Special Education Partnership Committee Meeting – April 13, 2026
Special Education Partnership Committee Meeting – April 13, 2026
The Oakland City Council Special Education Partnership Committee convened at 3:36 PM on Monday, April 13, 2026, in the City Council Chamber, Oakland City Hall, and adjourned at 6:09 PM. Chairperson Councilmember Rowena Brown presided. Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Ken Houston (participating remotely), and Zac Unger were present. OUSD Board Members Rachel Latta, Jennifer Brouhard, Patrice Berry, and Valarie Bachelor were present. OUSD Youth School Board Members Marianna Smith (arrived at 3:47 PM) and Maximus Simmons were present. The committee received informational reports, heard public testimony, and voted unanimously (with one absence on Item 6) to receive and file all items.
Consent Calendar
- None. (Items 1 and 2 were action items on minutes and schedule; both were approved unanimously by roll call vote.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ms. Sada (multiple items): Criticized the committee for infrequent meetings (only two per year) and lack of follow-up on previous agenda items. Stated that the city and OUSD have failed African American children in education, housing, jobs, and policing. Challenged the process for approving $19 million in OCI funds for Garfield and Sancofa, alleging lack of proper city council approval. Also criticized school safety, illegal dumping mitigation, and the legitimacy of the Oakland Youth Vote process. Urged youth to challenge systemic problems.
- Sam Davis (OCI Oversight Commission): Expressed initial skepticism about Measure AA but praised the work of OCI accountability officer Jennifer Caban and Oakland Promise’s Sandra Ernst. Highlighted increased early childhood access at Garfield and Sancofa as voter-worthy outcomes.
- Laura Blair (Skyline parent): Thanked Nelson Alegria and Councilmember Brown. Asked that funding for the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) not be left to external sources, emphasizing the program’s importance after a shooting at Skyline. Called for collaborative funding from OUSD, county, and city.
- Youth Commissioners (Item 5): Presented the 2024-25 annual report, highlighting the first Oakland Youth Vote (1,500 registered), grant-making work, and trainings on adultism. Ashley Chinyum defended the youth vote process as historic and legitimate.
Discussion Items
Item 3: Status of Oakland Children’s Initiative (OCI), Oakland Promise, and First 5 Alameda County
- Presentation by Jennifer Caban (OCI Accountability Officer): Described OCI as a 30-year voter-approved investment (Measure AA) generating ~$30M/year for early childhood education and college access. Stressed system alignment, not just funding. Reported 1,900 children enrolled in early education (44% increase from FY22-23 to FY26-27), with 68% from top five high-need zip codes. Facing threats from federal uncertainty and budget deficits; emphasized sustainable investment and upcoming five-year guideline iteration.
- Sandra Ernst (Oakland Promise): Reported since launch: nearly 3,400 babies enrolled in college savings accounts ($2M seeded), over $4M in scholarships to ~7,000 students, and 45,000 kindergartners reached. OCI allocation to community subcontractors grew from $2.1M to $4M (28% of OCI allocation). Highlighted East Oakland Promise Neighborhood and leveraged state support via AB 1969.
- Lisa Forti (First 5 Alameda County): Presented early education fund goals: universal preschool in Oakland, closing the enrollment gap for 2,700 unserved eligible 3-4 year olds. Reported 44% enrollment increase since OCI start. 51% of enrolled children are dual language learners, 50% from single-parent households, nearly 25% have IEPs. Maps showing enrollment aligned with high-need zip codes.
- Councilmember and Board Questions: Councilmember Brown asked about hearing directly from families (referred to AIR evaluation on April 23). Vice President Bachelor and President Brouhard asked about data sharing agreements (challenging due to MOUs and FERPA). Youth Board Member Smith asked about proactive vs reactive cleanup and collaboration with students.
