Parents and staff tell Rialto board special-education services are failing; board hears calls for accountability
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Summary
Multiple parents and special-education staff told the board they face repeated IDEA/IEP noncompliance, staffing shortages and inadequate responses to incidents; the superintendent said district staff are meeting with families and working on improvements.
At the Feb. 11 meeting, several parents and special-education staff told the Rialto Unified School District Board that individualized education program (IEP) services are not being delivered consistently and asked the board to demand transparency and consequences.
"Our children deserve their services in their entirety. Our children deserve their 1 on 1 support," one parent told the board during public comment, describing alleged failures of service and saying she had withdrawn her daughter from school because promised supports were not provided.
Special-education staff testified about high caseloads, vacancies and the difficulty of maintaining stable, trained personnel to serve students with intensive needs. Rebecca Grantham, who works with students who have extensive support needs, said: "We must offer compensation that reflects the complexity and intensity of the job." Curtis Martin, a long-time special-education teacher, called insufficient staffing and maximum caseloads a driver of burnout.
A parent described a January incident she says led to her child's injury and accused the district of failing to follow the student's IEP; she asked for a public apology and for the board to enforce IDEA (the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and FAPE (free appropriate public education) requirements.
Superintendent Alejandro Alvarez said the district has been meeting with parents and working on accountability and improvement steps. District staff described unscheduled site visits to hotels used for displaced families and the role of McKinney-Vento liaisons in coordinating services for homeless or displaced students; Dr. Robin McMillan, executive director of student services, explained monitoring steps for the WoodSpring location and said the district continues outreach to families.
What happens next: Parents and advocates asked the board to require clearer accountability and corrective action. The board and superintendent acknowledged ongoing meetings; district staff said they will continue follow-up and that some issues will require human-resources or legal review.
Sources: Multiple public comments, parent testimony and staff presentations at the Feb. 11 Rialto Unified School District meeting.