Dear School Board Members,
Please don’t dilute these important groups and consider keeping the structure as is. I have 2 kids about to enter BCPS and I am very hopeful to have the ESE Advisory Committee strong and as is and I am excited to get involved.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

My name is Sabrina Flores, I am a mother with a child in BCPS.

ESE Advisory has been instrumental in ensuring that the needs of my child at school are heard and supported. Without the ESE Advisory my child would not be in a BCPS school, as the Advisory has given me the confidence and encouragement to work alongside BCPS instead of throwing in the towel.

Essentially, the Advisory is encouraging parents to press on and stay within BCPS instead of going elsewhere.

It is in the best interest of BCPS to keep the ESE Advisory as its own entity, and not be joined with any other advisory committee. This past year, I attended most meetings, and can tell you, meetings were two plus hours each, as the needs discussed were important in nature, and also supported parents to be deeply involved in their children’s education. The needs discussed during ESE Advisory meeting are very specific to the the needs of individuals with disabilities. By joining ESE to any other advisory committee you are telling students and parents alike that you do not value and care for the specific needs of children with disabilities. I pray that is not the case.

I am absolutely not in agreement with the suggestion to join ESE Advisory with any other committee, and I plead that you do not move forward with this proposal.

It is essential that BCPS continues to work with us to resolve problems and that you do not try to silence us in any way.

Thank you for your consideration and time.

No, leave our Advisory alone. Instead of trying to shut down what’s working, how about you spend that time and energy actually listening to our feedback — and working with us, the parents and community — to improve ESE in our schools? Support, not silence.”

My name is Dr. Trudy Jermanovich.

First, I want to commend the Superintendent’s Task Force on an amazing feat. Not only did they meet for over 76 hours, they created a body of work which can be used for future policy changes. This work included structuring a presentation which outlines the committee’s recommendations with various options for the Board, very complete minutes which should be an example for committees to send to the Board, and, astonishingly, a fairly complete collection of ByLaws for various committees, many of which will have to be rewritten.

By the Board placing the meetings on BECON, I have learned so much about the committee structure in SBBC and we now have a guide as to what should be available to the public on the School Board’s website. This is one of the recommendations of the Task Force. I would hope that future committees would also be allowed to submit a video of their meetings, so that more people could view the meetings on their own schedule, as I have done with the Task Force videos.

I will leave it up to the Board to discuss what’s the best of the proposed choices, but I do feel that compressing committees together under separate umbrellas is not the best plan. So many committees have unique needs and in a large district, to me, that uniqueness can better serve our students with separate committees.

For the changes to Policy 1070, I would hope that you keep the language as close to the present policy as possible since it was recently reviewed and approved in 2024. I DO NOT believe you should replace committee chairpersons every 2 years. Learning to run a committee takes time and commitment. The 4 year limit with the extra 2/3 vote to possibly retain an officer past this point should remain in the policy.

I also believe the Board should allow the Task Force to continue their work so they can flesh out training manuals and other issues as identified in this workshop. The Task Force has done an amazing job, but there’s more still more work to be completed.

Dear School Board Members,
As a proud member of the ESE Advisory Council and Chair of the ACE-Autism Committee, I must respectfully and firmly voice my strong opposition to placing the ESE Advisory under any umbrella structure. Our ESE Advisory is an established, independent body that brings together a diverse group of dedicated stakeholders each month, which includes appointed school board members, ( I'm one of them) all working to improve outcomes for our ESE community.
Additionally, the ACE Committee, which has thrived for over a decade under the ESE Advisory, meets quarterly with active participation from district staff, parents, and community members. These meetings not only provide critical information and updates, but also offer a valuable space where parents can directly seek assistance and advocate for their children.

The integrity and accessibility of these groups must not be diluted. Our advisory and committee work is far too vital to be reorganized under an umbrella that could limit our voice, our impact, and our reach. Please respect the important role we play — and allow ESE Advisory and its committees to continue serving our families and stakeholders independently.
Sincerely,
Melissa Carrion Ramos
Proud ACE-Autism Chair

As a stakeholder in Broward County Public School system and a member of the Florida Debate Initiative I would like to share opportunities available to all students. We had several schools participate and win in statewide events, such as: "Salute to Service", regional events, and attend paid for trips like "Civics Immersion". Our priority is to provide "access to debate" for all students, especially our Title I schools. We do not compete with any district, we are meant to support all districts. Schools receive stipends to run the debate program and teachers will receive a stipend as well. My goal in speaking is to provide a tangible flyer and business card that will allow schools to gain access to programs that are free and available to all students across the state.