Introduction

Services and support for disabled students in the Park Hill School District is lacking. Many disabled students in this district have fallen through the cracks due to insufficient staffing and insufficient training of existing staff.

These students could have a better, more engaging learning experience, and could also have better outcomes if their needs are met. The more students with disabilities who can be helped to achieve their potential, the better the community would be served because these students would be better equipped to live productive lives once they leave high school, whether or not they choose to attend college.

This issue can be illustrated by the following testimony from Elizabeth (Ash) Dawson.

On March 19th, 2024, my parents and I were called to my high school for a “meeting.” This meeting did not fail to make me feel unsafe, unwanted, invalidated, and ignored. During this time, my mom and I repeatedly mentioned that my lower than normal attendance was temporary, and that treatments for the conditions causing me to miss school would take a few weeks to take effect and would not have immediate effect. We also discussed that when my pain starts, it flares up and there is currently nothing the nurses could do to help this.

My chronic pain causes me to miss 8-10 days of school a month. Despite this, I’ve maintained straight As and Bs, as well as strong communication with teachers.

This was completely dismissed by my 504/Special Education Coordinator and Vice Principal.

The school and district have failed to prioritize my physical and mental health and well-being and have instead prioritized their image and my attendance. There were also heavy implications from the 504 Coordinator that I would be nothing without a college degree.

Park Hill School District has always tried to say that they are very welcoming to minorities and that they prioritize and try to help student mental health. However, they have failed to make me and many of my peers feel safe, validated, and included at school. The repeated failure and lack of effort to accommodate the disabilities of me and others have made me feel unsafe and unwanted.

For the past year and a half, PHSD has failed to make an effort to support me and my peers, even going as far as ignoring the statements made by me and my mom.

I’ve also had nurses tell me that because I looked fine, I was, knowing that I have a diagnosed heart condition and invisible disability.

In middle school, some very insensitive comments were made by a social worker to my mom and I following death threats that I received. My mother was told, “The weekend should’ve been enough time to recover.” This was after both of my suicide attempts and lengthy history of suicidal ideation and self harm. When I brought up concerns with bullying, I was told that society is crappy and to deal with it on my own.

Also, in middle school, whenever I brought up concerns to counselors, social workers, and all of the administration about my 504 plan not being followed, I was ignored and blamed.

Time and time again, PHSD has failed to prioritize the health and well-being of students over money or funding and their image.

The school has all the documentation for all of my mental and physical disorders. Positive teacher feedback and good academic standing were ignored.

I have had a good working relationship with my teachers and with the social workers. It’s the rest of the administration that has given me problems.

I was told at the meeting that I spoke of above that the school district cannot accommodate my needs and that I should consider home schooling. However, according to Regulation IV of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the school district is required to provide me educational resources until I am 21 years old.

Why Action is Imperative

If the school district continues not to serve their disabled student body in an appropriate manner, these students will continue to fall through the cracks and have their educations disrupted and at times, ended prematurely. This deprives the community of the opportunity to benefit from these students’ full potential. How many students have been dismissed from Park Hill School District because of poor attendance before their educational limits were reached, who could otherwise have benefited from a full education if they were instead supported and provided appropriate and individualized services.

Steps Towards Change

• Hire more professional psychologists to be on staff in schools on a daily basis and available to students.
• Give more substantial, in-person training to existing employees on how to identify and deal with the signs of various mental conditions, including, but not limited to autism, depression, anxiety, etc.
• Have more readily-accessible support systems for students with mental conditions, including, but not limited to support groups and clubs.
• Educate existing employees about invisible disabilities.
• Provide more accessible methods of communication for students who are unable to communicate verbally, even if those students are not always non-verbal.
• Educate the non-disabled student body about mental and physical disability, and about invisible disability.

Benefits of Making these Changes

If the steps above were implemented, many disabled students would be appropriately and individually supported and would be able to complete their educations, thus becoming more productive members of society. Their non-disabled peers would also become educated about disabilities and would be able to learn empathy.

Disabled students would then no longer feel like misfits and rejected from society as a whole.

Mental health and other disability awareness is growing, but only slowly. Implementing the steps above can only improve life for everyone. Disabled people are more than their disabilities. Disabled people are people, first, disabled second. Yet the majority treats them as less than whole people. This needs to stop.

Please sign our petition and spread the word! Contact the PHSD administration and show your support. Tell others about this petition and encourage them to tell their stories, too.

The Time for Change is Now

The sooner changes happen, the more people can be positively impacted and the fewer students will become statistics. Fewer students will find themselves at the end of their resources. More students will be successful both at school and after.

“Relationships before rigor. Grace before grades. Patience before programs. Love before lessons.” Dr. Brad Johnson