MEDFORD, Ore. — Concerned parents are speaking up, following reported disruptions in their children’s kindergarten classroom. They say the Medford School District isn’t doing enough to help the kids at Wilson Elementary get into the programs they need to succeed.
Kelly has a six year old daughter who she says only gets an hour and fifteen minutes of classtime a day.
“She has been diagnosed with DMDD, it’s a form of bipolar childhood disorder,” Kelly said.
Kelly says her daughter has disruptive outbursts in class, something she says she can’t control.
“She has probably at least 20 referrals since Christmas break, and probably 12 suspensions,” Kelly said.
With concerns for her daughter’s education, Kelly contacted the Medford School District.
“I’ve been trying to get her on an IEP, the first meeting we had about one was march 5th,” Kelly said. “I want her in a classroom where she can thrive and succeed, and feel comfortable.”
According to Kelly, the process for an individualized education program isn’t moving fast enough. NBC5 News reached out to the Medford School District for comment. The District emailed this statement:
The Medford School District takes the health and safety of its students and staff extremely seriously. There are students who come to the district with behavioral needs or having experienced trauma and we have resources in place to address those students’ needs. We have an obligation to educate all students who come through our doors, regardless of their circumstances.
If someone has a concern regarding how a child is doing at school, a school team works to develop interventions for that student. If those interventions do not provide adequate support, a referral to special education can be made. Once the district receives parent consent for an evaluation, an evaluation is completed. The school team then meets to go over the results and develop and individualized education plan or IEP. The legal timeline for an evaluation is 60 school days after receiving parent consent to complete an evaluation.
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