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Parent says Extended School Year placement at GMS lacked supports, asks for earlier notice
Summary
At the Aug. 20 meeting the board heard a public comment from a parent who said her child, a second grader on the autism spectrum, was placed at 'GMS' for Extended School Year without adequate notice or appropriate special-education supports; she asked the district for three weeks' notice and consistent aides.
A parent described problems with her child's placement in the district's Extended School Year (ESY) special-education program, telling the board she had not been informed that her son would attend "GMS" and that the placement environment was not set up for his needs.
Adriana Franco told the board she expected ESY to prevent regression over the summer but arrived to find her second-grade child — who is on the autism spectrum — placed at GMS without advance notice of teacher or one-to-one aide assignments. "How could you not see all of these things?" she asked the board, saying the new environment led to sensory overload for her child.
Franco said GMS lacked a playground and that the classroom was not arranged for specialized instruction or self-regulation. She asked that the district notify parents at least three weeks before the start of ESY and recommended assigning the same aides who worked with students during the regular school year.
The minutes record Franco's comments but do not record a response from district staff or any immediate remedial action. The board's minutes do show that the superintendent reported no action in the earlier closed session; no follow-up directives or a staff response to Franco's ESY concerns are recorded in the minutes for this meeting.
