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Parent tells St. Charles board special-education supports aren’t meeting students’ needs
Summary
A St. Charles parent told the board that special-education supports and staff training were insufficient, described a child’s unsafe behavior at school, and urged the district to provide clearer plans and family partnership; the board took no action during the meeting.
At the Feb. 9 meeting of St. Charles CUSD 303, parent Jessica Metz told the board she was concerned that inclusion remains a rhetorical goal rather than an operational reality and asked for clearer information about special-education funding, staffing and training.
"We boast about inclusion, but I'm feeling it's just a word we don't really have a lot to boast about yet," Metz said, identifying herself as a St. Charles resident. She told the board that her child's behavioral incidents have included running out of class and leaving the building, and said a recent IAP meeting removed staff training that she had expected to see. "This is the space that I have to function in, and I'm always on the parenting clock," she said, urging the board to partner with families and to treat special-education parents with "the same dignity and respect."
Metz said she had previously requested documentation or a plan concerning a funding cut to special education and that administrative staff had directed her to an IEP team instead of answering questions she considered board-level or administrative in scope.
Board policy and procedure require the board not to respond during the public-comment period; no board action was taken in response to Metz's comments at the meeting. Metz encouraged others to attend CPAC (the special education parent advisory council) meetings to continue the conversation.
