District 64- wants to segregate 5th grade special needs kids

This isn't right. This is very upsetting.

I am failing to see how this is legal. Placement should be individualized to the needs of the student, not based on district convenience or staffing.

Thank God Jane Boyd is leaving district 64. Let her go ruin programs at CPS. Good Riddance!!!

This is not acceptable to single kids out like this.

No child should be segrated. Service is not a placement but can happen in gen ed classrooms. Special needs kids thrive better being around able body students. Kids without special needs see kids as kids and humans and we want all kids special needs or not to thrive long after school and in community. Placing students in a special segrated area or Sep school from their same age peers will cause so much harm.

Inclusion works! Children with special needs deserve and thrive when given the opportunity to learn and socialize with typical peers.

Decades of data and real life classrooms to do support this stance. Special needs children benefit from integrated classrooms as do all children.

All students, with or without disabilities, should be in schools and educated with their same-age peers.

Children in special education/instructional classes most certainly can still have meaningful relationships with their general education peers. My daughter is in general education and participates in a Peer Buddy program at school (in another district) with peers in the special education/instructional program, which has tremendously impacted her in a positive way (and she isn’t even the initial target of the program!). There are also relationships formed via interaction in the non-special education/instructional parts of the day and during afterschool activities such as clubs, intramurals, school family events, etc.

All children have the right to be together and have an education

Please re-think this!

This is terrible, disappointing and disturbing.

Please do not do this--the backlash against the school district will almost certainly be tremendous, and, more importantly, the impact to your otherwise outstanding community will be heartbreaking!

This is not in the best interest of the 5th grade students who have the legal right to be educated with their age appropriate peers. This is a simple fix which is best practice at most other districts 1 SPED teacher for K-2, 1 SPED teacher for 3-5. You need to make adjustments to your staffing NOT to the programming for these children.

It is hard enough for kids who are in IEP's and other special education situations to adjust emotionally and socially, especially moving from 5th to 6th grade. I'm trying to image what it would be like for a fourth grader to made that jump. There must be a better way to accommodate our students in a positive learning environment. Split the sessions in elementary to work with kids who are closer in age. Keep our students enrolled in as much of the main classroom as possible so that they benefit and the rest of the students can appreciate a diverse learning environment.

Plain and simple...sped teacher for k-2 and 3-5.

Appalled that segregation is even being considered.

This school needs to divide their special needs self contained class room in half. One grades k-2 and one 3-5. I have a child with a disability and over the coarse of his elementary school years our district was always moving these students from building to building to accommodate the regular students needs. Our kids were treated like second class citizens and just like these parents we often found ourselves blindsided with decisions made by the district without any concern or input from the families they affected. Additionally and most importantly my son directly benefited from being with his same age peers, who followed him through middle school and to high school. Removing these children also gives the impression to the fifth graders that they are different, a problem, and are disposable.

Keep fighting for least restrictive environment!! Kelsi and her peers deserve it!! This , in my experience as a public school teacher for 35 years, is being done for the districts convenience. We NEED to fight for our children!!

This will be detrimental for the students.