to schools and cited recent state-level funding: "Governor Kemp recently announced an additional one-time $50,000,000 for school safety," Ragsdale said, adding that Georgia schools already receive $109,000,000 in related funds and that the district spends more than $35,000,000 on safety annually.

What the meeting record shows and does not show Public commenters presented allegations, requests and documents; the board did not take formal action on those public-comment items during the Feb. 13 voting session. Several requests—such as Tracy O'Connor’s request for a written ICE-entry policy—are questions posed to administration that the transcript shows board members did not answer on the record during the meeting. Ragsdale’s remarks provided a verbal assurance about the district’s stated practices, but the board did not present or vote on a written policy regarding ICE procedures at the Feb. 13 meeting.

Ending: Speakers closed the public-comment period and the board proceeded to action items taken after executive session.