It has been brought to my attention recently that there’s been a disparate proportion of our youth that has been denied necessary accommodations as far as IEP‘s are concerned. The students that are receiving them more frequently happened to be our children’s paler counterparts. This being said, we are petitioning that the Kansas City Public School District or any other district that is implementing such practices are held accountable and be made to correct these discriminatory practices immediately.

Specifically, we are parents of a severely dyslexic child with visual impairment, expressive language, and receptive language disorder. As well, both parents are disabled and one has a terminal illness. Despite this, we are very active in our children’s schooling and in the community to the extent we are capable. We have requested that our daughter who is not making progress and falling behind aside from already being behind by 2-3 grade levels receive her IEP back. To date, her academic performance is the same as mentioned and the school district is still refusing her an IEP. However, we have been informed by a minority staff member that this is not the practice with the students of a paler persuasion. The process is much smoother and far less adversarial than what we have experienced. 

In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “The time is always right to do what is right.” No one should be subjected to this unethical and discriminatory practice!