Parents of students with individualized education programs testify to state leaders
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri General Assembly's Joint Committee on Education heard testimony from families struggling with online school, especially parents with kids who have individual education programs on Friday.
Students, teachers, and parents spoke to state leaders for over five hours, all in favor of finding a way to return to in-person learning, either using the hybrid learning model or returning five days a week.
A Columbia Public Schools parent Kristin Lind has a student at Hickman High School with an IEP. She says if school remains online for another semester she might have to move districts.
"It's causing so much struggle and making him fall farther behind," she said. "All of us parents are hanging on, we would have to consider putting our house on the market."
Back in August, a local parent Sara Rivera had a lot of questions about how the proposed online learning model would work for her son.
"I have questions about everything," she said. "Parents of children with disabilities have a lot of unique needs that we need to have met."
On Friday parents were still voicing their concerns about online school and how learning on a screen and having to be taught by parents is not working for students with IEPs.
"They may have parents at home to help them but they are screaming at their parents, having an emotional breakdown because normally an educator that is trained in this is there to help them," Lind said.
State Senator Cindy O'Laughlin said the committee does not plan to vote on anything after hearing the testimony but hopes the conversation will push CPS towards moving towards in-person learning.
"I just think that making public and continuing to meet with them and not allowing them to just brush parents off or give solid reasoning for some of the decisions they make, I think that alone will push them towards opening the school again," she said.
The Columbia Board of Education plans to meet on Nov. 9 to vote and set a date on a plan to either keep middle and high schools online or move to in-person learning.
