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Parents, substitute teacher raise special education and EC concerns during public comment
Summary
A parent and a substitute teacher used public comment time to report issues with IEP implementation, suspensions, and pull-out EC scheduling at Cabarrus County Schools; the parent said a requested IEP modification meeting had not been scheduled.
During the public comment period Monday, a parent and a substitute teacher raised concerns about services for students with individualized education programs and the delivery of EC (Exceptional Children) services.
Parent Jamari Jones told the board her two middle-school children at Rinkler Middle School have IEPs, that both are diagnosed with ADHD, and that her daughter was reading at a kindergarten level when the parent learned of the IEP. Jones said she asked school staff for accommodations including smaller classes and extended school year services that she said were denied; she said her daughter "has been suspended more than she has been in school."
Jones identified school staff by name during her remarks: Principal Phillips, Assistant Principal McManus, IEP teacher Madison Lytle and the district LEA, Conceda Ellis. She said Ellis had offered to set up an IEP modification meeting and that she had contacted the IDEA dispute resolution team by email but had not received follow-up or a scheduled meeting at the time of the board meeting.
Substitute teacher Yvonne Bailey described working in EC settings and urged more consistent grouping of students at the same instructional level. Bailey said frequent pull-outs and brief 10–15 minute sessions left students without adequate continuity, and she recommended placing EC students together so instruction could be longer and more coherent.
Board members thanked the speakers and encouraged them to provide additional details to board members by email; the board did not take action during the meeting. The transcript records the speakers' statements but does not show a formal response from district staff or a commitment to a named follow-up date during open session.
The comments are part of the public record and the board's meeting minutes; any district follow-up or scheduling of an IEP modification meeting would be handled by the school and district staff outside the open meeting.
