Parent tells Dunlap CUSD 323 board concerns about special-education placement and contractor licensing

During public participation at the Dunlap CUSD 323 Board of Education meeting, parent Mackenzie Coffey said she has two children with autism and asked the board to review a special-education placement decision involving her son.

“I have two children who have autism,” Coffey said at the podium. She described submitting a placement request that left her unclear about the outcome and said her son has received Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for three-and-a-half years. She said the contracted provider working with the district is operating on a loaner license and she questioned whether the provider holds a required Illinois license to provide services in the district.

Coffey told the board a district program called PEAT was used as an assessment and had been adapted into a classroom setting; she said concerns included mixed disabilities in the classroom and whether children with social-emotional diagnoses alone should be placed in an emotional/behavior classroom. In the public-comment instructions read by staff, the board reminded speakers to identify themselves and limited comment to five minutes and said the board typically does not engage in two-way discussion during the public portion of the meeting.

Board staff indicated information regarding special-education items and other information was provided in the board packet for review. Coffey requested follow-up from the administration; the meeting record shows public-participation matters are often referred to administration for response rather than addressed in-session.

The board did not take formal action during the public-comment period on Coffey’s concerns; staff will be the point of contact for any follow-up.