As parents in McCracken County, Kentucky, we have experienced first-hand the unacceptable delays, unexplained resistance, and blatant disregard of applicable laws by school district personnel when suspicions of our kids' learning disabilities were raised. This is not just our personal experience; it's a shared struggle among many families with exceptional children in our community.

Our children deserve better. They deserve a system that recognizes their unique needs and provides them with the appropriate support without hesitation or delay. That's why we are calling on the McCracken County Board of Education to adopt a Bill of Rights for Struggling Students and their Families who may be best served by a Special Education Plan.

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), approximately 14% of all public-school students received special education services in 2018-19.  There is no data to show how many kids need, but do not receive, special education services, or how many experience unacceptable delays, resistance, or lack of research-based interventions (required by law) once disabilities are suspected or diagnosed.  It is crucial that these students' rights are protected and upheld by their schools.

By adopting this Bill, our board can ensure transparency, accountability, and respect for every student's right to an appropriate education - regardless of their abilities or disabilities. This will not only benefit current students but also future generations within McCracken County.

We urge you to stand with us in advocating for our exceptional children's rights. Please sign this petition today urging the McCracken County Board of Education to adopt this much-needed Bill.

Bill of Rights for Struggling Students and their Families (Proposed): 

1. Parents (including legal guardians) shall immediately receive a paper copy of this Bill from their child's teacher and/or school administrator if their child is noted to have any difficulties/struggles in school that could reflect a disability.  This Bill shall be periodically updated to contain current contact information for several independent not-for-profit groups or associations of parents (not directly affiliated with the school/district) who have gone through the ARC/IEP process, so that parents who are new to the process may receive peer support that is not influenced by the district.  Independent groups/associations that meet this criteria may submit their contact information to the District, and the District shall include their contact information on the last printed page of this Bill.
    
2. At the same time a student's difficulties (possibly reflecting a disability) are discussed and a Parent receives this Bill as set forth in #1 above, that Parent shall receive a paper copy of the district's "Consent to Evaluate/Re-evaluate" for special education, and the Parent shall be clearly informed that the district must evaluate the student within 60 school days after the Parent signs and gives the form to the school.
   
   
3. Parents of students identified per #1 above shall be informed verbally during any discussion of RTI (Response to Intervention, e.g. "Tier 2 and 3" continuum) that RTI is not the same process as a Special Ed. Evaluation, and that per U.S. Dept. of Education policy, "The use of RTI strategies cannot be used to delay or deny the provision of a full and individual evaluation, pursuant to 34 CFR §§300.304-300.311, to a child suspected of having a disability."
   
   
4. Parents of students identified in #1 above shall be verbally informed during any discussion of RTI/Tiered/Special-Ed. options that the school is required by law "to provide interventions implemented with fidelity to evidence-based research and matched to individual student strengths and needs."  Parents shall be provided written information about the actual interventions that will be used with their child, including links to legitimate research that shows the effectiveness of said interventions with similar-age students with similar struggles.
   
   
5. Teachers,  administrators,  and other district personnel, who are not authorized to prescribe medication or make medical evaluations for the student, shall not make recommendations or in any way suggest to Parents that a student be medicated in relation to the student's struggles.
   
   
6. Parents shall be encouraged to bring a support person (personal acquaintance, volunteer or professional helper) to any school meeting related to their child's struggles.  School and district personnel shall not interrogate support persons about their credentials, advocacy experience, or any other aspect of their involvement.
   
   
7. Parents shall have the option to receive any papers that will be discussed or presented at any ARC/IEP meeting at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting (including a draft Consent to Evaluate/Re-Evaluate form as it will be presented at the meeting).   Parents shall be notified verbally of this option at the time the meeting is scheduled.  
   
   
8. Parents shall be informed prior to any such meeting that they have a legal right, per Kentucky law, to record any meetings they may attend at their child's school.
   
   
9. Parents shall be informed at the onset of the ARC and/or IEP process that they have a right to require their child's school to log actual interventions with their child conducted under a Tier/IEP program (including: who, when, where, how long, which research-based interventions were used, and the child's response to the intervention).  School/district personnel shall not obscure the difference between the planning of how much time will be allotted to the student and a log of the actual interventions that actually track this data for the purpose of comparing it to what was planned. 
   
   
10. Parents may, upon review of any "conference summary" or other written summary of a meeting, make a specific written addition of information to be included in the record for that meeting if they believe that aspects of the meeting were not included in the summary.  School/district personnel shall not deny or tell the Parent that they must schedule another meeting to discuss the information believed to be missing from the summary. 

Please sign this petition to hold our school district accountable and protect parents and students who may have disabilities!