Moore County Schools is currently reviewing a large group of Board policies, including 77 policies discussed during the September review process. The district’s Policy Committee is scheduled to continue that work on September 29, with additional Board review expected in October. 

For my family, this issue is deeply personal. Our experience with Drew showed us how difficult it can be when a child with documented disabilities needs support, but the systems intended to protect and serve that child do not work the way families expect them to.

Since speaking publicly about our experience, I have heard from other parents, caregivers, educators, and community members describing concerns involving IEPs, 504 Plans, evaluations, behavioral supports, bullying, discipline, staffing, communication, and administrative response.

This request is not intended to attack individual teachers, schools, administrators, or Board members. Many educators are working under tremendous pressure and limited capacity. The purpose is to ask whether the systems surrounding those educators and families provide enough support, transparency, oversight, parent participation, and accountability.

We are asking Moore County Schools and the Board of Education to clearly address questions such as:

• Who is accountable when an IEP or 504 Plan is not implemented as written?

• What happens when a parent or educator reports that required accommodations, services, or behavioral supports are not being provided?

• How are teachers supported when they advocate for a student’s documented needs?

• How does the district identify repeated concerns across multiple schools instead of treating every family’s experience as an isolated case?

• How are disability-related needs considered when discipline, behavior, bullying, or removals from the classroom occur?

• How are parents kept meaningfully informed and involved before problems become crises?

• When staffing and EC capacity are limited, what safeguards ensure students still receive the services and protections they are entitled to?

• How can qualified outside providers collaborate with schools when families have completed the necessary approval, background-check, and access requirements?

• How are special-needs parents, educators, and service providers included when policies affecting students with disabilities are reviewed?

Our goal is straightforward: when protections already exist on paper, families should be able to understand how those protections are implemented, monitored, and enforced in practice.

Supporting students with disabilities and supporting educators should not be competing goals. A strong system should be able to do both.

We are asking for transparency, meaningful parent and educator participation, clear accountability procedures, and an open discussion about where the system is working and where improvements may be needed.