What are the priorities of the Guam Department of Education?

Stakeholders came forward during a roundtable hearing on special education challenges.

Thursday night the Guam Congress Building filled with concerned parents airing their frustration, like Samuel Denato. He's been trying to get a specialized wheelchair for his son who has cerebral palsy.

"I’m here out of frustration with the system. I have my eldest son, he’s 12 years old, and he has special needs," he said. "He requires a specialized wheelchair. His hips are dislocated. He needs one that reclines and just a special harness. But to this day he does not have the wheelchair and the status is still at procurement. I would just ask Mr. Babauta, please help my son."

Another concern -- the lack of interpreters at GDOE for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Myra Mendiola --who herself is deaf-- through an interpreter said there is only one interpreter for elementary school, one for middle school, and three or four for high school.

"If that interpreter is sick then there is no interpreter for that individual," she said. "So what they have to do now is move the interpreter from the high school over to the middle school or elementary. But that makes it a struggle. GDOE is not making that a priority."

From the lack of one-to-one aids, therapists, funding and more. The nearly 5-hour long roundtable hearing full of numerous concerns and challenges holding special needs students back.