In a hearing that stretched across several hours Friday, senators on the Education and Workforce Development Committee confronted agency leaders with a wave of concerns over persistent gaps in special education services across the territory. At the heart of the discussion: a growing backlog of student evaluations, a critical shortage of specialized staff, and the long-term impact on students left without timely support.
“We can’t just keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results,” said committee Chair Sen. Kurt Vialet. “Students are being streamed into general education classrooms with teachers who haven’t been trained in special education,” he continued. “And when the curriculum moves too fast, their behaviors are seen as acting out. That’s not fair to the teachers or the students.”
Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington and her team provided detailed testimony on the scale of the challenges. As of Friday, the St. Croix District reported a backlog of approximately 250 evaluations, while the St. Thomas-St. John district cited 180 reevaluations and 80 new referrals pending. Officials said the summer months would be used to process as many as 60 evaluations in St. Croix and a comparable portion on St. Thomas, using a team of 20 professionals, including school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, and diagnosticians.
But senators said the timeline isn’t fast enough. “We’re talking about children who should have been evaluated in first grade, who don’t get placed until third grade. That’s two years lost,” Vialet said. “If you don’t catch them early, you’re designing a system for them to fail.” Officials acknowledged the issue, with St. Croix Special Education Director Tanya Lockhart and her St. Thomas counterpart, Ellen Masters, agreeing that prioritizing early evaluations is key. Still, both noted that staffing and funding constraints remain a barrier.
Those resource gaps were echoed in testimony submitted by Education, which also reported a drop in federal IDEA funding from $85 million to $73 million. The cuts came just as more students are qualifying for services. VIDE has petitioned for an increase, but in the meantime, local funds have been diverted to cover staffing costs, leaving little left for supplies or contracted evaluations. Deputy Commissioner Renee Charleswell explained that $4.7 million was allocated for St. Croix and $4.8 million for St. Thomas-St. John, but most of it is now consumed by salaries.
Staffing shortages — particularly of speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, special education teachers, and behavioral therapists — have placed increasing pressure on educators. Orange Tree Staffing, the agency contracted to help fill many of those roles, testified that recruitment remains difficult due to high living costs, housing shortages, and workload expectations. They recommended earlier contract finalization, clearer evaluation processes, and the creation of a standardized onboarding guide for professionals.
In the classroom, these gaps translate to real strain. Sen. Avery Lewis described a visit to a classroom where one teacher was responsible for five students with drastically different needs, including nonverbal autism, visual impairments, and extreme behavioral challenges. “People don’t realize how hard our special education teachers work,” he said. “And when a class has multiple grade levels and multiple disabilities, every single thing has to be differentiated. That takes training, time, and support.”
Wells-Hedrington noted that special education teachers receive the same base salary as other educators, along with a small stipend. While she confirmed that the promised $50,000 starting salary for teachers has been implemented, she agreed that incentives for specialized staff should be on the table in upcoming union negotiations.
Lawmakers also took issue with the lack of career preparation for students with disabilities, both in terms of postsecondary readiness and workforce inclusion. The Department of Labor reported that out of nearly 1,000 job seekers served last year, only 42 disclosed a disability, and just two were placed in jobs. Senators were quick to point out the gap between K – 12 supports and adult services.
“We need to start planting the seed in elementary school,” said Sen. Dwayne DeGraff. “If we’re serious about solving this, we should be growing our own teachers, our own behavioral specialists – starting now.” DeGraff said he had heard similar testimony before and challenged education officials to bring solutions, not just updates.
“I’ll take probably the majority of these testimonies, cut and paste them around a different date … and we are in the same state as we were a year ago,” he said.
The University of the Virgin Islands echoed the importance of early intervention, citing national studies showing improved lifelong outcomes and reduced future educational costs. UVI Dean Karen Brown emphasized that while the university offers accommodations under the Rehabilitation Act, many students don’t self-disclose their disabilities, often out of fear of stigma. Her testimony called for greater training in inclusive practices, expanded early childhood services, and territory-wide public education campaigns to shift perceptions.
Despite nods to progress — such as grant-funded summer evaluations, career academies, and expanding interagency partnerships — senators remained cautious. “Too often we hear the same thing, just dressed up in a new chart or with a different date,” DeGraff said. “But if we’re serious about building a better future, then we need to start now — with early intervention, real training, and the funding to back it up.”
As the hearing adjourned, lawmakers promised continued oversight and insisted that future budgets reflect not just legal obligations, but a moral one: to give every student – regardless of ability – a fair shot at learning, leading, and succeeding.
