What began as a routine school board meeting turned into a charged evening of testimony for the Orcutt Union School District as a growing number of parents and guardians stepped forward to share stories of escalating student behavior in classrooms. Some parents described incidents they say are disrupting learning and putting their children at risk.
At the heart of the meeting was a plea: do more to protect the safety and stability of classrooms.
Parents described lockdowns triggered by violent outbursts, children injured by classmates, and teachers left overwhelmed with little support. One parent said a student once brought a knife and a hammer to school and used them in a threatening way. Another claimed that four sheriff’s deputies were required to restrain a single student.
“My grandson calls me from the bathroom crying because he’s scared, having a panic attack,” said Glenda Estes, a grandparent of five children attending Ralph Dunlap Elementary. “There’s absolutely no consequences for these students. The staff is overwhelmed, the parents are overwhelmed, the grandparents are stressed out. It’s just too much.”
Estes said that one of her grandchildren was attacked in the bathroom and now avoids using school restrooms altogether out of fear.
“They wait til they get home to use the restroom because of the chaos,” she said. “These other students are free to roam campus, [and do] whatever they want to do.”
Several parents echoed frustrations about being kept in the dark. They said they often find out about major incidents through their children, or by piecing together information on Facebook.
“Sometimes my kid tells me about a lockdown or about another kid throwing chairs, and that’s the first I’ve heard of it,” one parent said during public comment. “That’s not how this should work.”
When asked about parent communication, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Joe Dana pushed back.
“I think our teachers do a really thorough job of communicating with parents,” Dana said. “We consistently get high marks on our parent surveys about communication. I also want to dispute the premise of what’s being posted on social media. It’s often distorted, inaccurate, and inflamed.”
Dana urged parents to contact their school principals directly, rather than rely on what they read online.
Dana and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Susan Salucci said the district is taking the issue seriously and working within the limitations of both state and federal laws, especially when it comes to students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
“When I came into this district 15 years ago, we had one counselor at the high school and none at the elementary level,” Salucci said. “Next year, we’ll have a counselor at every site.”
Salucci outlined the district’s investments in mental health and behavioral support: ten school psychologists, three board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs), over 90 instructional assistants, 31 one-on-one aides for students with behavioral challenges, and partnerships with outside agencies like BeWell, YouthWell, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s mental health team.
According to Salucci, the district can’t suspend a student for behavior that’s linked to a diagnosed disability, and even general education students are now protected under stricter discipline laws.
“When I started, you could suspend a student for disrupting class,” Salucci said. “Now you can’t do that under the same Ed Code. Things have changed.”
While parents voiced a desire for stronger consequences, district officials emphasized that their focus is increasingly on restorative justice and trauma-informed practices.
“We’re focusing on how we shape behavior, not just punish it,” Dana said. “Suspensions don’t solve everything. The student is coming back. What then? The goal is to help them learn from the behavior and reduce toxic stress that might be driving it.”
The district said, starting next school year, it is planning professional development for staff in trauma-informed education and strategies to handle toxic stress in students.
Still, many parents said the district’s approach, while well-intentioned, isn’t enough. Another parent described her daughter’s third-grade classroom being evacuated six or more times because of a single disruptive student.
“They’ve been forced to evacuate six-plus times while an eight-year-old with no IEP proceeded to slam Chromebooks, destroy the classroom, break other people’s property,” adding, “and yet this never signaled to you guys that more help and more support and a different system is needed?”
Christina, a parent and longtime educator, gave one of the night’s most direct remarks.
“What’s happening can only be summed up as a failure to provide proper supports for all students. It is not about bullying or inclusion, it’s about stability. These are schools, learning environments, not chaos zones.”
She ended her comments by citing the California Education Code and the 14th Amendment.
“You’ve been put on notice,” she said. “Take meaningful action to fix this or we will hold you accountable.”
Dana and Salucci acknowledged the concerns and said the district is committed to continuing to improve.
“There’s a lot of good [things] happening,” Dana said. “Suspension rates at our junior highs have gone down. We’ve had some incredible success stories, but we know we’re not perfect.”
“We are a work in progress,” Salucci added. “Always.”
