We are parents of children with Autism and Other Disabilities
Some of our children are receiving an education through the Lee's Summit R-VII School District. Some of our children were treated inappropriately by the Lee's Summit R-7 School District. We are the parents of children that have special needs and we want to make sure that our children are receiving a quality education in accordance with IDEA 2004 and No Child Left Behind legislation.
Statistics show that parent/family involvement significantly contributes, in a variety of ways, to improve student outcomes related to learning and school success.
Our group will benefit the community, the administrators, and the families that are served by this school district. Our group can improve outcomes for our children, provide resources to schools and parents, and provide advocacy for families that need it. Our group can benefit the community by attracting parents to the district, producing parent leaders, and providing parent education and support beyond the borders of the district.
There are cases where the district and parents cannot come to any agreement. LSASG will help parents educate themselves of their available options including due process and mediation to try to resolve the issues with the district. If these issues cannot be resolved, LSASG will also assist parents in finding alternate resources for the child with disabilities and their family.
Current statistics for children with disabilities in public school are listed below. This comes from a national report from the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates and is available here:
http://www.copaa.org/pdf/UnsafeSchoolhouseCOPAAwithAppendixMay09.pdf
- 30% of children with disabilities drop out of school
- Nearly 50% are not on grade level for their age
- 74% are in the bottom quartile in reading in high school
- 64% are in the bottom quartile in reading in elementary and middle school
- After finishing high school, students with disabilities earn on average $7.30 an hour (which works out to annual full-time income of $15,000)
Statistics on Restraint and Seclusion Issues:
The following statistics come from information gathered about children with disabilities who were mistreated by public school district personnel -
- 71% of all children with disabilities that were restrained/secluded/aversives used were not offered a behavior intervention plan by their school district as required by IDEA law
- Abusive techniques were used on 86% of children 14 and under; 53% were ages 6-10
- 71% of parents did not consent to the use of these techniques; 16% were told that these techniques would only be used in emergency situations; and 13% were never informed
- 58% of the abusive treatment occurred in the self-contained classroom consisting of only disabled children
- Of the 185 reports of abuse in this report, 68% of the children were within the autism disability category
Other statistics for Missouri:
- 10% of all due process cases in Missouri were decided in the parents favor in the years: 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. This information is according to a case by case analysis of DP hearings as listed on the Department of Education's website as of March 10, 2010.
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