Item 4: Oral Report on Illegal Dumping Mitigation Near School Campuses
- Presentation by Liam Garland (Public Works Director): Described the “Three E’s” – Eradication (10,000 tons/year, 25,000 service requests), Enforcement (7 environmental enforcement officers, 36 cameras, new aerial imagery pilot to be approved) and Education (promoting free bulky pickup for residents; only 9-25% capacity used). School-specific: proactive abatement before school start, dedicated site contacts to escalate issues, and future prioritization of service requests near schools (3-6 months). Announced 34 crossing guards hired, 8 more joining, 31 vacancies remain.
- Councilmember and Board Questions: Youth Commissioner Smith asked about proactive cleanup frequency (5-10% proactive due to encampment work). President Brouhard concerned about reliance on site staff reporting; suggested using aerial imagery to prioritize schools. Vice President Bachelor asked about bulky pickup per unit, camera locations, and possibility of returning to a zone system. Director Garland noted zone system being revived with new resources. Councilmember Houston asked about hazmat training for EEOs (Garland promised follow-up in 2-3 days).
Item 5: Report from Oakland Youth Commission
- Presentation by Sarah Tyrus (staff) and youth commissioners: Reported 19 commissioners in 2024-25, increased BIPOC representation to 95%, OUSD student representation to 79%. Highlights: 100% reported increased confidence; 1,500 youth registered for first Oakland Youth Vote (Nov 2024); published a youth vote toolkit; participated in grant-making with RECAST and Oakland Fund for Children and Youth; provided adultism trainings. Received Youth Organization of the Year award from Assemblymember Mia Bonta. Upcoming: May 2 event reimagining 980 freeway space; presentation to school board on April 22.
- Councilmember and Board Reactions: Councilmember Brown praised the work and suggested a city council candidate forum. President Brouhard expressed interest in adultism training for school board. Vice President Bachelor noted training is available. School Board Member Simmons congratulated commissioners. Councilmember Houston voiced pride in their public speaking.
Item 6: School Safety Update from Oakland Unified School District
- Presentation by Nelson Alegria (OUSD) and student Iman Ibrahim: Outlined safety framework post-George Floyd Resolution (GFR) – removed school police, redirected $6M+ to site-based staff. Currently 419 FTE (535 including part-time) focused on counselors, restorative justice, social workers, culture keepers. Total investment increased despite budget challenges. Calls to police reduced from over 2,000 pre-GFR to significantly fewer. Launched CAT mental health crisis pilot (reduced crisis calls from 38 to 9). VIP program (violence interrupters, life coaches) funded by city DVP grant; OUSD studying transition plan as grant ends. Student Iman Ibrahim presented new Student Safety & Violence Prevention Committee collecting data on de-escalation and culture keeper behavior; data to be presented May 13.
- Councilmember and Board Questions: Councilmember Brown asked about service impacts from OUSD budget (none on safety staff). Asked about VIP transition plan – OUSD assessing data and prioritizing sites; transition memo expected before next school year. Vice President Bachelor and President Brouhard called for stable funding for VIP, supported Measure E parcel tax extension. Councilmember Brown noted city listed VIP as a state/federal funding priority.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Approval of Minutes): Motion by Gallo, seconded by Unger. Passed 4-0.
- Item 2 (Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items): Motion by Unger, seconded by Gallo. Passed 4-0.
- Item 3 (OCI Report): Motion by Unger, seconded by Brown. Received and filed 4-0.
- Item 4 (Illegal Dumping): Motion by Brown, seconded by Houston. Received and filed 4-0.
- Item 5 (Youth Commission Report): Motion by Brown, seconded by Gallo. Received and filed 4-0.
- Item 6 (School Safety): Motion by Brown, seconded by Unger. Received and filed 3-0 (Houston excused).
- Open Forum: One speaker (Ms. Sada) criticized Measure E and alleged corruption.
- Meeting Adjourned at 6:09 PM.
