A Broward County School Board meeting turned tense Wednesday when protesters clashed with Chairwoman Rosalind Osgood.
About 15 parents and advocates attended the meeting to protest the district’s treatment of special-needs children, saying administrators have failed to support and protect them. The group protested outside the Kathleen C. Wright Administration Center before the meeting began, waving signs saying, “Don’t limit our students!” and “Integrity? Character? Trust? Gone!”
They said their children had come home from school with bruises and bite marks and accused the district of not investigating what happened.
Advocate Rhonda Ward told board members that students had been molested and placed in alternative schools she called “penitentiaries.” Another woman accused the district of operating like a mafia.
Their tone upset Osgood.
“If we continue with those type of outbursts I’m going to ask that you remove these people,” she told security officers. “Those kind of outbursts are very offensive.”
Osgood ended the public speaking time once it went beyond the required 30 minutes. She said she wasn’t “going to allow this to continue in front of our children.”
The group said administrators have not addressed the problems identified in a 2014 report that found weaknesses in the district’s handling of special needs students. Among the findings: Broward County had the worst special ed student-to-teacher ratio of any large district in Florida, staff lacked proper qualifications and training, and special needs students had longer bus rides than other students.
“When we leave our children in schools, we expect them to get an education and to be protected,” said parent Roger Khan. Instead, he said his 12-year-old son has been beaten at school multiple times.
District officials said in August they had made major strides in addressing the recommendations outlined in the report. They said they had hired speech and language pathologists, improved training for teachers and specialists and developed more instructional resources for special-needs students.
Tracy Clark, a spokeswoman for the district, said administrators take all concerns – including those raised at the meeting – very seriously.
“The ESE Department will continue to work with parents and students to determine positive resolutions,” she said. “Broward County Public Schools values our parents, our students and our community.”
bshammas@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4528 or Twitter @britsham
