Elk Grove Unified's special education director outlines inclusion push as parents press district on racial disparities

Ann Regali, director of special education, told the Elk Grove Unified School District board the district served roughly 10,560 students in special education this year and that about 70% of those students participate in general education settings.

Regali framed the district's work as focused on inclusion, compliance and preparation: expanding preschool assessment capacity, adopting a bilingual grammar curriculum for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, growing paid work-experience opportunities (from 164 to 183 since the packet was printed), and complying with Senate Bill 531 requirements for employer fingerprinting.

"Our mission is to provide an appropriate high-quality service in the least restrictive environment to all students with disabilities," Regali said, summarizing program changes and training that the department plans to continue.

Community advocates and family members responded during public comment with requests for more transparent, site-level data and clearer measures of success. Tijana Barnes, president of the Sacramento NAACP, said a prior episode involving derogatory instructional material left families seeking a public apology and concrete follow-up.

"I come here with great sadness," Barnes said, asking the board what specific actions would protect students and staff and what protections were in place against retaliation for those who speak out. She added she expected to remain actively engaged with the district over the 2025'26 school year.

A student speaker, Cali Lloyd, described being benched from a varsity volleyball team and said she believed racial bias shaped how coaches and school staff handled disciplinary matters. "I felt as if I had to tone down my voice or walk on eggshells," Lloyd said.

Parents and local advocates who followed the presentation praised the department's transparency but flagged ongoing concerns: site-to-site inconsistencies in inclusion practices, unclear criteria for measuring whether a behavior approach is "effective," and barriers to accessing therapeutic services.

Dustin Noble, representing EG Speaks, and Courtney Rosena, the EGUSD CAC chairperson, asked for district-provided, accessible data that would reveal disparities across school sites and for stronger, consistent paraprofessional training and supports. "Please sit with them, listen to them, and let their stories guide you," Rosena said, urging trustees to center caregiver knowledge in planning.

Trustees pressed staff for details. Board members asked why only a small share of high-school students receiving services appear on A-G completion tracks (cited at roughly 14—7%), and Regali said co-teaching models, targeted credit-recovery options and further data analysis are being explored to improve access. Regali also noted a multi-year cohort effect: increases in preschool inclusion over recent years should support higher A-G completion rates as those students advance.

Regali told the board the district has worked to reduce disproportionate identification of African-American students for emotional disability and that the MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) rollout, along with training and early intervening services, is central to that effort.

Next steps the district committed to include: correcting a slide labeling error flagged during the meeting (clarifying that universal access training applies to all teachers), producing more granular data on A-G participation for students with disabilities, and continuing outreach with parent advocates to clarify training schedules and site-specific inclusion plans. Appropriate district staff will follow up with community members who spoke during public comment.

The presentation and public comment signaled sustained community attention on equity and inclusion as the district prepares its Local Control Accountability Plan and budget for formal consideration at the June 24 meeting.