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Teachers and parents urge Garden Grove Unified to cap special-education caseloads, separate TK from kindergarten
Summary
Teachers and parents testified at a Garden Grove Unified School District board meeting that moderate-to-severe special-education classrooms are exceeding safe caseloads and that transitional-kindergarten/kindergarten combo classes harm youngest learners; trustees said they heard the concerns and approved routine business items.
Teachers, parents and union representatives told the Garden Grove Unified School District board on Monday night that some classrooms serving students with moderate-to-severe needs are too large to be safe or to deliver required services.
"When a class size exceeds what the environment can support, attention is divided, safety is compromised, and access to the quality education these students deserve is inconsistent," said Evan McGee, a mild–moderate education specialist and chair of the GGEA special-education committee, citing a districtwide survey of 32 teachers. McGee said most classrooms now range from 11 to 14 students while surveyed teachers identified 10 as an absolute maximum and 8 as the ideal threshold for safety and effective instruction.
Multiple classroom teachers gave first-hand examples. LaDonna Filida Vanda, an adult-transition teacher, said in her classroom of 12 students five "have behaviors that start behavior chains on a daily basis" and three students have seizures that require staff monitoring; she said frequent staff injuries and absences increase instability. "When classrooms operate above effective capacity, staff divides their attention across competing safety needs," she said.
Christie Lopez, a moderate-to-severe teacher, said 63% of teachers reported losing 30 or more minutes of instruction each day and that interruption patterns translate to roughly 30 full days of lost instruction annually. Kelly Uehara, also a moderate-to-severe teacher, said her current classroom has 14 students and described routine interruptions — toileting, medication, behavior responses — that pause lessons.
Speakers also pressed the district on transitional-kindergarten (TK) placement. Kathleen Barbato, a TK teacher, said TK and kindergarten now follow different frameworks — play-based early development versus grade-level academic standards — and that TK–K combination classrooms require teachers to run "two completely different programs" simultaneously, disadvantaging the youngest learners. Terry Coppola, a 26-year teacher, proposed a memorandum of understanding to pilot universal TK as a safeguard for single-grade TK classrooms.
Nicholas Dibbs, a community member who spoke during public comment, asked the board to place a superintendent-search item on a future agenda and referenced board policy BP 8120 in urging a nationwide search when the current superintendent retires. He also noted SB 707, which he said will affect Brown Act call-in and recording rules starting July 1, 2026.
Board members acknowledged the testimony and said staff and negotiators are involved in discussions. "We hear you loud and clear," Trustee Terry Rocco said. Trustees emphasized they are not at the bargaining table themselves but that the board expects staff and negotiators to report back.
No formal board action to change class-size policy was taken at the meeting. The board concluded public comment and proceeded with routine consent and business agenda items, including votes recorded later in the meeting.
