At the end of December, an addendum to the Livingston Public Schools’ Final Equity Audit Report was released. The update followed up on two issues raised during the December 5 presentation of the report during a Board of Education meeting: special education, and retaliatory culture concerns. The report contained revealing and concerning information, showing that there is much for the district to improve upon when it comes to equity. Hopefully, it will be a useful tool to rectify these issues. To wit, Board members have already started discussing how to address the audit’s recommendations, and meetings are actively being held with administrators, advisors, and equity coaches on the topic.The addendum noted that families of students with disabilities were the most critical group of the district’s general climate for students. They were almost twice as likely as others polled “to disagree that the schools create a safe space for their children and that their children are treated with respect by peers.”According to the report, the two most frequent issues reported across grade levels were the school’s inability to program for neurodiverse students (specifically, an “all or nothing approach,” where the student is included in everything or nothing at all), and the inability of students with special needs to have access to courses at the secondary level that are not required or do not meet graduation requirements.Several additional issues were brought up, including heavy staff turnover; bullying of neurodiverse students; the fact that parents who requested in-class support for students with special needs looking to take AP or honors classes were denied; that certain electives and specialized classes were offlimits for some students if the courses could not accommodate their IEPs (individualized educational plans); and that out of district students were not regularly invited to participate in extracurricular activities.Parents also noted that they worried that in advocating for their child, it could result in fewer opportunities or services for not only their child, but for any other children they may have who need special education services. This last point bleeds into the issue of retaliation, a concern also shared by staff members. Specifically, the report notes that there is “significant fear of retaliation that seems to run through both parents and staff,” which is consistent with what auditors heard during face-to-face meetings, in addition to being surveyed.The report noted a “persistent theme of fear of retaliation and a perception of favoritism” present ...
