At some San Diego Unified Schools, students with disabilities spend more than half of the school year being taught by a revolving door of substitute teachers.
District officials say there’s a severe shortage of special education teachers nationwide. Nonetheless, parents of these children feel like the district failed them.
The numbers: Our Jakob McWhinney reviewed the district’s records and found that in 2025, special education classrooms in at least 21 San Diego Unified schools used substitutes for at least half the school year.
Most of those subs weren’t fully credentialed, and even fewer had special education credentials. Schools in lower income areas and those that have higher support needs were hit the hardest.
McWhinney spoke to some of the parents of children with disabilities, some of whom haven’t had a consistent and qualified special education teacher for their child in years. They all said their children haven’t been making progress in their classrooms, and in some cases, they have regressed because of that instability.
Unfortunately, it’s a nationwide trend. Fewer people are becoming teachers, and even fewer are becoming special education teachers. But parents are left wondering where that leaves their children.
Read the full story here.
Border Report: More Resources for Immigrants in San Diego
For Mexican immigrants living in San Diego, safe access to resources and information can be hard to come by. One agency is working to change that.
The Consul General of Mexico in San Diego is partnering with more than 20 organizations across San Diego County to protect and support Mexican citizens living in vulnerable situations related to their status as immigrants.
The partnerships allow the consulate and organizations that provide resources and services to Mexican citizens to refer clients to each other to find the best ways to support them with anything from food assistance to workforce training.
For example, the consulate recently connected a domestic violence survivor with business classes at the City Heights Community Development Corporation, one of their partners, to help her build financial independence.
Read the Border Report here.
City: Pick Up Your Pet’s Poop or Else!
Last year, we reported that school officials decided to keep the public out of a joint-use park at a Pacific Beach school because dog owners weren’t picking up after their dogs.
Readers were understandably upset. Joint-use parks offer the public greater access to green spaces. They are typically built by schools and maintained by cities.
Today, the city of San Diego and San Diego Unified announced that they’re rolling out a system to warn the public when a park is in danger of being temporarily closed because of dog poop. The system will apply to Pacific Beach Middle, Birney Elementary and Franklin Elementary.
Here’s how it works:
Green sign: No incidents.
Yellow sign: Park is at risk of closure because of a dog waste incident in the last 30 days.
Red sign: Fifteen day closure because of two incidents in the last 30 days.
Beat the Heat, San Diego Style
With temperatures climbing, a little shade and a cold drink go a long way. Our Voice of San Diego embroidered baseball cap or bucket hat can keep the sun off, while our insulated can cooler keeps your drink cool for beach days, backyard hangs and afternoons outside.
Stay cool and hydrated with Voice of San Diego hats and drinkware. Shop the Summer Fun collection at https://vosd.org/mrsummer.
In Other News
National City Mayor Ron Morrison announced over the weekend that he will not be seeking re-election. (KPBS)
What’s up with all the mosquitos? The county is monitoring increased mosquito activity in San Diego. (Fox 5)
What’s the future of Lake Hodge Dam? Civic groups are lobbying San Diego officials to rebuild the dam, but there are a lot of challenges in the way. (Union-Tribune)
Law enforcement officials believe that there have been at least five incidents targeting women in San Diego at Dollar Tree stores. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Tigist Layne and Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
Related Posts
