Rhonda Berrios pickets in front of the office of LAUSD board member Tamar Galatzan in Lake Balboa, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. (Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer)

Photo gallery: Parents, teachers protest closing of special education centers
LAKE BALBOA - Waving signs and chanting "Our kids, our choice," scores of Los Angeles Unified parents and teachers protested the looming transfer of hundreds of disabled students from special-education centers to traditional schools, as the district complies with laws to integrate students who have physical and developmental challenges.
The protesters oppose the merger of four special-education centers with nearby traditional schools, a move that will affect about 300 disabled youngsters when school starts next month. Opponents of the plan say the district will be segregating rather than integrating their kids by putting