The gunman, a 16-year-old who had once attended Silver Rail, killed three students, ages 5, 8 and 11, and a teacher, authorities said. A 7-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher were seriously injured. A bystander fatally shot the gunman.

Coleman had worked with the children in the classroom. The decision to stay home left her with conflicting feelings.

“I kind of wish I was there, but I’m also glad I wasn’t,” she said.

The shooting has shaken Bend and renewed questions among families and educators about the support available to children with disabilities and their families. They say key facts remain unknown, including the shooter’s motive, how he obtained the shotgun and what support he received as he grew up. Investigators are also examining a possible connection to violent online extremist groups.

The shooter’s mother had previously described his placement in a school program for children needing behavioral and social-skills support. He was not enrolled in Bend-La Pine Schools when the shooting occurred, a district spokesperson said. The district declined to discuss his school history, citing federal privacy laws.

Karen Bures, a special education teacher who taught both the shooter and children affected by the attack, said nothing could excuse the violence. She also described the shooter as having serious mental health and behavioral needs and said she believes he was “failed by the system.”

“I have no idea what happened to him in middle school or beyond,” Bures said. “That’s my culpability that I have to live with a little bit, too.”

Bures co-founded and leads BEAM, an after-school nonprofit based at Silver Rail that serves children with autism, ADHD, Down syndrome and other needs. Some of its students survived the shooting. She is looking for a new location for the program, saying it is too soon for the children to return to the school.

Bures said children can become isolated when they are recognized mainly for their most difficult moments and face discipline without adequate connection or support. The shooting, she said, underscores the need for continued support as children move through school and beyond.

Oregon’s special education funding system is one concern raised by local families and educators. The state limits extra special education funding to districts to 11% of students, although about 15% of students qualify for that funding, according to figures cited by educators. Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steve Cook said the district spends as much as $250,000 to educate some students with the highest needs. About 150 such students qualify for reimbursement, but the district receives roughly 20 cents for each dollar spent, he said.

“We’ve been advocating for years that our special education funding is insufficient,” Cook said. The classroom where the shooting occurred had four teachers for five children, he said, adding that the district works to meet students’ needs with the resources available.

Parents say limited staffing, pay and services can leave families struggling to secure consistent help. Leah Persichilli, who has worked with disabled children in Bend for 16 years, moved her son, who has Down syndrome, out of the district system and hired a private learning specialist because she felt he was not getting enough support.

Persichilli and others also worry the shooting could lead to fear or stigma directed at students with disabilities. Most children with disabilities are not violent; federal crime statistics show people with disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence than people without disabilities.

Jenny Widder, a Deschutes County peer-support worker whose daughter has autism, said some children in special education classrooms may use wheelchairs or walkers, have medical needs or need help responding to directions during an emergency. She said the attack has heightened concern about their safety and about the scarce services available to families in a high-cost area.

Coleman, whose daughter has Rett syndrome, said she believes the shooter’s unmet needs were part of a broader failure to support children and families. She returned to work in a classroom at R.E. Jewell Elementary on Oct. 21.

“We are going to have to demand change,” Coleman said. “We have to do better for all of our kids.”