Parents tell Merced board students with moderate-to-severe disabilities are being excluded from school activities

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 ensuring equal access to events and communications. Raquel (surname not specified) and Destiny Anderson raised separate concerns about a new district protocol for responding to extreme behavior and inconsistent documentation following suspected child abuse, respectively. Anderson said she followed a CPS request to photograph a student's injuries and that school administrators failed to act quickly enough.

The board did not take action on the allegations during the meeting. Superintendent Stocking and Merced County Office of Education representatives acknowledged the concerns and described ongoing county‑level audits and improvement efforts. Dr. Steve Teen, Merced County Office of Education superintendent, said the county and district have begun audits and cross‑agency work aimed at improving access for students in MCOE programs and pledged more targeted work to address inclusion and procedural gaps. He characterized the county effort as ongoing and said county and district leaders had convened recent meetings focused on ‘‘rightful presence’’ and improvement science approaches.

Parents asked for several concrete steps: a firm district directive guaranteeing real‑time access to campus communications for families of students in MCOE and special education programs, a public town hall that would include parents and behavior specialists, a district‑wide CPS reporting protocol and expanded behavioral supports such as crisis response teams and sensory rooms. Speakers warned that, if changes are not made, families may pursue due‑process, OCR or ADA complaints.

Trustees said they heard the community's urgency and asked staff to come back with follow‑up information. The county superintendent said the county office is already coordinating audits and regional training to improve inclusive practices and credentialing support. The board requested that district staff provide the board with a copy of the district’s CPS/reporting protocol and follow up on steps being taken with the county office.

Next steps: district staff and the county superintendent said they will continue working together on audits, training and operational fixes; trustees requested updates and documentation of any policy or procedural changes for future board meetings.