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Parents and staff press LAUSD committee on PSW/ERIC role changes, budget priorities and Virtual Academy graduations
Summary
Public commenters and employees urged the district to report on outsourcing and cuts to psychiatric social workers (PSWs)/ERIC roles, asked for more special‑ed funding and accountability, and multiple Virtual Academy students and parents demanded independent graduation ceremonies.
Several members of the public used the committee's public-comment period to press the district on staffing changes, funding and student ceremonies.
David Takofsky, a bilingual teacher and former school board member, asked the board to publicize recent state special-education funding and to push for more resources before the May budget decision. Takofsky also asked for reports on the tutoring settlement, outsourcing of psychologists and speech therapists, and whether special‑education sites are being modernized.
Clinic PSWs and school-based PSWs raised concerns about a mid‑semester decision to reassign ERIC program providers and psychiatric social workers from early childhood special education roles. Glenda Mejia read a statement reporting that the abrupt shift disrupted continuity of care, left families uncertain about who will deliver mandated services, increased providers’ scheduling problems and eroded trust. Marisol Alvarez, a school-based PSW, told the committee that removing PSWs from the early childhood special education department threatens timely evaluations and compliance with IDEA timelines.
John Gomez, a district speech-language pathologist who spoke earlier in the meeting, said the district previously maintained a dedicated stuttering‑support position that was cut two years ago and that specialized support positions remain needed for niche communication needs.
Several students and parents from the Leadership and Public Service Virtual Academy delivered coordinated testimony asking for an independent graduation ceremony for the class of 2026. Thakur Singh, Jamila Ventula, Brianna Hernandez, Gabriel Winnick and others said administration has provided conflicting messages and that students have organized petitions (over 100 signatures) and a venue and volunteers to stage their own ceremony. Students said a combined ceremony with multiple virtual academies can be six hours long and creates accessibility and sensory challenges for families and students.
Speakers asked the board for clearer communications, accountability reports (on outsourcing, settlement implementation and facilities investments), and policy or practices to ensure continuity of services for children who rely on PSWs and ERIC providers. District staff noted the concerns and said they will follow up; no formal actions or votes were taken in the public-comment block.
The committee adjourned after public comment and said it will reconvene in May.
