Montgomery County parents concerned over potential shortage of staff for special needs students
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - Parents in Montgomery County are renewing their concerns over planned staffing changes in the upcoming school year impacting students with autism.
Last month, Montgomery County Public Schools confirmed to FOX 5 half of the 12 paraeducators at the Darnestown Learning Center at Darnestown Elementary School will be reassigned to other locations in the next school year. A paraeducator is a school employee who works under the supervision of teachers or other professional practitioners.
A spokesperson for MCPS said the reassignment will assist with growing needs countywide.
In March, a spokesperson told FOX 5, "6.125 paraeducator positions will be re-assigned next year due to reduced [Darnestown] enrollment projections. Bottom line, an IEP is a legal document that lays out required services that must be provided. These services will be provided at Darnestown despite this change."
At least eight Montgomery County parents plan to speak before the Montgomery County council’s budget hearings this week over the matter.
RELATED: Montgomery County parents slam plan to cut staff for autistic students
Brandon Wright’s son is in third grade and one of the 60 students currently enrolled at the center.
"As parents of children on the autism spectrum, we understand the critical importance of individualized attention and specialized support as key ingredients of academic success for our children," Wright said Monday. "Speaking from previous experience, I am fully confident to sit before you today and say a more general specialized education environment with fewer paraeducators on site would simply fail to meet the needs of my son."
Jamie Doyle, the mother of a third-grade student at the same center, also spoke before council members Monday.
"The advantage of the program is that most of these kids in his class have very similar IEP’s. So, it’s a very highly structured day. There’s movement breaks built in. A lot of these autism-specific support would just not be possible when you have a class with fewer paraeducators and a variety of kids with a variety of learning disability needs," Doyle said.
Doyle told FOX 5, she hopes the comments from parents will help councilmembers see their perspective that the reassignment of paraeducators is a "short-sighted" solution.
"I think people don’t really think about taking away wheelchairs for people who can’t walk, but those paraeducators are really critical for making sure our kids can stay on task, that they have access to the curriculum. I think it’s pretty short-sighted to assume because their budgets have shifted, their needs have shifted when their needs are actually constant," Doyle said.
FOX 5 reached out to the school district Monday ahead of the Montgomery County council meeting. A spokesperson said the district did not have any new updates on the reassignment plan.
"The reassignment of paraeducators is being viewed by parents as a reduction of the program. However, it remains true that every student with an IEP will receive the services identified for them," an email to FOX 5 reads.
More parents are expected to testify at Tuesday’s budget hearing.
