(Guam) 'Many of the kids coming to us at kindergarten age are not ready to go to school'

Nov 14, 2025, Guam Daily Post: Lack of aides fuels special education crisis

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lack-of-aides-fuels-special-education-crisis/article_eb374924-0c91-4975-920a-6784a34d074b.html

A crisis is brewing at the Guam Department of Education due to a shortage of aides to assist students with disabilities, according to the administrator of GDOE's special education division Tom Babauta.

In testimony Friday during an oversight hearing by the Legislature's Committee on Education, Babauta described how a continued lack of disability aides, formerly known as one-to-one aides, is fueling the crisis.

"The crisis is a supply and demand issue. There is an issue recruiting and retaining aides. The issue is also a funding issue. Positions have been identified by school teams, but it is an unfunded mandate," he said.

Babauta described how school teams might identify and request aide positions for approval, but GDOE's budget office will not allow the position to be approved and filled without certifying that funds exist.

"The complaint is that the current model cannot be sustained long term. School administrators every morning determine how to comply with student IEPs (individual education plans) using resources at their level. Every administrator has expressed frustration and concern over compliance and sustainability, and meeting student needs," Babauta said. . . .

"We do try to provide as much training and support as possible, however this position is not just for everybody," Babauta said. 

He said the Guam Education Board agreed to recruit aides to comply with the collective bargaining agreement with the Guam Federation of Teachers, which are in addition to the IEP-stipulated mandated aides.

Currently there is a shortfall of approximately 121 aides, equivalent to some $5.45 million in annual costs, according to Babauta.

"SPED leadership has been working with administrators for years and this issue has not been resolved," Babauta said. . . .

"In an elementary school, many of the kids that we have coming to us at kindergarten age, age five, are not ready to go to school. They don't know the names of letters, they don't know numbers. They're still in diapers," he said.

"Mom packs lunch, two bottles. Wait a minute, they're five years old, you're not toilet trained, and you're drinking out of a bottle?" Swanson said.

He cited another example of a teenager that was picked up by school attendance personnel. "He lived right here in Guam his whole life, and he's 15 years old, and he's never been to school," Swanson said.

"So there's a variety of problems, and these all feed into: Is it a good day at school? Is it not a good day at school? So we still have a lot of work to do, and as far as that audit is concerned, the board has it for comment. It'll be reviewed at the November meeting and, by the December meeting, be approved and be turned over to the legislature."