Nine of the 12 Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education candidates gathered virtually to discuss issues impacting students with disabilities and their caregivers Wednesday.
To an online audience of about 50 people, the candidates pushed back against current special education policies at a forum hosted by Evanston CASE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students with disabilities.
The impact of special education services on the district’s financial solvency dominated much of the conversation.
“We are required by law to provide appropriate special education in the least restrictive environment,” Andrew Wymer said. “This is a non-negotiable as far as funding. It’s the law.”
In a letter to the community last year, Superintendent Angel Turner partially attributed the district’s budget crisis to increasing transportation and tuition costs associated with outsourcing special education services.
Christopher DeNardo said that Turner’s statement had “some validity” because outsourcing has made the district vulnerable to price volatility. Daniel Lyonsmith echoed concerns over outsourcing, saying that despite the high costs of special education programs, the district is “getting a bad product.”
Still, many candidates criticized Turner for “blaming” the district’s financial troubles on students with disabilities.
“To be clear, the budget crisis was caused by a combination of financial illiteracy and malfeasance,” Chris Van Nostrand said. “So it makes absolutely no sense to blame a particular student population.”
Throughout the forum, candidates pushed for increased accountability from schools. Many advocated for increased data transparency related to 504 plans and individualized education programs, two programs that help students access support and accommodations related to disabilities.
Asked how they would ensure marginalized groups have equitable access to these services, both Wymer and Nichole Pinkard called on the district to release disaggregated data by race, income and language. Pinkard also expressed concerns that Black male students are disproportionately placed into special education programs because of disciplinary infractions.
“We need to address the root causes of bias in our special education referrals, ensure that identification processes are equitable and rebuild trust with families,” Pinkard said. “So I would advocate for us to track and publicly report disaggregated data.”
At the same time, candidates shared stories of other students and families who have struggled to access 504 Plans and IEPs. Pat Anderson drew on her experience working in the district, attributing the difficulties students and caregivers face to personnel shortages, contract employees and rushed meetings.
Some candidates pointed to challenges at specific schools.
At the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies, language barriers have prevented some students from receiving adequate support, Brandon Utter said.
Meanwhile, Lionel Gentle expressed concern that the Rice Children’s Center — a residential school providing care for students with emotional, behavioral or mental health needs — lacks support from the district.
“The fact that parents are struggling and giving up is unacceptable to me,” Anderson said. “These are their children that they send to us to educate, and by law, they are entitled to a full complement of services.”
Throughout the forum, many candidates committed to focusing on the needs of students with disabilities if they are elected.
Peter Bogira criticized the lack of discourse surrounding the issue throughout the campaign.
“The fact that we had to have a special forum here because of deficiencies across some of the other conversations over the last couple of months is indicative of how we need to better weave (students with disabilities) into the conversation,” Bogira said.
Email: h.webster@dailynorthwestern.com
Email: jackbaker2028@u.northwestern.edu
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