We Get Letters | Special Education and PUSD: Correcting Some Misinformation

I must write to correct some misinformation in the recent Op/Ed by School Board Candidate Pat Amsbry, which appeared in Pasadena Now on 9/7/22.  

Mr. Amsbry, writing about an experience of 20 years ago, stated:  “We researched all of the PUSD schools and made three attempts to lottery into a PUSD school for our son who was in first grade at the time and who needed an individual education plan (IEP).  We were rejected all three times.  Private school was the only option to accommodate our son’s special needs.”  He declares “The PUSD option failed us.”  The implication here is that one must “win a lottery” to become a PUSD student.

Mr. Amsbry is unfamiliar with the PUSD of today, and apparently is unfamiliar with public education in general.  The fact is that no child is rejected from public schooling.  All are welcome; that is the law, and the foundational diversity of public education, in Pasadena and everywhere.

For special needs students, an IEP team is convened, including parents, teachers, and special education staff.  That team decides on the most appropriate placement, and agrees to place the child wherever the services are that the child needs. Special education remains a large and thoughtful component of the diverse offerings in PUSD.

It is also important to know that PUSD is obligated to provide special education services to all schools in our service area, including private schools – resources such as speech therapy, tutoring, and other services.

Not every student will be assigned to his or her first choice school if they participate in the open enrollment lottery.  But every student is welcome in their PUSD school of residence, and every child with special needs receives an appropriate placement that all agree can serve them best.  

Elizabeth Pomeroy, Ph.D
President, Board of Education

Got something to say, email Managing Editor André Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.com