SARASOTA -- One after another, parents told Sarasota County School Board members their autistic children weren't progressing because they've had six teachers in three years.
During public comment at the School Board's meeting last week, some parents begged board members not to bump teachers at Laurel Nokomis Middle School who teach autistic students.
For five years, North Port parent Tammy Baker drove to Fruitville Elementary School in Sarasota to ensure her autistic child would be taught inclusion and socialization from highly trained teachers.
"The teaching team there has special training in autism," she said. "They work with the therapists. They met on their own time. They used the best practices for our children."
Another parent who brought his autistic son with him to the podium, said autistic students need consistency because they do not respond well to change. They don't thrive when they have too many teachers, he said.
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first two years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, impacting development in social interaction and communication skills, according to the Autism Society of America.
Parents were concerned that several teachers at Laurel Nokomis Middle School who teach the autism classes are among the 125 teachers who will be replaced by others with more seniority due to an estimated $40 million shortfall in the school district budget.
School Board member Frank Kovach called the bumping situation "poorly designed." Kovach said he prefers low-performing teachers be laid off, not just those with the least seniority, as agreed on by the School Board and the teacher's union.
"I am as angry as I am disappointed," he said. "It's poorly designed and not an effective system ... If student achievement is our No. 1 priority, we should be keeping the most effective teachers and not those who have been here for years.
"It flies in the face of everything the union has ever talked about," he continued. "It is a shameful way to run an organization. We should keep employees who have been proven successful instead of those who have been around a long time."
Board member Carol Todd said she volunteered in autistic classrooms for years and has seen how one teacher can make a difference.
School Superintendent Lori White said the district would like to have employees who want to teach autistic students get their autism endorsement, which is not currently required by the state or local School Board. The state has proposed making the endorsement mandatory beginning in 2011.
Taking the six college-level endorsement courses -- which instructors have called costly and rigorous -- could guarantee teachers protection from being bumped in the future. However, it may not save the teachers of autistic students who were already bumped.
White said exceptional student education teachers have more intense training and are competent to teach special-needs students such as those with autism.
Board members discussed the bias associated with protecting specific types of instructors such as those who teach ESE, art, Spanish and music.
"We (School Board members) have no control over hiring and firing teachers," said School Board Chairwoman Caroline Zucker. "But we must find an answer."
Todd said she didn't want to see the board "box in" good teachers by requiring additional endorsements. She said there are some exceptional faculty members who excel in teaching autistic children but don't have their endorsements.
"It could work in the opposite direction for these teachers," she said.
At Zucker's recommendation, the board agreed to hold an August workshop on the issue.
E-mail: eallen@sun-herald.com
By ELAINE ALLEN-EMRICH
North Port Community News Editor