1 of 19

What’s Going Well:

Principal Leadership, Strong Partnerships, and Special Education Success

June 24, 2026

Susan Henry, Director of Compliance

2 of 19

Agenda/Participant Outcomes From this Session

​

2

  • Brief overview of dispute resolution information for 2025-2026
  • What’s Going Well: Observations from the SSD Student Compliance Office and Special Education Coordinators

3 of 19

Mediations

2025-2026 Categories

  • Identification/Evaluation (1)
  • Placement (1)
  • Educational records/data (1)
  • Discipline (2)

*DESE has changed process to secure a mediation.

​

​

3

4

7

4

5

4 of 19

2025-2026 Categories

  • 75 total allegations
  • Increases seen nationwide and statewide
  • Repeat filings
  • Filings concurrent with Due Process or Mediation

​

4

40

17

19

9

5 of 19

5

27%

27%

IEP Implementation

Services

ID/Eval

12%

11%

Discipline

6 of 19

Noteworthy Cases/Decisions

6

  • In-school suspensions count towards the 10-days of discipline removals if student doesn’t have access to nondisabled peers to the extent they did when not assigned to ISS, even if they received their special education services and access to the general education curriculum.

​

  • Informal removals: Increase in cases in which parents alleged students were denied services and FAPE when they were repeatedly removed to locations in the school (principal’s offices, special education classrooms, calming areas) to de-escalate when they were experiencing behavioral dysregulation.

​

  • Bullying: Continuing to see cases in which parents made allegations that their student was denied FAPE when they were bullied and administrators and IEP teams allegedly failed to investigate or respond.

7 of 19

Compliance Rates

  • Decisions received for 67 of 75 allegations
  • 69% positive outcomes (in compliance + not investigated)

7

8 of 19

Due Process Complaints

  • 20 resolved without a hearing; 6 pending
  • 50% had attorney representation
  • Placement disputes remain largest category of parents’ primary complaint

​

8

9 of 19

9

10 of 19

So how does all this data connect to what’s going well?

10

11 of 19

11

12 of 19

12

13 of 19

13

14 of 19

14

15 of 19

15

16 of 19

16

17 of 19

17

18 of 19

Questions?

18

19 of 19

Contact Information

19

Susan Henry, Director of Compliance

srhenry@ssdmo.org

314-989-8143

Sarah Kline, Assistant Director of Compliance

sekline@ssdmo.org

314-989-8135