Education Department

The letter from the state board says the on-site visit is part routine, as District #323 started its own program this year, but also because a “significant” ...

It’s difficult to know who to complain to: The woman the state believes is in charge of special ed at Dunlap, Alyssa Hart, is listed on Dunlap’s website with another job title. Special education teachers serve as case managers for students with IEPs, district staff provide interventions specific to IEP goals and all district staff work together to make appropriate adaptations within the general education setting in partnership with general education teachers. Malson has two students in the Dunlap School District, an area she specifically moved to for the public schools. The family wanted the program to be piloted before having their son back in Dunlap’s building. Each spring, district administration reviews and addresses the number of staff needed in order to meet the needs of all district students. “I don’t want them to have to go through what we went through. Once they found out the district was leaving SEAPCO, they left too and moved out of Dunlap. One, she says was unfounded and the other two remain open with the state. Since 2017, Dawson says her family has spent more than $50,000 for legal fees, taking out loans and credit cards. Their child was taking his classes at a different building in the district, through SEAPCO. Moreover, during the 2021 school year, the district started its own preschool program. While the formal withdrawal process began five years ago, during the 2010 school year, the district employed its own psychologists and social workers, and established its own Life Skills programs.