Board clarifies Autism Advisory Council is independent, recounts 2001 student death

Vice President Cuneo read a prepared statement before the public‑comment portion of the March 10 board meeting to correct a prior miscommunication about the Autism Advisory Council. Cuneo said the council "is not a Board of Education directed committee" and therefore "its meetings are not subject to [Missouri] Sunshine Law as it relates to open meetings."

Cuneo also addressed a past student death raised at a prior meeting. He identified the student as Megan Elliott, described her as a 16‑year‑old with fragile X syndrome, and said she died on Feb. 16, 2001 after being secluded and restrained while extremely agitated. "The medical examiner had ruled out asphyxiation or improper restraint, cleared the school staff, and determined the cause of death was consistent with fragile X syndrome," Cuneo said, adding that the death certificate listed "agitated delirium."

Cuneo traced the Autism Advisory Council's origins to an Applied Behavior Analysis group formed in 2004 at the request of former ABA director Donnell McCarey and Dr. John Zawadzki, and said board members have regularly attended council meetings. He invited community members to join the council and directed interested people to contact Jenny Frisby for information about membership or alternate representation for the district's 22 subdistricts.

The board did not take any formal action regarding the council during the meeting; Cuneo characterized his remarks as a clarification of the council's status and history.

The statement prompted no formal motion or vote; the agenda proceeded to public comment and routine business.