Bethany, Mo. mother alleges school district neglected Special Education needs

BETHANY, Mo. (KQTV) -- A Bethany, Missouri mother has filed a civil lawsuit and criminal charges against the South Harrison County R-II School District.

Jacqueline Maize is alleging the district failed to provide legally-mandated special education services to her three children, then retaliated against her when she complained, and allowed bullying that left one of her daughters with anorexia and insomnia.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has already found the district was not in compliance on two counts related to failing to provide a free, appropriate public education to the Maize’s 14-year-old son, who has autism and ADHD.

Maize moved her family to Bethany two years ago for a fresh start, but instead, she says the past year has been a "nightmare."

She told KQ2 that she has spent more than $13,000 on a special education advocate, sent two of her children to live with their father out of state, and watched her third child become medically homebound.

According to state complaints and an interview with Maize, her son, Tucker, was supposed to receive homebound instruction in math, English, and science as part of his Individualized Education Program, or IEP.

Maize alleges the district did not provide instruction in those subjects for seven months, and when she confronted administrators, she said they called it a paperwork error.

"She gave my son three days off and gave the other boy that antagonized him and hit him first one day," Maize said, describing a playground incident where Tucker was struck after reporting the other student's behavior.

Maize said the principal has allegedly targeted her son with unfair punishments and has refused to explain the disparity.

The state investigated one complaint and found the district out of compliance for failing to educate Tucker and failing to implement his IEP.

A second complaint filed in March alleges the district also failed to provide specially designed instruction in reading and math, despite the district's own testing showing Tucker scoring in the below average or low range in written language, spelling, and math computation.

The complaint cited the district's own evaluation data, including KTEA-3 test scores showing Tucker scored in the "below average" or "low" range in written language, spelling, math computation, and orthographic processing.

The district's own grade records showed Tucker failing ELA with 52% and math with 58%.

The evaluation team noted that Tucker met criteria for a specific learning disability in multiple areas, but the district qualified him under other health impairment instead. 

Maize also alleged that her 15-year-old daughter, Isabella, was shoved and called a slur by older students.

She said the school failed to document the incidents or notify her.

According to Maize, the bullying became so severe that Isabella developed anorexia, losing nine pounds, and now suffers from insomnia. She is medically homebound and refuses to return to the school.

Maize told KQ2 that the school principal provided only handwritten notes for two of the several reported incidents and did not notify Maize of the assaults, resulting in Maize asking police to investigate the incidents criminally and pursuing a civil suit.

Her 11-year-old daughter, Skye, has dyslexia and an IEP.

Maize said the girl's progress report showed only one-to-three percent growth in reading, far below the expected range of 30 to 90 percent.

The case manager reportedly used ChatGPT to generate a 21-page justification for the lack of progress.

Maize said multiple other parents have pulled their special education children from the same district due to similar problems, but said they fear retaliation if they speak publicly.

"I'm losing two of my kids out of this deal because of what they've done," Maize said. "I shouldn't have to be forced to send my kids away because they can't do their job correctly."

In email correspondence, included in the state complaints, district officials acknowledged some confusion regarding Tucker's homebound status and agreed to several of the family's requests, including assigning a new case manager, creating a shared behavior log, and scheduling an IEP meeting.

A district official also claimed that Tucker has made "tremendous progress" since enrolling in the district.

Maize has filed a civil lawsuit against the district and has asked police to investigate the principal criminally.

She is also awaiting the results of a DESE investigation into the dyslexia services provided to her younger children.

KQ2 has reached out to DESE and South Harrison R-II for a statement regarding the allegations, but has not heard back.