Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Special Education Partnership Committee convened on Monday, September 28, 2026, at 3:35 PM in the City Council Chamber. The meeting included presentations from the Oakland Thrives Youth Ventures JPA and the All City Council student leaders, along with community presentations on family camps and girls' wellness programs. The committee approved routine items and received informational reports. Public comment highlighted concerns about special education services, TK waitlists, and accessibility.
Good afternoon and welcome to the special education partnership committee meeting of Monday, September 28th, 2026. The time is now 335 PM and this meeting may come to order. Before taking role, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into myself or clerk representative no later than ten minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record. Registering to speak via Zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting time. This meeting came to order at 335 p.m. and speaker cards will no longer be accepted ten minutes after, making that time three forty-five PM. We'll now proceed with taking roll. Present. Poetry is Isaiah's more main art form, and a majority of his work focuses on people, relationships, and impressions. His favorite writings are the ones that take a moment to show you why it matters and focus on the beautiful things that we may otherwise overlook. And in our conversation prior to this meeting, he was uplifting just how much he loves Oakland, Oakland's culture. And so please, um, everyone, let's give a hand uh to Isaiah Oakland's 2026 youth poet laureate. Hi, that's me. Um, I'm Isaiah, I'm 2026, Oakland Port Laureate. I'm also a student at Oakland School for the Arts. Um, and I have two poems, trigger warning for mention of suicide. My friend texts me that his friend just tried to kill himself, and this is a poem about wanting to stay alive. Tonight, the student band rumbles through the rock song. I close my eyes and let the music swallow me. If it's all or nothing, you know which I'll choose. I drown in your conversation. I'll take any sound you give me. And I heard the afterlife is where poetics come from. All we do is borrow emotion from the dead, try to capture absence, try to fill the space. Do you think love can stem from anything other than endings? Because my dad loves like it's his last chance, and my mom loves like she can forever. I lip sync into dark windows and learn to love my reflection. I blast E40 and finally see gold in my mouth. I'm saying my shiny is shallow, but still worth something. I'm the kind of thing that makes California. I'm the rush, leaving cities in its wake. This week, I saw a slew of people leave the bay, and it's like waves crashing into me. Thank you for my stinging eyes. I don't have wounds for your salt to sleep inside of. Tell gravity to mind its business. Poem two. Second poem. Childhood is a cocoon. Mythology. How to hold this rumble. How to word stomach fist, just pretend I got good grades, think of long-term solution by August, or by tonight, or by college, yesterday. Everybody was ghost. On graduation stage, boy, butterfly read a poem at me, told me not to forget about relaxation. Even God needed rest. There's nothing in an empty glass.