Monica: I am a special ed teacher in a district where the special education staff has been cut by 40% over the last 2 years. One teacher at my current school burnt out last year due to student behavior and being overloaded. Now this year, my counter-part and I not only are down one teacher, but also have 6-9 more students on our caseloads. She has 13 (but with SIGNIFICANT behavior disabilities) and I have 18 with 5 in referral and also significant behaviors of some. What can I do after my requests for help from my principal and special ed director have been ignored?
The district should have a procedure for appealing the director’s decision or lack of decision to their boss, if you choose to do this. Going outside of the chain of command is typically a bad idea.