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Board approves Special School District partnership agreement required under IDEA and state plan
Summary
The Webster Groves School District Board approved the Special School District (SSD) partnership assurances and local compliance plan for 2025–26; presenters said the agreement aligns district practices with IDEA, DESE guidance and Missouri State Plan Regulation 15 and will roll over from the prior year because DESE has not revised the form.
The Webster Groves School District Board of Education approved a partnership agreement with the St. Louis County Special School District (SSD) that outlines shared responsibilities and local compliance assurances for special education services under federal and state law.
District and SSD officials—Tammy Yates, executive director of SSD, and a Webster Groves special education interim director—presented the agreement, saying it translates federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements into a local compliance plan. The presenters said the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) places requirements in the Missouri State Plan for Special Education and that Regulation 15 details how special school districts and component districts allocate joint and separate compliance obligations.
Yates told the board that partner districts typically adopt local compliance plans and assurance documents annually but that DESE had not updated the forms this year, so the district will roll the previous year’s assurances forward. Presenters said the partnership agreement will guide collaboration across seven categories including staffing, assessment and evaluation, inclusion practices, and principal‑coordinator collaboration. Staff described an action plan process: building coordinators meet with principals, generate feedback, and SSD and district staff will use those inputs to create measurable action steps.
After the presentation, the board voted by voice to approve the SSD 2025–26 partnership agreement; the board chair called for ayes and declared the motion passed. The signed assurance document will be filed as required by DESE.
No changes to statute or state plan were proposed; presenters framed the agreement as an operational compliance step to align district practices with federal and state requirements.
