Lee's Summit R-7 School District

Jeff Grisamore Not: Update on Missouri Special Education Hearings The following is taken from several articles and websites.  It is all verifiable.   Prior to returning to the State of Missouri,  Chapel  worked in Kansas City as a trial lawyer at the  Sly James Firm , at Humphrey Farrington and McClain, and with the Missouri Attorney General. Charnissa Holliday Scott After serving as a  school district administrator for several years, Charnissa Holliday Scott  wanted to make a change in her life. “ I've  always been interested in law,” Charnissa said. “A  friend of mine who was an attorney talked me into taking the LSAT, and I took it. And now I’m here and  I'm  looking at graduation in May 2011.” (I believe that this friend is Michelle Wimes) Received a bachelor’s degree from Quincy University in Quincy, Ill. and a  master’s degree in Education and an Education Specialist degree in Superintendent Administration  f...

I received this from an attorney that represents families in Special Education lawsuits and due process. I wanted to update all of you on some information I learned.  It appears that on December 12, 2012, DESE entered into a contract with the Tippin Law Firm to provide services for the Administrative Hearing Commission related to special education administrative hearings in Missouri.  A key person who is providing these services was previously a special education administrator for the Kansas City Missouri Public School District; the law firm has also recently represented at least one charter school.  The special education administrator appears to have been directed toward law school by a school district attorney.  The school district attorney’s husband (a judge) appears to have delivered funds to the special education administrator to assist with paying for law school.  I have also been provided information that Commissioner Nimrod Chapel has strong relat...

SB17 - Establishes the Advisory Council on the Education of Gifted and Talented Children and the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council BRYCE'S LAW: This act creates "Bryce's Law." The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must develop a master list of resources available to the parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder. The Department must also actively seek financial resources in the form of grants and donations that may be devoted to scholarship funds or clinical trials for behavioral interventions that may be undertaken. This act allows organizations to be classified as scholarship granting organizations, as described in the act, that may distribute scholarships to eligible children or students to attend a qualified school. Eligible children include children ages zero to five with an individualized family services program under First Steps. Eligible students include elementary or secondary students who have attended public school, ...

Most bills set to become law August 28 - My North West Missouri News: Opinion Bryce’s Law (SB 17) Another bill that will become law will help provide new resources to assist families with children with special needs such as autism. The legislation, also known as Bryce’s Law, requires the state education department to seek financial resources in the form of grants and donations that may be devoted to scholarship funds or clinical trials for these children. The bill also tasks the department with developing a master list of resources available to the parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. The goal with the bill is to help families and children enjoy a higher quality of life and to obtain the educational experience they need and deserve. By making new and existing resources easier for families to access, we believe we can better meet the educational needs of the thousands of children in Missouri with autism spectrum disorders.

Bullying of disabled students can violate federal school law, U.S. Department of Education says | MLive.com LANSING -- Federal education officials  issued a letter  Tuesday clarifying the responsibility of schools to prevent bullying of students with disabilities, saying that attacks could violate the federal guarantee of a free appropriate public education if they interfere with educational benefits. The issue of children with disabilities being bullied has come to the forefront in Michigan recently after the parents of a Livonia Public Schools student  filed a federal lawsuit alleging the students and staff of his elementary school are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by allowing the child to be bullied over his peanut allergy. "[B]ullying of a student with a disability that results in the student not receiving meaningful educational benefit constitutes a denial of a free appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act t...

Another Bullying Lawsuit Targets a Texas School District The mother of a former Leander Independent School District student has sued the school district claiming that the district failed to protect her son from bullying, according to a  report by  The Austin American-Statesman .  According to the lawsuit, the boy was targeted at least in part due to Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder that impacted how he socialized and interacted with others. There is no dispute that students with disabilities can be especially vulnerable to bullying.  Further, courts may not look favorably on a school district that has failed to protect a student with special needs from abuse by other students.  The Leander ISD suit is at an early stage and the facts have not been fully developed, so it is yet to be seen whether the district will face any liability in that case. What is the potential for liability in a bullying suit?  A number of federal anti-discrimination st...

