A D.C. education official says there is a backlog of children awaiting special education services partly because some staffers ignore meetings with parents.
Acting deputy chancellor for special education Richard Nyankori testified Monday in federal court that the no-shows leave cases unresolved and parents in the lurch.
A judge called the hearing to question D.C.'s lack of progress in complying with a 2006 consent decree that settled a lawsuit by parents of children with learning problems.
School social worker Candi Peterson, a member of the Washington Teachers' Union board of trustees, says no-shows are rare.
D.C. has nearly 11,000 special education students. About 20 percent attend private schools because D.C. schools can't meet their needs.