Note: The agenda stated the meeting was noticed as a Special Meeting of the City Council due to quorum, but no final City Council action was taken.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, and welcome to the special education partnership committee meeting for today, April thirteenth. The time is now three thirty-six PM, and this meeting has come to order. Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker's card for items on this agenda. If you are here with us in chambers and you would like to submit a speaker's card, please fill one out and turn into a clerk representative my left, your right. Before the item is read into record, online speaker requests were due twenty-four hours prior to this meeting. Starting with our council members. And started with our youth board members, Member Smith. Absent. And Member Simmons. Present. Thank you. We do have all members present and one absent Smith. And moving to our council member announcement. Councilmember Brown, do you have any announcements for today? Yep, absolutely. Thank you so much, Madam Clerk. Um, it's my absolute pleasure to welcome everyone to the joint convening of the education partnerships committee uh with our school board members. Um, first I wanted to welcome uh school school board member um of district one, Rachel Lada to the education partnerships committee. It's a pleasure to have you join us. Um I also will just um I know I made this announcement in September. Um we have a new mic system, which um we hope that you love. Um, and it does require just press the middle button and then you become in the queue, and then we will unmute you. Um, and then because if you keep pressing, it'll it won't unmute you. Um so just wanted to make that announcement. In addition, uh I also wanted to thank uh Vice President Bachelor uh for linking my myself and the team uh with the uh Oakland Roots facilitating the wearable tech student projects, um, which are you can which we can find it right out in the hallway. And so special uh thanks to um John Sasaki, Brenda uh from the career technical education um with OUSD, as well as Nelda Kerr, director of community engagement at the Oakland Roots. Um and so basically with this project, students from across the district were able to submit their designs and select and a select few were giving materials to create a prototype of jerty jerseys embedded with wearable technology. Um and so I just want to shout out a few of the finalists, uh a finalist from Roosevelt Middle School, uh Sayed and Cong D, as well as a finalist from Fremont High School finalist from Freemont High School, Maria, Alison, Teresa, Hector, and Fernando. Um, and then some middle school uh uh winners from Monterra, Kyler, Melissa, and Lucia, and then lastly, uh some winners from Fremont High School, uh Cecilia, um, who also transferred to Oakland Tech. So uh this uh student showcase will be in the uh council chambers um until Friday at noon. So please uh we invite you to check that out. Um and then lastly, you'll also know that the OUSD STEM fair is Wednesday, May the 6th. Um and then I guess a few housekeeping things uh for members of the public. Um you can sign up for a specific item uh to which you would need to speak on that, and then if you have a general item uh not necessarily on the agenda, then you would sign up for open forum. Uh and then I guess lastly, to my board members, uh you will find to fellow board members, you will find uh located um in front of you to print outs. Um and so we wanted to encourage you to invite students um in your districts to uh apply for an amazing opportunity. It's called African American Leaders of Tomorrow. It does state that the deadline is today. Uh but if there's some young people in uh that you know that are interested, please reach out to either my office or the office of assembly member Mia Bonta, and we will ensure that that student is considered. And then lastly, before uh we start our uh our official agenda, um, I'm gonna take chair's privilege to invite up uh our 20 to 26 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Finalist, uh Isabel Sheehan. Is she here? This way. And so um, fellow board members, Isabel Shin is a storyteller who inspires uh who is inspired by language, um, mythology and community. Uh her her poetry is about self-expression, helping to make meaning and draw connections into the confusion of this world and capturing moments of feelings and and beauty. Um of note is that the uh she is the f one of uh the finalists for the 2026 Oakland Poet Youth Poet Laureate, and so uh I believe on Friday, June the 5th, uh that's when we will find out who is the next poet laureate. But I wanted to ensure that we make space uh for a quick poem from Isabel. Thank you. God willing, the five-year-old would unlock eyes with the polymer snarls of rifles, his living room rendered a mini diorama of war. Don't let him see his grandpa paraded out wincing naked except for his boxes and flip flops, snow brambled on his head. That is to say, God willing, there will be no kings.
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