Lee's Summit R-7 School District

Reorganized School District No.7 301 NE Tudor Road Lee's Summit, Missouri 64086-5702 Phone: (816) 986-1024 Fax: (816) 986-1160 Jerry L. Keimig Executive Director of Special Services December 22, 2008 Ms. Heidi Atkins Lieberman Assistant Commissioner Division of Special Education Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education PO Box 480 Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0480 Dear Ms. Lieberman: This letter is in response to concerns expressed by OSEP regarding Ms. Tucker. Ms. Tucker has responded to staff in our District with a continual barrage of emails and web postings on a variety of topics expressing concerns, sending general information regarding special education issues, and conducting personal attacks on staff. Ms. Tucker continually voices her concerns regarding educational programming for her son. We would agree that he has specific areas that need to be addressed, but despite multiple District attempts to provide direct interventions for her son, she has refused many o...

FILE: AC Critical Portions © 2007 Missouri School Boards’ Association PROHIBITION AGAINST ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT General Rule The Lee's Summit R-7 School District Board of Education is committed to maintaining a workplace and educational environment that is free from illegal discrimination or harassment in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs, activities and facilities. Discrimination or harassment against employees, students or others on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, age or any other characteristic protected by law is strictly prohibited in accordance with law. The Lee's Summit R-7 School District is an equal opportunity employer. Students, employees and others will not be disciplined for speech in circumstances where it is protected by law. The Board also prohibits: 1 . Retaliatory actions based on making complaints of prohibited discrimination or harassment ...

http://plms.leesummit.k12.mo.us/handbook/handbook07.pdf POLICIES CONCERNING ORDER AND DISCIPLINE The law provides teachers with considerable authority over the control and education of the child, once the parent sends his child to the public schools. The authority of the teacher is given by law and is not delegated by the parent. Authority is granted to the teacher by the state as an essential part of teacher responsibility. The teacher stands in place of the parent when the child is under the teacherʼs supervision and care.

While they finally admitted to me that their press release was less than honest, they never sent it out in the same manner that they sent the original press release. Therefore, many folks falsely believe that Lee's Summit did this all by themselves and that those few families that are fighting with the district have no reason to fight. Why didn't the district newsletter show that the school district got first place with the help of the Lee's Summit Autism Support Group? That is what helped the district get first place. I feel as though the district should share the recognition with us. When team members sign up they have to put what school district that they attend. Then that district gets credit for all members that go to that district. The Alliance stated "If you add the Lee's Summit Autism Support Group to the Lee's Summit School District team, it is very clear they are the winners for the school district." This is the press release from the district: ...

I am the President and Co-Founder of the Lee's Summit Autism Support Group I am a member of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Special Education Advisory Panel ( DESE ) ( SEAP ) I was elected to the SEAP Executive Committee I am the Chairperson for the Monitoring Committee for the SEAP I am a resident of Lee's Summit I have three children attending Lee's Summit High School I am the only candidate that is familiar with NCLB , OSEP , IDEA, and special education. I have extensive knowledge in these areas and I am familiar with the how the district is not following the spirit of the law. I have a 15 year old son that has been diagnosed with Kanner's Syndrome/Early Infantile Autism, Dysgraphia , Inattentive ADHD , and Anxiety Disorder. I just paid a $700 medical bill because school causes my son so much anxiety that he was taking medication to be able to attend school. His liver became damaged, because of the medication, and I have had to take ...

Dear Ms. Tucker: The Lee’s Summit district made this conclusion by itself, by comparing their test results with statewide data. We reported the 2008 state MAP results recently. Here is the report: http://dese.mo.gov/news/2008/MAPandAYP.htm If you click on the “Summary” link in this statement, you will see a page of numbers which includes a column for the percent scoring Proficient or Advanced. It appears to me that Lee’s Summit did its own analysis based on these numbers and drew this conclusion. DESE did not single-out Lee’s Summit for exemplary performance. We issued the results for every district in the state at the same time. Jim Morris DESE Public Information Office

Parents of Autistic Children Address R-7 Board By Brett Dalton The Journal Staff Two Missouri school districts have been chosen to speak at the Commissioner of Education conference in August to share "exemplary practices in the area of autism." The Lee's Summit R-7 School District is one of those districts, according to information released at Thursday's R-7 Board of Education meeting. At the conference, staff members from the school district will conduct sessions for superintendents and other administrators from throughout the state in order to assist them in serving their autistic population of students. However, before that news was announced at the board meeting, a group of parents of autistic children addressed the board and expressed their dissatisfaction with how the district provides for autistic children and students with various other special needs. One of those parents was Sherri Tucker, who lost in her bid to obtain a spot on the board during the April 8 c...

This district has not allowed my son's evaluation scores to be put into his IEP. How is anyone ever going to know his deficits if they don't include those in his IEP? I put them in the parent concerns. They denied my right to have my concerns in the IEP. They decided to edit them. See below the comments that they wrote on his IEP. Attaching 4 pages of parent concerns in PLAAFP without specific test scores and diagnostic interpretations. IEP Goals & Objectives:A Tactics and Strategy Sessionwith Pete & Pam Wright Print this page Question: As an LDA President from a midwestern state, I coach parents about how to write Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP) for their children's IEPs. We tell parents that standard scores from evaluations and reevaluations should be included as present levels in the IEP. Some schools resist . They insist on using "teacher observations" instead of using objective information from standardized tests for the present level...