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Parents press Lynchburg City Schools for accountability on volunteer screening and special-education hire
Summary
Three parents used public comment to urge Lynchburg City Schools to enforce existing volunteer screening, hold staff accountable after an alleged misconduct by a volunteer, and include family voices in hiring the division's next director of special education.
Three parents told the Lynchburg City School Board at its regular meeting that the division must enforce existing volunteer rules and improve transparency in hiring for special education leadership.
The comments came during the public-comment period, when Dr. Justin Hensley, Christiana Stafford and Kathleen Stafford described family experiences they said show a gap between written policy and how the division applies it.
Dr. Justin Hensley, who said he and his spouse have four children in Lynchburg City Schools and two children with individualized education programs, thanked the board for its work but urged the division to include families when it hires the next director of special education. Hensley said the role “directly shapes the day-to-day experiences of our children” and requested that families be invited into the hiring process through listening sessions or a feedback panel.
Christiana Stafford, a parent and educator with a master’s degree in trauma-informed education, told the board she used a Freedom of Information Act request after an adult volunteer coach allegedly threatened and intimidated her child. Stafford said the volunteer’s background check bore the signature of the assistant director of human resources and listed felony convictions she said should have disqualified the person under the division’s volunteer policy. She said she has not received a substantive response from leadership and described the situation as an accountability failure rather than a policy gap.
Kathleen Stafford, speaking as a parent, called for “transparency, accountability and an unwavering commitment to protecting the children of Lynchburg City Schools.” She said the community deserves clear communication about incidents that affect student safety and the division’s response, and asked for a public response explaining how the district will rebuild trust.
Board members and staff did not take action during public comment. The superintendent was reported to have received emails and to be investigating; callers asked the board to ensure family perspectives are included in the upcoming special-education hire and requested clearer communication about the investigation and any personnel or procedural fixes.
The parents urged enforcement of existing safeguards rather than broad policy rollbacks, with Christiana Stafford saying the proposed edits to the volunteer policy risk undoing work by an equity task force and could disproportionately affect minority families.
The board’s public-comment rules were read aloud before remarks; they limit individual speakers to three minutes and place order-of-priority for in-person comments (students, staff, parents/guardians, community members).
