About one in five San Diego Unified School District students have special education needs.

The district said this number has been climbing quickly over the last decade while federal funding fell further behind.

“We've been making it work, kind of, for decades,” said superintendent Fabiola Bagula. “Something needs to change and that's why we're here.”

SDUSD said federal law mandates special education services but has never fully funded them, leaving districts nationwide to absorb massive budget shortfalls. San Diego Unified is underfunded by more than $300 million each year and is forced to backfill the gap with other educational dollars.

“They're not doing their job,” said board trustee, Richard Barrera. “And what we've heard for decades from the federal government is it's too expensiv

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