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Preschool and special-education teachers tell trustees caseloads and policy changes are unsustainable
Summary
Multiple early-childhood special-education teachers and a music teacher addressed the board in public comment, warning that full-day special-education classes with 16–18 students (many on IEPs) are unsafe and unsustainable. Commenters also said new 'critical needs' guest-teacher classifications reduce pay and leave programs understaffed.
Several Washoe County School District staff used public comment time April 22 to urge trustees to address special-education and early-childhood staffing levels and a proposed change that would classify some critical‑needs positions as guest‑teacher roles.
Pre‑K and special‑education teachers said classroom ratios have risen to as many as 17–18 students in full‑day self‑contained classrooms, often with a high share of children on individualized education programs and multiple medical/behavioral needs. Michelle Hagen, a pre‑K special‑education teacher at Bernice Matthews, told the board her classroom includes 17 children ages 3–5, all on IEPs and many not yet potty trained. “My students require 100% of my support a 100% of the day,” she said.
Other teachers described being asked to carry caseloads that federal guidance and the district’s earlier internal guidance recommend be smaller. Michelle Cochran, an early‑childhood special‑education teacher with advanced degrees in early childhood special education, said federal guidance recommends a maximum of 12 in similar settings and that a district team had recommended a 14‑student cap that has not consistently been followed.
Several commenters also criticized a district staffing move discussed in earlier meetings that would reclassify some critical‑needs positions as guest‑teacher roles with reduced pay and no leave accrual. Music teacher David Thaxton said the change would push experienced specialists out of classrooms: “Shifting the critical needs positions to guest teacher positions…guarantees that many of my colleagues in similar situations will also be leaving the classroom for good.”
Multiple speakers asked the board to restore lower caps for full‑day early‑childhood special‑education classrooms, to provide clearer, consistent guidance about when additional staff allocations are triggered, and to reconsider the guest‑teacher classification for critical‑needs positions.
Superintendent Joe Ernst acknowledged the comments and told speakers the district would continue to review the issues. Trustees thanked the teachers for coming forward and asked staff to take the concerns under advisement.
