Citizen Portal
Sign In

Parent urges district to reduce suspensions for students with disabilities

Fayetteville School District Board of Education · November 21, 2025
Article hero
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A parent and early-childhood specialist urged the board to reduce out-of-school suspensions and expand supports for students with disabilities, citing district figures (768 out-of-school suspensions) and statewide guidance that excludes suspensions for many disability-related behaviors; board invited the speaker to submit remaining comments by email.

Michelle "Molly" Miner, a parent and early-childhood specialist, used the public-comment period to press the Fayetteville School District board for stronger supports and fewer suspensions for students with disabilities.

Miner said the district reported 768 out-of-school suspensions in the most recent year and cited a district discipline review that showed Black males with disabilities experienced suspension rates as high as 34 percent in some analyses. She referenced 2018 Arkansas Department of Education guidance that states suspensions, isolation and exclusion are inappropriate interventions when behaviors are manifestations of a student's disability and connected that guidance to federal IDEA protections for students with disabilities.

Miner told the board Arkansas is experiencing a severe special-education teacher shortage that contributes to high caseloads, inconsistent IEP implementation and substitution of non-specialists into special-education roles. She urged more proactive supports, less reactive discipline and consistent implementation of IEPs, 504 plans and behavior-support plans.

Board chair limited comments to the three-minute public-comment rule and invited Miner to submit the remainder of her remarks by email; Miner said she had action notes and appreciated that invitation.

The claims Miner made were raised during public comment and were not followed by an on-the-record district rebuttal or detailed administrative response during the meeting.

Source: public comment by Michelle Miner during the board meeting.