Parents raise concerns about staffing shortages and safety at PSUSD campus

As the 2024-2025 school year approaches, parents of students at Bubbling Wells Elementary School in Desert Hot Springs are raising concerns about on-campus safety, particularly for students with special needs.

New Channel 3’s Jennifer Franco talked with two mothers of special needs students at Bubbling Wells who say they are nervous about what the new school year holds for their children.

Yvette Ramirez, mother of 5-year-old Bryce, and Ashley Randal, mother of 6-year-old Ramone, are speaking out about how staffing shortages are leading to safety issues, specifically for special needs students who require extra support.

“He is learning words,” Ramirez mentioned. “He doesn’t say full sentences, so he can’t tell me about his day in class. He can’t tell me if he ate, he can't tell me what’s gone on in there.”

Both mothers are demanding change from officials at Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) after multiple safety related incidents involving students at Bubbling Wells elementary School.

“My son who was 5 at the time eloped, which basically means he disappeared,” Randal said. “It was from what I’ve heard close to an hour and they could not find him.”

Randal says the school never called police when the incident was taking place. She also mentioned that this was not the only time this has happened.

“Shortly after my son eloped, another child did and he was found in the parking lot and then a few months after that another child eloped and was found out in the street.”

According to Randal, the school never put alarms on the doors that lead to the outside of the school, even after those three elopements took place.

A spokesperson of Palm Springs Unified School District says they are unable to discuss individual student/parents for privacy reasons.

Both mothers blame large classroom sizes for preventing their children from receiving the education that they are entitled to under state law.

Yvette Ramirez says her son’s classroom had only one aid to help 14 children. “Our kids would get hurt and then we would get phone calls and then I would ask do you have extra aides in the classroom and they would say yes. So they basically would pull aides from other classrooms.”

Randal has filed a complaint with the California Board of education and is waiting for the investigation to begin.

Both parents want to see their children thrive, with the help of school and district leaders.

“Inclusion isn’t just about letting us sit at the table or letting our kids sit at the table,” stated Randal. “It's making sure that they are heard at that table.”

News Channel 3 has reached out to PSUSD for information regarding policy, procedures, and staffing related to this matter. PSUSD's Director of Special Education Jodi Curtis answered the following questions:

1. Is PSUSD still facing staffing shortages, and if so, how many special education-related positions remain unfilled heading into the new school year?
   
   • "PSUSD is staffed with certificated teachers and continues to recruit paraprofessionals to support student programs and has recently hired substitutes through classified job fairs held this summer. We have another classified job fair scheduled this week, July 17 as we prepare for the new school year. If any vacancies are present when the new school year begins, PSUSD will work closely with non-public agencies to fill any remaining positions after our recruitment and job fairs held with Human Resources Department"
     
2. Does that figure fall in line with what's mandated by the state?
   
   • "We have staff available to start the new school year and are prepared to fill any vacancies that may occur."
     
3. How many special needs students are there per class at Bubbling Wells (other schools throughout the district) and what is the standard based on policy?
   
   • "The 2024-25 class lists are not finalized until the first day of school and staffing will be adjusted if needed at that time dependent upon student enrollment."
     
4. Does the district or school have plans to do anything (or has it) to provide additional/new safeguards in special needs classrooms at Bubbling Wells? (i.e. locks/alarms/etc.)
   
   • "The school site meets each student’s individualized needs in specialized programs and services based upon the Individualized Education Program (IEP)"

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