Margaret Heffernan: The dangers of "willful blindness" | Video on TED.com If only the school district had some that would avoid willful blindness.

http://localtvktvi.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/investigation-report.pdf

Three stripped of duties after Meramec campus assault | FOX2now.com Finally a school that is willing to investigate and do the right thing. KIRKWOOD, MO (KTVI)– St. Louis Community College released three employees over a student assault at the Meramec campus last spring. The chief of police for the entire campus system, plus the police chief at Meramec, and a top campus administrator were let go Thursday The highly critical report says system wide failures of campus and district law also says administrators up and down the chain of command mishandled the situation. The internal investigation came after the student was attacked last April in the women’s bathroom. Jevon Mallory was charged. The school did not immediately notify students and staff about the attack and they let Mallory go with a warning after the crime.

State begins new way of rating schools | Fulton Sun http://mcds.dese.mo.gov/guidedinquiry/APR%20%20State%20Accountability/APR%20Summary%20Report%20-%20K-12%20-%20Public.aspx?rp:COUNTY_DISTRICT_CODE=048071 This year Missouri school districts are evaluated under different standards adopted by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The new report card for school districts is still called an annual performance report but it measures and rates school districts in different ways. The new standards rate districts on the percentage of points earned in various categories, including state standardized tests, attendance, and graduation rates. Accreditation of districts also will be based on the percentage of possible points earned. Under the new standard rating systems, the North Callaway R-1 School District and the South Callaway R-2 School District had the highest scores. The North Callaway School District earned a rating of 129 of 140 possible poi...

Missouri governor joins teachers in expressing concerns on impac - KOAM TV 7 NEWS RELEASE ISSUED AUGUST 26, 2013 BY THE OFFICE OF MISSOURI GOVERNOR JAY NIXON Gov. Nixon joins teachers in expressing concerns on impact of House Bill 253 on schools Cuts to public school budgets if House Bill 253 became law would be the equivalent of eliminating more than 5,000 teachers’ jobs Jefferson city, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon issued the following statement regarding an analysis from the Missouri State Teachers Association, the Missouri National Education Association, and AFT-Missouri showing that House Bill 253 would jeopardize the jobs of thousands of Missouri teachers in public schools throughout the state. In fact, cuts to public school budgets if House Bill 253 became law would be the equivalent of eliminating between 5,438 and 9,411 teachers. “This new report underscores the troubling impact House Bill 253 would have on our public schools and Missouri’s children,” Gov. Nixon said. “Forcing school...

Missouri test scores in math drop : News For the first time in five years, math scores on standardized tests for students in Missouri dropped, while overall scores in communication arts remained flat. The percent of students statewide who passed math decreased from 55.5 percent in 2012 to 53.9 percent this year, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In reading and writing, 55.6 percent of students passed -- the same rate as 2012.  Officials made public overall totals for students in the state today after reviewing them with the State Board on Monday. District and school results are expected be available on Friday. The department noted a change in which students took certain math tests. Previously, eighth graders in Algebra 1 took both the regular grade-level math assessment and the Algebra I end-of-course test. The eighth grade Algebra students in these results took only the end-of-course test, meaning the students most advanced in math ...

Yes, That Too: Ableism is to blame

Sensory Processing Disorder is Real Even if not Included in DSM-V en years ago, I received this letter: “My granddaughter, 12, can’t stand any little repetitious thing like crunching on Cheerios or tapping fingers. It must drive her crazy inside. She is fussing at her siblings all the time to stop. This has gone on for years.” Bratty sister? No. More likely, a child like so many today who start the morning feeling like they are under assault — by the sound of crunchy cereal or the feel of a skirt seam. These kids do not set out to be overly sensitive to sounds, flickering lights or a bump in a school line. Rather, their brains work against them because of a problem called  Sensory Processing Disorder : difficulty taking in and processing some stimuli. A birthday party is too loud. A pool party is too wet. A bumpy bus ride is torture. “For some people, the most benign sounds have the same effect as nails on a chalkboard,” said Carol Stock Kranowitz. She published her groundbreakin...

