Governor Andy Beshear, Mayor Craig Greenberg, and JCPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood, Louisville Metro Council: 

Our special needs children are the most vulnerable members of our community. They deserve to go to school and be met with compassion, safety, and strict adherence to their legally binding Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Instead, too many are facing unimaginable trauma behind closed doors—and the current system too often protects the institution instead of the child.

Recently, an elementary student with epilepsy and an IEP was assaulted by a teacher at Field Elementary in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). The teacher actively bypassed the child's safety plan, locked him in a classroom, and caused severe physical injuries—injuries that were extensively documented by medical professionals.

Despite immediate police and CPS reports, school administration initially dismissed the family's requests to meet. Worse, the lack of immediate, transparent action leaves parents feeling that abusers are protected while terrified children are left to suffer.

This family's nightmare is not an isolated incident. Across our district and state, parents of special needs children—many of whom cannot verbally advocate for themselves—are terrified. When abuse occurs, school administrators frequently hide behind slow "internal investigations" and union red tape, delaying justice. If a school can justify putting cameras in bathrooms to stop property damage, there is absolutely no excuse for refusing to put cameras in classrooms to stop child abuse. We cannot wait for another child to be bruised, terrified, or worse. We demand immediate, systemic change to protect our children. We call on our local and state leaders to enact the following legislation and district policies:

• Mandate Cameras in Special Education Classrooms: Require video and audio surveillance in all special education and self-contained classrooms (upon parent or staff request) to ensure undeniable transparency and protect non-verbal students.

• Create an Independent Special Education Ombudsman: Establish a state-level investigative body that entirely bypasses local principals and school boards to independently investigate abuse and IEP violations.

• Criminalize Willful IEP Defiance: Make the malicious, intentional disregard of a student's IEP or safety plan a specific criminal offense when it directly results in physical or emotional harm.

• End Administrative Delays: Enforce strict, legal timelines holding school administrators personally and legally liable if they refuse to meet with parents or fail to immediately report abuse allegations to police and CPS.

• Zero Tolerance for Abusers: Mandate enhanced criminal penalties and the permanent, automatic revocation of teaching and administrative licenses for any staff member found guilty of abusing a vulnerable student.

No parent should have to send their child to school wondering if they will come home traumatized. No child should have to lock the doors of their parents' car because they are too terrified to step foot near a school building.

We must hold our educators, principals, and district leaders accountable. Please sign this petition to demand that Kentucky lawmakers and JCPS leadership take immediate action to protect our most vulnerable students.