Appoquinimink parents urge board to fix special-education gaps, cite state regulation

At the Appoquinimink School District Board of Education meeting on March 12, 2025, six parents and advocates delivered public comments alleging systemic problems in the district’s special-education services and asked the board and administration to take specific corrective steps.

The parents said problems include a lack of a functioning district parent council for families of students with disabilities, mandatory placements in accelerated courses for some students on the diploma track, inconsistent transition planning across schools, staffing shortages in special education, inconsistent implementation of individualized education programs (IEPs) and insufficient behavioral supports.

Courtney Beard, identifying herself as a parent, said the district failed to maintain a visible parent council and cited “State regulation 31 25,” which she quoted as requiring districts to contact parents each year to facilitate a parent council for students with disabilities. “This lack of transparency has created an exclusionary system that fails to fully represent our communities,” Beard said, and said parents working to reestablish…