Dive Brief:

• Special education teachers in San Francisco are being moved to new schools in an effort to distribute specialists evenly across the district and create a more fair and accommodating playing field for students with disabilities. 
• While the city currently has special education students attend schools designated to serve their disabilities, the new plan — to take effect next year — will have teachers following students of their choice.  
• Some parents are nervous the changes will mean there aren't enough special education teachers at some schools or that there won't be enough space in certain schools to accommodate all of the new students. The change also means teachers must say goodbye to schools where they have created bonds with staff, students, and parents.  

Dive Insight:

The plan comes in response to a 2010 audit by the Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative, which said the district "must move to a philosophy that all students with disabilities should attend the school they would attend if not disabled."

While changes are still in the transitory phases and won't be implemented until the 2014-2015 school year, the city's teacher union filed an unfair labor practice complaint earlier this month, citing potential issues with larger class sizes and the ratio of special education teachers to students in certain schools. 

The district's school board contends they have not broken any labor laws.

"For 2014-15, as we have done in years before, we are exercising our right under the contract to reassign positions as necessary to meet student needs," a district spokeswoman said.