Parents group protests CCSD’s use of distance education

More than 100 people attended a protest Thursday night opposing the Clark County School District’s use of distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protest, organized by Power2Parent, took place at the CCSD Administrative Center on West Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas.

A nonprofit parent organization, Power2Parent, is holding a protest tonight at the Clark County School District Administrative Center to voice opposition to distance education. #CCSD #LasVegas #ClarkCounty pic.twitter.com/yLRowB5ScZ

— Julie Wootton-Greener (@julieswootton) August 28, 2020

State Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, and special education advocate Jodi Thornley were among speakers who addressed the protesters. In her remarks, Thornley said about 42,000 children in CCSD have special needs.

Distance education is tough enough for parents to navigate, but the challenges are magnified for parents who have a child who has a special need, she said. “To attempt online learning with some students is an unattainable task.”

And for working parents, it’s harder to find day care options for children who have special needs, she said.

Many CCSD children with special needs have regressed in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, she said, noting distance education has also taken a toll on their mental health.

Plus, when it comes to services such as occupational therapy, “parents are not therapists,” Thornley said.

CCSD’s first day of school was Monday and classes for the district’s approximately 314,000 students are being held solely via distance learning.

The protest coincided with a School Board meeting Thursday night, which was conducted remotely via video conferencing. The meeting did not include any updates on the first week of school on the agenda.

More than 100 people — many of whom were wearing white clothing — stood on the sidewalk along Sahara Avenue. Some passing cars honked and music was blaring from speakers. A handful of protesters brought their children along.

Henderson resident Rudy Pamintuan was holding a sign that read: “What about the kids?” He has three boys, ages 15, 13 and 10, in CCSD schools.

The family experienced two days of a home Internet outage, meaning the boys missed two days of school. And Pamintuan said his oldest son’s gym class involves watching online exercise videos.

“In any crisis, it’s always about the kids first,” he said, noting that when the Titanic was sinking, the priority was to get women and children on the lifeboats first.

But during the state’s special legislative session earlier this summer, additional cuts were made to education funding, he said. “Our education is always in the bottom of the nation. This is going to drop us further down.”

The crowd of protesters listened to speeches from event organizers, politicians and education advocates. At times, social distancing wasn’t practiced.

Messages displayed on signs included: “virtually impossible,” “in person is best,” “education is essential,” “get your school out of my house” and “special needs children forgotten.”

Speeches and chants

Hammond told the crowd: “Thank you, parents, for showing up for your kids.” He said this school year can’t be a “throwaway year.”

He said no one is questioning that COVID-19 is a risk for certain groups, but the other 99 percent of Nevadans need to return safely to their normal lives.

Hammond — who was a teacher for 16 years — said he doesn’t want to see teachers who are at elevated risk to put their life in jeopardy by returning to classrooms and there need to be accommodations for those teachers. But he said it should be a teacher’s choice.

He cited several groups — such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Pediatrics — and their recommendations regarding school reopening.

Hammond outlined problems CCSD has encountered during the first four days of education this week, including issues with Canvas — the online learning management system — on the first day of school.

Power2Parents co-founder and president Erin Phillips asked attendees: “Are you guys frustrated? Are you guys angry? Do you guys want your kids back to school?”

She told attendees — who were gathered on a sidewalk near the CCSD Administrative Building — “make them hear you in the top floor of that building.”

The crowd chanted “back to school” and later, “education is essential.”

The Metropolitan Police Department and CCSD police were outside the administrative building, and later blocked off entrances to the parking lot. A Metro officer told protesters at one point to stay on the sidewalks and not in the street. Protest organizers said during speeches they wanted to thank Metro and CCSD Police for making the event safe.

Reaction from protesters

Las Vegas resident Billie Bastian said she has grandchildren attending a recreation center program during distance education. If children can go to day care programs, she said, schools should be able to reopen safely.

She said she decided to attend the protest Thursday night about 15 minutes into watching her grandson — who’s in kindergarten — and his experience with virtual learning, noting he had a meltdown. She attended the event with her daughter.

Bastian, who has lived in Las Vegas for 63 years, said the kindergartners in her grandson’s class had to know how to mute and unmute their microphone during distance learning, noting the teacher is so patient.

Parent and special education advocate Diana Battista — who lives in Las Vegas — attended a special education parent protest earlier this month in front of the district office.

On Thursday night, she was holding a neon-green sign with a picture of her three sons, who all have special needs. One of the sentences on the poster: “These are the children CCSD left behind.”

A lot of families who have children with special needs are frustrated, Battista said, noting there are children having behavior issues and who aren’t willing to sit at a computer.

Two of her children require a one-on-one aide for the whole school day. She said she was told the aides would be online during distance education, but she doesn’t know how to see if they’re actually there.

And she said full services still haven’t been provided to one of her sons under a legal settlement with the school district.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.