Howard County special education teachers warn they and the system are reaching a breaking point

At a Howard County Board of Education meeting Nov. 7, four special education staff members sounded an alarm, warning that special educators in public schools are reaching a breaking point because of understaffing and underfunding by the county.

At times with tears in their eyes, the special education staff members gave accounts of what they face each day, saying they spend most of their time running from one student crisis to the next.

“I’m a crisis interventionist all day; that’s really all I do. The days I actually just teach are far and in between,” said Lauren Williams, a fourth-year special education teacher at Guilford Elementary School in Columbia, in a December interview.

“I started tracking the amount of [special education] service hours missed when a crisis happens and just today I counted 163 minutes missed.”..

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-special-education-teachers-1219-20191219-z2kfddvco5hrzbb4b4yaa2pqme-story.html