TikTok vid claims paraprofessional had ‘no support’ in TUSD special ed. class

A TikTok out of Tucson has gotten 1.2 million views with a paraprofessional claiming he was left alone to teach a classroom of special education students.According to TUSD, the paraprofessional was working at Roberts-Naylor K-8 school. TUSD says he was not left unsupervised.The video creator goes by “Jay,” and in the TikTok, he said he had ‘no support.’ @jabcd._ Please share this message, more people need to know #TUSD #tucson #kids #teacher #specialeducation ♬ original sound – jay The TikTok by @jabcd._ says in part:“I am not a special education teacher, I’m a paraprofessional. I do not have a bachelor’s degree, no certifications, no accreditations whatsoever to be teaching a class full of specially educated kids.”Jay continues by saying the students are non-verbal.“There’s no support, no IEPs are being met… no one’s talking about this ’cause these kids can’t advocate for themselves.”KGUN 9 commented on the TikTok and sent a direct message @jabcd._ but have not received a response.TUSD said Jay’s allegations are untrue.TUSD Statement:When KGUN 9 asked if Jay was employed by TUSD, they responded saying, “This person was hired as a contractor. Due to recent developments regarding inaccurate information shared during the application process, this individual is no longer employed with the contract company,” said Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo.According to the Arizona Department of Education’s website, paraprofessionals can work with a student to reinforce instruction, but they cannot be the sole provider.“Paraprofessionals support students under the guidance of certified teachers,” said Trujillo.