EXCLUSIVE: Achievement gap widens for students after city’s new standardized tests - NY Daily News Check out the scores for our district.  It is true for us, too. Scores on the new standardized tests used by the city dropped dramatically when compared to scores from last year, but some of the city’s most vulnerable populations — minorities, English-learners and special education students — experienced some of the harshest drops. RELATED  STORIES It’s the opportunity gap, stupid  New York gets left back  Close bad schools, save their students  Give school districts a strict deadline  The harder state tests did more than cause two-thirds of city students to flunk — they also widened the achievement gap, according to new data obtained by the Daily News. Districts with the most high-needs students did especially poorly in reading and math, according to a report from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform. RELATED: CITY STUDENT SCORES DROP D...

So, two teachers walk out of the school building after being fired. Where is the punchline?  There isn't one.  It is a sad truth.  If you are willing to lie, cheat, be unethical, be immoral, and deny children their free and appropriate education you will have a job for life.  If you are not, you will be fired, abused, retaliated against, or blackballed.  Not very funny is it?

How many of you have seen the psa with the boy on the bus or the girl in hall being bullied?  The ad is to help children understand how to not be a bystander.  It is a wonderful concept. What are we teaching these same children when teachers, administrators, bus drivers, aides, etc. or the bullies?  How are they going to address that? It happens every day.  Thousands of children are bullied by the adults that we entrust our children to.  We are powerless to protect them because of the cover-ups, the lying, the retaliation, and the total failure of the system from the district level all of the way to Washington DC. When are we going to demand that our legislators, administrators, teachers, and public officials do their job and protect the most innocent of our society?  I'm ready to demand it now.

AASA Document Nothing More Than A Shameful Attack on Parent and Student Civil Rights - Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.

kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream/1808/7737/1/Romeo_ku_0099D_11269_DATA_1.pdf An Exploratory Study of Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Professional Learning Community By Susan M. Romeo Submitted to the graduate degree program in Educational Policy and Leadership and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. Thank you professional mentors and supporters: Dr. Kevin Daniel, Dr. Jill Hackett, Dr. Terri Jamison, and Dr. David McGehee Thank you to the teachers and staffs at both Sunset Valley Elementary in the Lee’s Summit School District and Raymore Elementary in the Raymore-Peculiar School District for supporting me through the various stages of obtaining my doctorate degree.

SWEE , JODEY , Next Friend    represented by    BAYLARD , DANIEL J , Attorney for Plaintiff MULLINS & BAYLARD LLC 2004 NW SOUTH OUTER RD BLUE SPRINGS, MO 64015 USA SWIMMING INC , Defendant    represented by    MCCAUSLAND , MICHAEL EUGENE , Attorney for Defendant SRV: CHUCK WIELGUS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 1 OLYMPIC PLAZA COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80909 MCCAUSLAND BARRETT & BARTALOS 9233 WARD PKWY STE 270 KANSAS CITY, MO 64114 Business:  (816) 523-3000     co-counsel HALDERMAN , DAPHNE RAE , Attorney for Defendant     9233 WARD PKWY STE 270 KANSAS CITY, MO 64114 Business:  (816) 523-3000 BLUE SPRINGS SWIM PARENTS CLUB , Defendant    represented by    MCCAUSLAND , MICHAEL EUGENE , Attorney for Defendant RA: JOHN M FAULKENBERRY 2447 NW VALLEY DR LEES SUMMIT, MO 64081 MCCAUSLAND BARRETT & BARTALOS 9233 WARD PKWY STE 270 KANSAS CITY, MO 64114 Business:  ...