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Ellis Joel Christopher Jackson is only 3 years old, but the education challenges he has already faced in the Prince George's County school system have been daunting, according to his parents.

Diagnosed with autism at age 2, Ellis has made strides in a special education class at Fort Foote Elementary in Fort Washington, but his parents say his progress was hindered this school year by the school's inability to retain substitute teachers qualified to educate children with special needs.

"You don't want a child with autism to regress. They need stability. They need routine," said Tanisha Jackson, Ellis' mother.

In early January, Ellis' teacher stopped coming to school. On Jan. 23, a letter was sent home indicating the teacher was out with an illness, but Fort Foote was "continuing to implement" Individualized Educational Programs, known as IEPs, and "any other specialized programs."

An IEP is required by federal law to detail what special education services students must have, such as speech or occupational therapies.

Ellis' IEP says he should be taught by a special education classroom teacher as the primary provider, or a member of his IEP team, which includes an occupational therapist, special education supervisor, and other school personnel. 

At the Jacksons' request, they were provided with documentation from the school's principal, Sonia Beckford, showing Ellis had at least four substitute teachers during the month his regular teacher was absent. From Jan. 5 to Jan. 16, two substitutes who were not certified to teach special education taught in the class, according to the documents. No teacher's name was listed for Jan. 21, and for Jan. 22 to Feb. 6, another substitute, whose qualifications were not provided, taught the class.

Behaviors noted by teachers, like rocking in his chair and yelling in class, increased for Ellis when the substitutes started in early January, according to a school psychologist's analysis.

Around the time of Ellis' teacher's return in February, a dedicated paraprofessional began to work with him during school. Eric Jackson, Ellis' father, said the family has seen a "remarkable improvement" in Ellis since the assistant began but said the family would still like to see additional services, such as more speech therapy, to make up for the disruption in Ellis' routine.

Beckford did not return calls for comment.

Jackson filed a complaint with the state education department and won — in a way.

According to the March 31 ruling, the state found a violation because the school system had not provided Ellis with a certified special education teacher during his teacher's absence. However, the law did not provide the Jacksons with any rights to additional services to help their son catch up.

According to the ruling, the school system is not required to do anything for the student or family because there is no "right of action" on behalf of an individual student, even if the school system did violate the law.

According to a U.S. Department of Education review of teacher shortages, there has been a shortage of special education teachers in Maryland nearly every year since 1990. 

In Prince George's County, special education has been one of the most difficult areas to find teachers for in past years, however, this year the county was able to fill most of its special education positions and expects similar results next school year, said Robert Gaskin, supervisor of recruitment, certification and staffing for county schools.

The system expects fewer special education vacancies next year due to budget tightening reducing the overall number of teaching positions and efforts to move special education students into general education classrooms, with help from special education teachers, whenever possible.

Schools spokesman John White, who commented on the complaint prior to leaving the school system, said in an e-mail the school system has a plan to address special education teacher vacancies.

"The school system provides substitutes when special education teachers are absent. When teachers are out for extended periods of time, the special education teacher in the building provides oversight for the implementation of students' IEPs and supervises the preparation of lesson plans to align with IEP goals and objectives," White said.

Fort Foote parents were notified of the special education teacher's extended absence per the system's policy on special education vacancies and parents, which also requires schools to work with the human resources department to find substitutes.

Jackson responded to the state ruling in an April 15 letter that his son's progression was stifled by the disruption in his education.

"It's a hole in the law we've got to correct. … You're finding that he didn't have a certified teacher, but basically there's nothing we can do about it," Jackson said.

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.