special needs

In the past year, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) has promoted a “journey to inclusion,” as a better way to teach students with disabilities. It’s a newer practice for Nebraska schools, and administrators are confident it will work.

The Park Hill School District in Kansas City's Northland is considered a destination for students with disabilities. But some families’ negative experiences show how hard it is to meet the federal mandate to educate students with disabilities — in even the best-resourced districts.

Special education advocates said Park Hill is one of the better districts at meeting students' needs, but some negative experiences reveal problems in special education that plague even the best-resourced districts.

On the first Monday of each month, the Johnson County Museum dims lights and limits capacity to make the space more welcoming for kids with sensory-processing challenges.

Missouri secluded and restrained more than 1,000 students last school year. Justyn Jefferson, an 11-year-old from Belton, is one of them. But because schools don't always report instances of seclusion and restraint, it's difficult to know if they're using the techniques legally.

Missouri only started collecting data on seclusion and restraint this year, and many schools aren't reporting how often they use the practices. A Belton mom whose son was repeatedly secluded and restrained says schools are also using those methods in inappropriate ways.

Conservatives want to make it easier for Kansas families to send their children to private schools, and they’re once again pushing for more parental control over what’s taught in public school classrooms.

The Mission Project supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by fostering community and building independence.

The Kansas City area is experiencing the record-breaking seller's market affecting most of the country and one business is addressing the importance of employment for those with disabilities.

Americans are returning to work but for those with disabilities, the unemployment rate remains over 80 percent.

From after-school programs to adult education, parents in Kansas and Missouri are doing one of two things: fight to keep programs open or create resources to solve their own problems.

Special Olympic gold athlete Lynna Hodgson was two years old when the Hodgson family from outside of Oak Grove, Missouri, adopted her. The baby had been…