Special education issues have festered for years at one of Maryland’s top public school districts, leading to a domino effect that resulted in a staffing crisis and left students with special needs falling behind, 11 News Investigates has learned through dozens of interviews and a review of district data.Howard County Public Schools, one of the state’s crown jewels for public education, has been a destination district for students with special needs for years, and its special education enrollment reflects that, increasing nearly every year since 2015. “But I think all too often, school system leadership is banking on a reputation that’s 20 years old,” said Ben Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association. Data: Budget falls behind surge of students with special needs11 News Investigates obtained HCPSS data showing that the district’s budget for special education has increased each year since 2015, but it hasn’t kept pace with the surge in students with special needs. As a result, five of the last 10 school years saw a decrease in per-pupil special education funding, including decreases in 2023-24 and 2024-25. A current district proposal would increase per-pupil special education funding next year by 2%.HCPSS data obtained last week by 11 News Investigates also shows that of the 116 school-based staff vacancies, 69% of those openings are in special education. “Our educators are screaming the same thing that these poor parents are,” Schmitt told 11 News Investigates. ‘This is unacceptable’: Impact of short-staffing on studentsMore than a dozen parents and grandparents told 11 News Investigates that the system’s special education program was a source of frustration, anger and heartbreak. “This is unacceptable,” said Debra Gunkel, whose battle with the district began in 2023, the year when Fulton Elementary School decided it wasn’t able to meet her grandson’s needs.The district paid for her grandson, who 11 News Investigates will refer to as Jay, to attend a non-public school. The fifth grader has severe ADHD, anxiety and a language disorder. As a result, Jay has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a legally binding document outlining goals and services for the child. But in November 2023, Jay’s reading teacher quit at the non-public school. “A couple weeks later, his special educator quit,” Gunkel said. “So, then things started getting out of control.” Gunkel received a call in May 2024 from the school saying there was an incident in which another student hurt her grandson. “He came home and I saw the injuries,” Gunkel said. “I immediately started crying.”Gunkel filed a police report, in which police classified it as a second-degree assault, and she took Jay to an urgent care facility. She pulled her grandson out of the non-public school paid for by the district that month and said HCPSS couldn’t find a district school for Jay until seven months later. “So, he’s not had reading, he’s not had any of his speech, (occupational therapy), nothing,” Gunkel told 11 News Investigates. Jay is now back at a district school, but Gunkel said he’s still not receiving the services required by his IEP, meaning the fifth grader is falling further behind. “They have him in a third grade reading class,” she said. “I don’t feel like it’s the teachers’ fault in the situation right here with the school because they’re so short-staffed, and they were honest with me … I feel bad for the teachers who truly care, and we are fed up.”Union: Special educators paid less despite higher workloads”(We have the) most five-star schools, most Blue Ribbon schools, you name it — but our staff aren’t being paid like that,” Schmitt told 11 News Investigates. Schmitt said HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes’ stated goal of hiring 149 special education staff by next school year is “not happening.” “You and I can have the same conversation next year, and those positions aren’t going to be filled,” Schmitt told 11 News Investigates.Schmitt said special educators don’t receive more pay than general education teachers, despite dealing with higher workloads. “We’ve been fighting for it for years,” Schmitt said. Barnes was named acting superintendent of HCPSS in January 2024, taking over the full-time job last summer. But as the district’s chief academic officer since 2017, he has seen the problems in special education grow. “I’m confident this specific organizational structure was designed for a different era,” Barnes said about the district’s special education program. “Things decay in school systems.”Barnes acknowledged that, at this time, there’s no monetary incentive for current district staff who have the requisite training to switch to special education, which could help fill holes in staffing. “It happens at the negotiating table,” Barnes said. “This is my first full season of negotiation. Our board has expressed interest in differentiated compensation packages.”Barnes told 11 News Investigates something will have to change to attract special education staff, and that’s part of the reason he requested a review of the district’s special education program, which he said should be done by the end of the school year. He views himself as a partner to parents and the teacher’s union in fixing what’s broken.”It has to be different,” Barnes said. “And so, that’s why this is so important to me, and why we have to get to the bottom of what is really going on