San Diego Unified School District News Releases: SD UNIFIED IN SACRAMENTO WEDNESDAY TO ADVOCATE FOR INVESTMENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION & REQUEST NOT WITHHOLDING MONEY FOR SCHOOLS

Editor Note: Media Availability: Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 - 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Superintendent Fabi Bagula, Ph.D. and Vice President Sabrina Bazzo will have limited availability for virtual or phone interviews about their advocacy. Please contact James Canning, 313-580-2845, jcanning@sandi.net to coordinate.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SD UNIFIED IN SACRAMENTO WEDNESDAY TO ADVOCATE FOR INVESTMENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION & REQUEST NOT WITHHOLDING MONEY FOR SCHOOLS
Tuesday Lincoln High School's Principal Highlighted Success of Community Schools in Sacramento

SAN DIEGO (FEBRUARY 10, 2026) – San Diego Unified's Superintendent and Board of Education Vice President to meet with state leaders on Wednesday to advocate for investments aligned with San Diego Unified's vision for special education, including increased funding for students with disabilities and robust behavioral supports an early intervention in TK-3 classrooms. They will also urge lawmakers to fully fund Proposition 98, pushing back on the proposal to shortchange schools by $5.6B – funding that should be invested in students.

"The investments we are advocating for will contribute to the development of early intervention efforts and ensure that every child has the support they need to succeed," said Superintendent Fabi Bagula, Ph.D. "By investing in professional development for educators and building a system of tiered supports, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive with the appropriate and necessary support, so that special education remains one of several thoughtfully applied supports.

"The need for greater investments in special education is not unique to San Diego Unified, school districts across the state are facing similar situations," said Vice President Sabrina Bazzo, Board of Education. "We need a state legislator to invest in real solutions that get at the heart of the challenges we are seeing in our schools. Without state leadership, districts will continue to face rising special education identification when earlier, targeted interventions could make all the difference."

Below is background information about the special education initiative that SDUSD is seeking state funding to support:

Early Interventions Policy Proposal:
San Diego Unified's multi-pronged solution would leverage one-time budget capacity in Proposition 98 – the state of California's funding strategy for schools and community colleges – to invest in proactive, early interventions to ensure that every child receives the help they need before being considered for an IEP.

The District is proposing the sum of $250 million dollars be appropriated from Proposition 98 for a TK-3 Behavioral Support and Early Intervention Grant Program. This funding would come out of the roughly $13B in one-time Proposition 98 budget capacity estimated in the Governor's Budget Proposal - including $5.6B the Governor is proposing to withhold from schools . In this proposal, funds would be allocated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to local educational agencies based on prior year average daily attendance for Transitional Kindergarten through grade 3 in order to implement this program statewide. San Diego Unified estimates a minimum staffing costs for short-term side-by-side coaching positions at its district to be $2.5M, not including other necessary support; this statewide investment would provide the robust support needed to tackle this challenge.

This funding and policy framework would focus on:

Professional Development and Coaching: Equipping all TK-3 educators—teachers, paraeducators, and education specialists with the tools and strategies they need to address the diverse needs of students. This would involve side-by-side coaching and a gradual-release model to build educator capacity over time.
Tiered Support Systems: Creating a system of escalating interventions that provides students with the right level of support at the right time, ensuring that IEP referrals are only made when initial interventions have proven insufficient.
Investing in Early Behavioral and Social-Emotional Supports: Ensuring that all students, particularly those in the early grades, have access to necessary social-emotional and behavioral supports that can help prevent academic struggles later on.

Community Schools: State lawmakers invited Lincoln High School Principal to speak on February 10 at a joint hearing of the Assembly Education Committee and Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance to highlight the strategies for success that have led to the transformational impact of the community schools' model at Lincoln High School.

To learn more about San Diego Unified's Special Education Services, click here, and to get involved in the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education, click here.

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