Latonya Southall, executive director of special education for the Inglewood Unified School District, may not return to her role next school year, signaling a leadership change in a department that has been under scrutiny from parents over student services and oversight.
Southall has served as the district’s top special education administrator since 2024, overseeing programs and staff that support students with disabilities across Inglewood schools, according to John Hughes, special education program specialist and president of the Inglewood Teachers Association.
Southall declined to comment and directed questions to the county administrator.
James Morris, the district’s county administrator, confirmed in an April 13 email that the district is scouting for the executive director position and said “it is premature to determine if Ms. Southall will return although a recruitment for the position has been initiated. Final decisions will be made by May 15.”
The possible change in leadership comes as the special education department continues to navigate long-standing challenges, including staffing constraints and increased demand for special education services. At advisory meetings earlier this year, families described incidents that raised safety concerns and questioned whether the department can properly serve students with special needs.
Whitney Munir, a parent who filed three complaints against the department last year, told The LA Local that even if Southall leaves, the underlying issues still persist in the special education department.
“I think the district is removing her as a scapegoat and none of the complaints will actually follow her,” Munir said, who has since hired an attorney.
Munir’s complaints cited concerns about administrative leadership gaps, staff negligence and missing services for students with individualized education plans (IEPs), according to documents Munir shared with The LA Local.
District officials have acknowledged parent concerns and pledged improvements, though they have not publicly addressed any personnel decisions.
On March 26, Southall called an emergency meeting to inform staff that she may not be returning the next school year and that the decision came from the district, Hughes, the ITA president, told The LA Local.
“Ms. Southall had some issues with communication in terms of her returning emails or communicating the status of things,” Hughes said. “Inglewood has been targeted for lawsuits, and other compliance issues, because we don’t have the personnel to keep our systems verified.”
Hughes also said he doesn’t believe the special education department receives the support it should from district leadership, and one of the biggest challenges the department faces is getting dozens of IEPs completed that are behind schedule.
When asked what the next executive director can do on Day One to improve Inglewood’s special education department, Hughes said, “establish more assessment teams to get all of the noncompliant IEPs out of the way by hiring more staff.”
