State Board of Education Approves to Reorganize Locations of Missouri Schools of the Severely Disabled

SEDALIA, Mo. — The State Board of Education (Board) approved to permanently close 12 DESE-operated Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled (MSSD) by next year.

This recommendation was made by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) during the August 12 Board meeting. DESE leaders presented possible solutions to the Board in May to improve services at MSSD. Those solutions were designed to strengthen educational opportunities for both students currently enrolled within MSSD along with all students with extensive support needs (ESN) throughout Missouri.

The initial step in reimaging the MSSD is reducing the number of locations over the next year.

The board voted to:

• Permanently close six buildings that were already temporarily consolidated due to staff vacancies, effective immediately. Those locations include Briarwood (Harrisonville), Lakeview Woods (Lee’s Summit), Gateway/Hubert Wheeler (St. Louis), Rolling Meadow (Higginsville), Delmar Cobble (Columbia), and Ozark Hills (Salem).
• Permanently closing six additional buildings by the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year as a proactive approach to addressing additional challenges in those buildings and regions that would otherwise likely result in emergency consolidations in the future. Those locations include Citadel (Potosi), College View (Joplin), Crowley Ridge (Dexter), Dogwood Hills (Eldon), Lillian Schaper (Bowling Green), and Prairie View (Marshall).

“The State Board of Education believes this is the first step in providing more opportunities and strengthening education for all students enrolled in Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled,” State Board of Education President Mary Schrag said. “This decision is not taken lightly but will result in a more efficient program that enriches quality resources provided to students and their families.”

Throughout the last two years, DESE worked with Public Consulting Group LLC (PCG) and Capital Asset Engineering to independently evaluate the operational and educational programming of MSSD to ensure students within the program receive the highest quality educational opportunities. In September 2024, a Long-Range Planning Advisory Committee (LRPAC), made up of more than 50 stakeholders, was established to review the findings of the PCG study and make recommendations to the Board.

“We appreciate the work of the advisory committee over the past year,” Commissioner of Education Dr. Karla Eslinger said. “I know this recommendation did not come without careful consideration of putting the students’ best interests first. Ultimately, LRPAC’s work revealed that permanently closing these 12 locations will improve services provided to students with severe disabilities and their families. This timeline provides opportunity for our educators and families to determine best outcomes for their student.”

During this extensive project, the LRPAC identified many strengths among MSSD’s work, including staff and leadership who are supportive and knowledgeable and team members who provide a caring environment for students. The LRPAC also recognized several unique challenges MSSD faces:

• Enrollment: MSSD has experienced a 36 percent enrollment decline during the last 16 years (1,033 to 660 students statewide).
• Staff recruitment and retention: There is currently a 23 percent vacancy rate among MSSD staff (115 vacant positions), along with a high turnover rate in MSSD leadership roles.
• Facilities: Most MSSD students are being served in aging facilities that were not designed to serve students with ESN. Many buildings also do not provide enough learning space or have excessive wasted and unused space.
• Instruction: Currently, there are inconsistent measures in place for progress monitoring, student outcomes, or alignment to statewide alternate learning standards. There’s also limited ability for MSSD students to interact socially with their non-disabled peers.

DESE and the Office of Special Education are committed to ensuring Missouri students with ESN are being educated in the least restrictive environment, a guiding principle of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that requires students with disabilities are educated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. Currently, 36 states are educating students with ESN in less restrictive placements than Missouri.

The LRPAC’s recommendations full list of recommendations are available on DESE’s website. The MSSD Report and Executive Summary, along with the monthly LRPAC meeting materials, can be found on DESE’s MSSD LRPAC webpage.