Lebanon Parents Petition to "Stop the Segregation" of Special Needs Students

(Lebanon, MO) -- Parents in Lebanon, Missouri are speaking out against the way the school handles its special needs students.

Valentine Shiverdeck is the mother of a child with special needs in Lebanon.

"Just getting him to school is horrifying," she said at the meeting.

Shiverdeck has just pulled her child from the Lebanon school district to start home schooling her son. She says she can offer him a better experience than the school can.

"The quality of education he was getting was pretty lacking," she explained.

Shiverdeck was not alone. Many parents of special needs students said they were upset about their children's learning opportunities.

Many special needs students don't meet in regular classrooms. They meet in trailer units behind the school. The trailers are less stable, and more sensitive to outside noises than the solid brick school building.

"He could not understand why his school was in a house."

Parents complained that school keeps the special needs students in the trailers, separate from the rest of the school for most of the day.

Disability advocates like Carissa Rupp said that kind of separation isn't right.

"The parents have expressed that their students are more or less treated as the indentured servants of the school."

The U.S. Department of Education requires schools to make every effort possible to teach special needs students in the same environment as their peers.

Duane, Widhalm, the Superintendent at Lebanon, said the school was doing its job.

"We feel like we are in compliance with the law," he said.

Widhalm said the school was examining the issue and meeting with parents about the best action to take.

"We're interested in meeting and discussing the different options that are out there to try to make an impact on facilities for all of our kids."

But parents are worried about the coming school year.

"Is this a dream, is this real? My son's going to have to go to school there," said one mother.

Previous Report: Advocate Claims School District Discriminates Against Special Needs Students

More Resources:
Petition
Department of Education regulations for special needs students