here.”Educator asked for help for years, ‘Now, I’m begging’11 News Investigates reviewed dozens of recordings of old HCPSS Board of Education meetings in an attempt to track down when the issues with special education began. One special educator testified about special education staffing shortages at an October 2023 meeting, saying: “Our department has been asking for help for years, and now I’m begging.”Another special educator testified at the same meeting: “These shortages have led to my teammates missing legally obligated service hours on student IEPs.”A third special educator, through tears, testified: “We are failing our communities, and most of all, our parents, who have trusted us to take care of our kids and to teach them, when we can’t even do that.”The educators’ stories more than a year ago echo the issues today — short-staffing crippling safety guardrails and overwhelming caseloads, leading to burnout. At a November 2021 meeting, two board members spoke about special education issues at HCPSS. One called it “a crisis,” and another said the lack of funding for it “didn’t just happen — we’ve been digging, we dug this hole for years.” Now, they’re gone, tooWhile many of the Board of Education’s recorded meetings before 2020 don’t play on the district’s website, 11 News Investigates found one more on YouTube in which four special educators spoke at a meeting in November 2019.”This workload has had negative impacts on my health, my marriage, my wellbeing and my desire to continue as a special educator,” said one teacher, crying. “This is my 13th year as a special educator, and it will be my last.”Special educator Sylvia Hennessie was named Howard County Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2018-19. Six months later, she testified before the board, through tears, saying: “More often than not this year, I feel like I am failing, and that my environment is not conducive to learning or safe for all students, or even safe for me.”Her request to the board in 2019: “Send a message that teachers matter and that students matter by putting funding in place to provide for additional adults in school buildings now. This is nothing we can wait on. It’s past due.”But six years later, the issues with special education haven’t changed, but one thing has. “Now, none of them work for the system anymore,” Schmitt said of the four special educators who testified in 2019. “They’re all gone.”Video below — Preview Part 2: Tolly Taylor reports in Part 2 of 11 News Investigates’ exclusive series, “Left Behind,” speaking with a parent who has spent six months who’s waiting for answers. Part 2 airs Monday on 11 News at 5 p.m.
Special education issues have festered for years at one of Maryland’s top public school districts, leading to a domino effect that resulted in a staffing crisis and left students with special needs falling behind, 11 News Investigates has learned through dozens of interviews and a review of district data.
Howard County Public Schools, one of the state’s crown jewels for public education, has been a destination district for students with special needs for years, and its special education enrollment reflects that, increasing nearly every year since 2015.
“But I think all too often, school system leadership is banking on a reputation that’s 20 years old,” said Ben Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association.
Data: Budget falls behind surge of students with special needs
11 News Investigates obtained HCPSS data showing that the district’s budget for special education has increased each year since 2015, but it hasn’t kept pace with the surge in students with special needs. As a result, five of the last 10 school years saw a decrease in per-pupil special education funding, including decreases in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
A current district proposal would increase per-pupil special education funding next year by 2%.
HCPSS data obtained last week by 11 News Investigates also shows that of the 116 school-based staff vacancies, 69% of those openings are in special education.
“Our educators are screaming the same thing that these poor parents are,” Schmitt told 11 News Investigates.
‘This is unacceptable’: Impact of short-staffing on students
More than a dozen parents and grandparents told 11 News Investigates that the system’s special education program was a source of frustration, anger and heartbreak.
“This is unacceptable,” said Debra Gunkel, whose battle with the district began in 2023, the year when Fulton Elementary School decided it wasn’t able to meet her grandson’s needs.
The district paid for her grandson, who 11 News Investigates will refer to as Jay, to attend a non-public school. The fifth grader has severe ADHD, anxiety and a language disorder. As a result, Jay has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a legally binding document outlining goals and services for the child.
But in November 2023, Jay’s reading teacher quit at the non-public school.
“A couple weeks later, his special educator quit,” Gunkel said. “So, then things started getting out of control.”
Gunkel received a call in May 2024 from the school saying there was an incident in which another student hurt her grandson.
“He came home and I saw the injuries,” Gunkel said. “I immediately started crying.”
Gunkel filed a police report, in which police classified it as a second-degree assault, and she took Jay to an urgent care facility.
