Special educators serving Silicon Valley’s disabled and most vulnerable children are about to be laid off.
Charles Hinman, interim superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education, sent a Feb. 25 letter to staff, obtained by San José Spotlight, which said this is a result of school districts throughout the county closing schools due to declining enrollment and multimillion-dollar budget deficits. He said it’s led to a year-over-year decline of students in the county’s special education programs, which are operated on public school campuses. The programs serve students with disabilities from birth to age 22.
Special education enrollment throughout the county has declined from 1,026 students in 2024 to 916 year to date. Hinman’s letter predicts it will further decrease to 796 — and jobs will have to be put on the chopping block.
“While staffing adjustments are necessary due to declining enrollment and financial constraints, we remain steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the quality of services and effectiveness of our special education programs,” Hinman told San José Spotlight. “We are taking deliberate, thoughtful measures to ensure these changes do not disrupt the essential services our students rely on.”
The office of education oversees roughly 240,000 students across 31 schools districts and 21 authorized charter schools in the county.
It’s the latest set of cutbacks Hinman has announced in the past month, after previously vowing to “right-size” a top-heavy education office that saw executive assistants taking home six-figure salaries under his predecessor, Mary Ann Dewan. The Board of Education voted to fire Dewan last October — bringing on Hinman to serve temporarily in her stead until a permanent superintendent is hired. The board renewed Hinman’s temporary contract on Feb. 26.
Some members of the special education community welcomed Dewan’s firing, arguing that special education programs were overlooked. Some staff complained about a lack of American Sign Language interpreters in classrooms. Parents reported that hard of hearing special education students received high school diplomas despite reading at grade school levels.
Faviola Bataz, the mother of a special education student in the Gilroy Unified School District, called the looming cuts “bulls**t.”
“If they want to get rid of people, they should start with administration — people who don’t have to do nothing with the kids,” Bataz told San José Spotlight.
While Bataz welcomed the education office’s leadership change last year, she said she didn’t expect meaningful positive changes to special education in the county overnight.
“We didn’t think it was instantly going to be rainbows and birds chirping around,” she said. “This was a fight that was not going to stop regardless of who is superintendent.”
The union representing county paraeducators and special education employees has come out swinging against the idea.
“We are aware of the interim superintendent’s notice regarding potential cuts, and we strongly oppose any reductions,” Riko Mendez, chief elected officer of SEIU 521, told San José Spotlight. “Every education position is essential, and laying off dedicated staff will directly harm the quality of education and critical support our community relies on.”
Mendez said students’ safety and success are at stake.
“We urge immediate action to explore every alternative before considering any job losses, and we are committed to working relentlessly with the office of education leadership to minimize impacts and safeguard our schools,” he said.
Special education is the largest fee-for-service program the office of education provides to local school districts, offering instructional programs divided into early education (birth to age 3), preschool, elementary, secondary and post-senior levels. The Special Education Department also helps special needs students at institutional and community schools and in pediatric-skilled nursing facilities.
Tara Sreekrishnan, a board of education trustee who opposed Dewan’s firing and has been vocally critical of Hinman, said the impending layoffs are unnecessary.
“I opposed Hinman’s contract renewal because I oppose these rushed and indiscriminate mass layoffs that would create unnecessary instability for staff and students, and I urge Hinman and my colleagues to reverse these plans,” Sreekrishnan told San José Spotlight.
Board President Maimona Afzal Berta said the cuts are difficult, but necessary to address the district’s “financial realities.”
‘The Santa Clara County Board of Education recognizes the difficulty of the decisions made by the interim superintendent as he leads the office through these challenging times,” Berta told San José Spotlight.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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