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Parents and educators urge Greenville County board to create Special Education Advisory Council after safety, service complaints
Summary
Multiple parents and former teachers told the board about alleged safety incidents, unmet special education needs and low test scores and urged the district to establish a Special Education Advisory Council to guide system-level changes.
Scores, safety concerns and pleas for a formal parent-and-expert advisory body dominated public comment at the Greenville County Schools board meeting on Oct. 22.
"We are united in asking for a call to action to change the culture, the systems, the procedures, and the services provided to special education students," parent Amy Hibbs told the board, recounting an incident in which her son’s teacher was reported for physical and verbal abuse and later arrested. Hibbs asked trustees to create a Special Education Advisory Council that would include students with disabilities, parents, teachers and district leaders to identify unmet needs and shape programs.
Former teacher Allison Huffstetler cited district assessment gaps: "In 2024, the SC Ready ELA scores showed that only 21 percent of students with disabilities met or exceeded expectations compared to 67 percent of students without disabilities," she said, adding that only 19 percent met or exceeded expectations in math compared with 58 percent of peers.
Several parents detailed alleged failures in individual cases. Amanda Myers described repeated incidents involving her autistic daughter, saying the district did not follow IEP and BIP plans, improperly restrained the child and denied one-on-one support despite, she said, "36 elopement attempts in an 11‑day period." Myers asked the board to install security cameras in vulnerable special-education classrooms and to form the advisory council.
Other speakers, including parents and a number of district alumni and educators, repeated calls for consistent behavior-management training, elimination of seclusion rooms, better training for paraprofessionals and broader inclusion of students with disabilities in schoolwide activities.
The board did not take formal action to create a Special Education Advisory Council at the meeting. Vice Chair Moseley had opened the public‑comment portion by saying that, under board policy, the board will not respond during public comment and the superintendent will designate staff to follow up and respond to speakers in an appropriate timeframe.
Trustees heard the concerns alongside other agenda items later in the meeting, including action items on student assignment, leave waivers and vendor contracts. The public comments map to a larger district dialogue about services for about 12,000 students receiving special education in Greenville County, speakers said.
The board has not announced a timetable to consider a formal policy establishing an advisory council.