She pulled her grandson out of the non-public school paid for by the district that month and said HCPSS couldn’t find a district school for Jay until seven months later.
“So, he’s not had reading, he’s not had any of his speech, (occupational therapy), nothing,” Gunkel told 11 News Investigates.
Jay is now back at a district school, but Gunkel said he’s still not receiving the services required by his IEP, meaning the fifth grader is falling further behind.
“They have him in a third grade reading class,” she said. “I don’t feel like it’s the teachers’ fault in the situation right here with the school because they’re so short-staffed, and they were honest with me … I feel bad for the teachers who truly care, and we are fed up.”
Union: Special educators paid less despite higher workloads
“(We have the) most five-star schools, most Blue Ribbon schools, you name it — but our staff aren’t being paid like that,” Schmitt told 11 News Investigates.
Schmitt said HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes’ stated goal of hiring 149 special education staff by next school year is “not happening.”
“You and I can have the same conversation next year, and those positions aren’t going to be filled,” Schmitt told 11 News Investigates.
Schmitt said special educators don’t receive more pay than general education teachers, despite dealing with higher workloads.
“We’ve been fighting for it for years,” Schmitt said.
Barnes was named acting superintendent of HCPSS in January 2024, taking over the full-time job last summer. But as the district’s chief academic officer since 2017, he has seen the problems in special education grow.
“I’m confident this specific organizational structure was designed for a different era,” Barnes said about the district’s special education program. “Things decay in school systems.”
Barnes acknowledged that, at this time, there’s no monetary incentive for current district staff who have the requisite training to switch to special education, which could help fill holes in staffing.
“It happens at the negotiating table,” Barnes said. “This is my first full season of negotiation. Our board has expressed interest in differentiated compensation packages.”
Barnes told 11 News Investigates something will have to change to attract special education staff, and that’s part of the reason he requested a review of the district’s special education program, which he said should be done by the end of the school year.
He views himself as a partner to parents and the teacher’s union in fixing what’s broken.
“It has to be different,” Barnes said. “And so, that’s why this is so important to me, and why we have to get to the bottom of what is really going on here.”
Educator asked for help for years, ‘Now, I’m begging’
11 News Investigates reviewed dozens of recordings of old HCPSS Board of Education meetings in an attempt to track down when the issues with special education began.
One special educator testified about special education staffing shortages at an October 2023 meeting, saying: “Our department has been asking for help for years, and now I’m begging.”
Another special educator testified at the same meeting: “These shortages have led to my teammates missing legally obligated service hours on student IEPs.”
A third special educator, through tears, testified: “We are failing our communities, and most of all, our parents, who have trusted us to take care of our kids and to teach them, when we can’t even do that.”
The educators’ stories more than a year ago echo the issues today — short-staffing crippling safety guardrails and overwhelming caseloads, leading to burnout.
At a November 2021 meeting, two board members spoke about special education issues at HCPSS. One called it “a crisis,” and another said the lack of funding for it “didn’t just happen — we’ve been digging, we dug this hole for years.”
Now, they’re gone, too
While many of the Board of Education’s recorded meetings before 2020 don’t play on the district’s website, 11 News Investigates found one more on YouTube in which four special educators spoke at a meeting in November 2019.
“This workload has had negative impacts on my health, my marriage, my wellbeing and my desire to continue as a special educator,” said one teacher, crying. “This is my 13th year as a special educator, and it will be my last.”
Special educator Sylvia Hennessie was named Howard County Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2018-19. Six months later, she testified before the board, through tears, saying: “More often than not this year, I feel like I am failing, and that my environment is not conducive to learning or safe for all students, or even safe for me.”
Her request to the board in 2019: “Send a message that teachers matter and that students matter by putting funding in place to provide for additional adults in school buildings now. This is nothing we can wait on. It’s past due.”
But six years later, the issues with special education haven’t changed, but one thing has.
“Now, none of them work for the system anymore,” Schmitt said of the four special educators who testified in 2019. “They’re all gone.”
Video below — Preview Part 2: Tolly Taylor reports in Part 2 of 11 News Investigates’ exclusive series, “Left Behind,” speaking with a parent who has spent six months who’s waiting for answers. Part 2 airs Monday on 11 News at 5 p.m.