Parents and special‑education staff urge board to restore psychologists, diagnosticians and safety notifications

Multiple public commenters used the board’s public‑comment period to press the district on special‑education staffing and classroom safety.

Joshua Delancey, a Livingston District parent, told the board his kindergartner ‘‘has spent months exposed to screaming and physical violence’’ and asked the board to adopt a standardized notification policy so parents are informed “whenever a student becomes physically aggressive or whenever a behavioral disruption lasts longer than 10 consecutive minutes.” He warned that cuts under the current budget proposal would remove an elementary alternative‑education teacher his family needs.

Special‑education advocates and staff amplified those concerns. Alita Strickland and other speakers presented staffing ratios and timelines: one public commenter said the district employs roughly 12.5 school psychologists for nearly 24,000 students (about 1:1,900), far above recommended ratios, and another said the district is not meeting federal timelines for special‑education evaluations. School psychologists and diagnosticians said they are writing reports nights and weekends to meet the 65‑business‑day VDOE requirement and asked the board for a multi‑year staffing plan and restoration of cut positions.

Board response: Chair Jackson and the superintendent thanked speakers for raising concerns and indicated the board would take the comments under consideration as it finalizes the budget and staffing decisions.

What’s next: Several speakers asked the board to reinstate a cut psychologist position and to present a concrete, multi‑year staffing plan for special‑education psychologists and diagnosticians; the transcript records the appeals and the board’s acknowledgment but does not record an immediate action to restore the position.