Teachers and support staff warn of ESSE transition crisis; board urged to act

Multiple teachers, paraprofessionals and union leaders used the public-comment period to press the Osceola County School Board for faster, clearer action after the districts changes to ESSE (special education) placements. Speakers described classrooms where staff are repeatedly injured and classroom learning is disrupted. "In the first half of the year, over 300 paras, support staff, and teachers have been injured by students," OCEA representative Emily Grants told the board.

Educators said the districts move to place more students in general-education classrooms has proceeded faster than supports, training and individualized reviews in some cases. Teachers described students who elope, hit, bite or otherwise disrupt instruction and said existing training and protective gear have not been consistently distributed. "This is not sustainable," said a front-office staffer, Lisa Hoover, describing staff exhaustion and frequent crisis calls.

Union and staff speakers asked for systematic training, clearer escalation protocols, consistent protective equipment and more staff positions where needed. Several requested that the board and district leadership visit ESC hubs and classrooms to better understand day-to-day conditions. "We need to be proactive in providing our teachers and support staff with the proper training and materials needed," said Cross Prairie teacher Steven Bundy.

Superintendent Mark Shanoff responded by acknowledging the concerns, saying leadership is committed to follow-up, and urging staff to engage directly with district leaders to arrange targeted support. Shanoff said the district had observed poor learning conditions in some self-contained classrooms before the change and defended the intent behind the ESSE adjustments while also promising more transparent training and access to leadership: "When we set out to make this adjustment, there were real reasons behind having to make this adjustment... We will do what we need to do for kids, we will do right by our employees."

Why it matters: Staff safety, training and special-education placements affect classroom instruction, teacher retention and student outcomes across the district. Board oversight of rollout and resources could determine how quickly problems are remedied.

What happens next: Board members and district staff said they will continue meetings with unions and school teams and provide follow-up on training, protective gear distribution and data the unions requested.