Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Parents tell Merced board students with moderate-to-severe disabilities are being excluded from school activities
Summary
Parents filed a petition and told the Merced City School District board that students in moderate-to-severe special education programs are regularly left out of schoolwide communications, assemblies and trips and urged the board to adopt a district‑wide inclusion policy and clearer CPS reporting procedures.
Margaret Sproul told the Merced City School District board at its Nov. 18 meeting that she submitted a petition with more than 300 signatures alleging a "long‑standing systemic pattern" of excluding moderate‑to‑severely disabled students from schoolwide activities and campus communications. "Our kids are physically on the same campus as their peers, but they've been digitally and socially isolated by their own school district," Sproul said during the public‑comment period.
Other parents and caregivers echoed Sproul. Brianna Laurier described multiple examples she says demonstrate intentional exclusion — from being left off fall celebrations to not being notified about picture day — and urged the board to create clear, district‑wide directives…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
