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Special‑education advocates urge clearer death‑notification practices and describe ASD support needs

Albany City School District Board of Education · January 10, 2026
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AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A longtime special‑education teacher and parent‑advisory council representative described autism‑spectrum supports and urged understanding and evidence‑based practices; a written comment urged consistent district communications when current staff die to respect grieving communities.

At the public comment portion of the meeting, Amy Wilson, a former special‑education teacher speaking for the Albany Special Education Parent Advisory Council, outlined best practices and supports for students with autism spectrum disorder, noting a range of placements and interventions from visual supports to separate specialized classrooms and the value of evidence‑based approaches such as ABA and structured teaching.

"Autism doesn't erase a person's identity or potential. It just means their brain works differently and that their differences deserve to be understood, supported, and respected," Wilson said.

A written public comment from Marci Bouchard (read by Board member Krejci) asked the district to review its practice for notifying the school community when a current staff member dies and suggested separate announcements or other protocols so recent staff deaths receive appropriate acknowledgment. The board noted privacy constraints and said written comments naming individuals will be sanitized per district policy, and asked staff to take the concern under advisement.

Next steps: Board asked staff to be mindful of privacy rules while reviewing whether communication practices can better honor recently deceased staff in a way consistent with legal obligations.