Osceola parents fear ‘disastrous' fallout from special education changes

Yahoo

29-03-2025

Colin Baker thrives on routine, but now the middle schooler with a developmental disorder will soon face upheaval at school and his mother feels 'blindsided' by the Osceola County school district.
Colin, 14, is one of about 13,800 Osceola students with disabilities who will be assigned to a different school or type of class when the new school year starts in August. For Colin, that means moving from a campus near his home to one that is a 40-minute drive away.
'These kids are so sensitive to change, it disrupts their entire lives. And I kept being told change is uncomfortable. Change is uncomfortable for you or I, but for these kids, it's life-altering,' said Karin Baker, Colin's mother.
More than 3,900 parents, Baker among them, have signed an online petition urging the school district to abandon its plans to overhaul how it educates children with special needs.
The School District of Osceola County is making two key changes for the coming school year, affecting two different populations of kids with disabilities.
It will consolidate many of its services for students with disabilities on fewer campuses, which it calls 'hub schools.'
The district has 26 elementary schools that all currently offer special education services. But next school year, if young students with disabilities need 'moderate to significant modifications' to their curriculum, they'll be assigned to one of four elementary schools designated a hub for those services.
At the same time, Osceola schools also will reduce the total number of students in self-contained classes — which enroll only special needs children — and move toward including those with milder disabilities in general education classrooms throughout the district. That has long been what both the state and the federal government urge when possible.
Currently, Osceola's public schools have far more students with disabilities taught in separate classes than the state average, said Hilary DeLuca, the district's director of Exceptional Student Education, or ESE, programs, at a March 11 meeting of the Osceola County School Board.
Last year, Osceola schools enrolled about 20% of its ESE students in self-contained classes, compared to a state average of 13.4%.
That should 'concern everybody,' Superintendent Mark Shanoff said at the meeting.
'I know what inclusion does, and I know how that can be transformational for so many students who otherwise wouldn't have that opportunity,' Shanoff said. 'Our students will fall further and further behind, and we are clearly seeing that the rest of the state is passing us because we have not adapted to what our students need in ESE.'
Deputy Superintendent Renee Clayton said students with disabilities will still get any extra services they need, even if they are in traditional classes. And they will benefit, she added, from going to class with non-disabled peers.
'Change is hard, and it's frustrating,' Clayton said, but the plans are needed.
Melanie Thomas, whose son has autism, isn't convinced. She started the online petition worried what the changes will mean for her child, now enrolled in a district pre-K program that provides special education services.
The changes will impact every Osceola County student, not just those with disabilities, she said. Merging students with disabilities into classes that might be ill-equipped to handle them could cause more disruptions and stress for teachers, she said, and could mean mean academic problems for more students.
'It absolutely will affect your child's education, 100%. And it's not fair. Every parent should be concerned about this,' she said.
Thomas' son Luke doesn't have to switch schools, but he will start kindergarten in a general education class at Narcoossee Elementary School in August instead of in a class with only youngsters with disabilities. That makes her anxious because she fears other kids might bully Luke for being different.
Her son is prone to emotional outbursts and meltdowns, which can last 30 to 45 minutes. His new teacher may not be able to get through a lesson if they have to help Luke through a temper tantrum, she added.
Dena Whitfield, the mother of two students with Down syndrome, said she was 'devastated' when she learned that her children would be forced to change schools. Hope, 11, and Parker, 9, love being at Harmony Community School and are thriving, she said.
School district leaders are moving too quickly to implement their plan, she said, and failing to clearly inform parents about the details.
'They're using buzz words to make it seem like it's all going to be fine, and it's just not going to be,' Whitfield said.
Whitfield's children will now be assigned to Narcoossee Elementary, one of the new hubs. She worries they will miss their teachers and struggle in new classes and says the change adds transportation headaches to their school days.
Whitfield, who calls Parker 'Houdini,' said her son has run away during school and requires heightened supervision throughout the day. She is not comfortable having him wait for, or ride, a bus, so she will have to drive him to his new school, about 45 minutes away from their home with morning traffic.
Baker's son will be moved from Harmony Middle School, which is in the community where they live, to Narcoossee Middle School, 14 miles away. That will mean a longer daily commute for their family, too, which may be stressful for Colin, who has Noonan syndrome, a disorder affecting growth, physical appearance, muscle tone and learning.
Baker said she learned of the changes he'll face in August when she watched the school board meeting earlier this month. She plans to attend the upcoming April 8 meeting with a group of other parents opposed to the changes.
'How is this better for our kids? Nothing that they have put out there tells me how this is going to be better for my child. Nothing,' she said.