This petition is by parents of District 303 in Saint Charles, IL appealing to the school district administration and board of education for -

(1) appropriate and adequate support and staffing in classrooms in order for all students to have access to learning following D303's increased inclusion initiative.

   This year, the district initiated a plan for increased inclusion of students of all abilities in mainstream classrooms. As a result, many programs and spaces for students with unique needs were eliminated. According to FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education for Students with Disabilities) and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), all students with disabilities must have free and equal opportunity to learn. FAPE and IDEA defend inclusion, as is appropriate and with sufficient supplementary support and services. Equitable education does not mean the same for all. It may look like extra support in the classroom or participation in specialized programs. In fact, the Illinois State BOE Equity Statement articulates its responsibility to provide each and every child with "comprehensive support, programs, and educational opportunities they need to succeed." 

   When District 303 made abrupt inclusion shifts, supports were not provided. Mainstream classroom teachers were left unequipped for this transition. Classroom sizes have not decreased, the number of staffing is not sufficient, and teachers did not receive any specialized training to manage each student's unique physical/behavioral/social/emotional/sensory/medical/learning needs full-time. Envision the workload teachers daily encounter and the distraction and distress students hourly experience in inadequately staffed/supported classroom climates.  We are stating that teachers must be granted training to prepare them for increased inclusion, time to communicate and plan with special education personnel, and provision of additional staff in the classroom. If these supports are not put into place, the instatement of increased inclusion is going to be to the detriment of the education and well-being of all students. (Our desire is also for sufficient dedicated quiet spaces of respite, sometimes known as multi sensory rooms, for students to have the option to use in challenging moments.)

 (2) Next, we are petitioning for all students to have safe, sufficiently supervised environments across school properties. Unstructured spaces like lunch rooms, playgrounds, and restrooms in D303 schools do not have appropriate supervision. Parents and staff across all schools express the need for more supervisors in these spaces to prevent and cease inappropriate and harmful physical and verbal contact between students. We are requesting policy and funding to ensure increased number of and training for supervisors in unstructured spaces including lunch room, playground, and restrooms. Currently, a supervisor to student ratio policy does not exist. A ratio of 25 students to one supervisor may be appropriate. Greater training for these supervisors is also essential. While parent volunteering is helpful, it should NOT be necessary to keep our children safe. Parent volunteers are limited by work obligations and access to daytime childcare and do not have background checks/finger printing. We are also petitioning for interior and exterior security cameras for low supervised/vulnerable areas (including all building entrances and outside of bathrooms) to aid staff and supervisors in protecting our children. Almost 80% of U.S. elementary school and 94% of high schools have security cameras according to the National center for Education Statistics. The National Institute of Justice confirms the effectiveness of security cameras for school security infrastructure. Despite this data, some D303 schools have been without any or have very few security cameras. 

   Please take action on our concerns and desires for safe schools and supported staff to enable equal and adequate learning for all students. To be clear, we are petitioning for:

1. more paraprofessionals/staffing in the classroom 
2. training to equip teachers for inclusion
3. smaller class sizes for those classrooms with a larger inclusion percentage
4. time for teachers to plan with special education professionals
5. dedicated quiet spaces of respite ("multi sensory room") for students who need a break
6. increased/adequate supervision on playgrounds, lunch rooms, and bathrooms with policy to enforce it
7. security cameras for the supervision and safety of students (all exterior doors, outside of bathrooms, and other low supervised/vulnerable areas)