San Diego: 'Enrollment is declining, special education population increasing'

Jan 28, 2025, Fox 5, San Diego: San Diego teachers call for increased special education staffing

Dozens rallied outside San Diego Unified District headquarters Tuesday, calling on the district to prioritize special education staffing.

San Diego educators are demanding action, calling the special education staffing levels a crisis.

“It hurts us when we don’t have enough support to be able to care for those children the way they deserve,” said para educator Issel Martinez.

Education specialists and para educators who provide support in the classroom rallied Tuesday evening, asking district leaders to fully staff schools, improve caseloads, and pay.

San Diego Unified says its caseload is lighter than other districts.

“The state typically says 28 to one, and we actually have a caseload of 20 to one,” said Nicole DeWitt, Interim Deputy Superintendent of Instruction.

“I’ve been with the district for 10 years. Nine out of those 10 years, I’ve been over our contractual limit on caseloads,” said educational specialist Jennifer Stanchak.

Stanchak says she’s experienced caseloads of up to 35 at a time.

Since the pandemic, the district says it’s hired more than 200 para educators. Currently, San Diego Unified hasn’t filled about 170 special education positions compared to what’s been budgeted for.

“Even though our enrollment is declining, our special education population has been increasing, so it is a number we are chasing,” said DeWitt.

As the San Diego Education Association begins bargaining for another contract that represents more than 6,500 educators in the district, they are continuing to fight for resolution.

“Every single year it looks different, but there’s always the ask for ‘we need more help, we need more support,'” said Martinez.

The district says recruiting is a year-round process and has a couple programs to get qualified candidates into these positions.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the SDEA union also presented their platform for the next contract and the top demand is fully staffing schools.