Wyandotte special-education leaders outline 3-year plan after KSDE compliance findings; board presses for public updates

Leaders of the Wyandotte Comprehensive Special Education Cooperative told the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday that they have developed a three‑year action plan to address compliance shortfalls identified by the Kansas State Department of Education and outside reviewers.

“This is more than a checklist. It's a living commitment to improvement,” said Dr. LaShonda Lowery, director of the cooperative, as she summarized progress and remaining gaps in special education services across the cooperative’s three districts.

The cooperative reported progress on several state compliance indicators but said it fell short on four measured areas for the most recent reporting year. Dr. Lowery told the board the cooperative scored 19 out of 23 on the state’s compliance matrix for the year — an improvement over previous years but still short of the level required for full compliance. She said parent evaluation requests rose from 376 in the prior year to 475 this year.

Board members pressed staff for specifics about the compliance findings and about rebuilding parent trust. “There are still some parents who feel there's still a lack of trust,” said Board Vice President…