Parents address IEP concerns during Rochester Community School board meeting Monday

Yesterday's Rochester School Board meeting ended with one family speaking out after they say Riddle Elementary School allegedly illegally removed their third grader off the Individualized Education Program, also known as IEP. 

IEP's help special education students individualize their needs and goals in public education. 

Outside of the parents speaking out at the meeting on Monday, Aug. 18, at the Rochester Community Learning Center, many other parents and school staff sat silently in the crowd in support raising awareness on the issue concerning other students at the school that have had similar issues regarding their IEP. 

Father of the third grader, Houston White, says he refused to sign over further medical records to the school after their child was removed from the IEP plan without their permission despite records stating that the child's IEP was valid until January, 2026. 

While school officials at Riddle Elementary claim that the child tested out of speech for the 2025-2026 school year, his mother, Jessica Bell also argued that the testing was not accurate. The situation has put White and Bell's household in disarray, as they've chosen to remove their children from Riddle Elementary to homeschool them, a decision Bell says she didn't want to do in the first place. 

Rochester Superintendent Jana Vance and other school board staff members were unable to comment on the situation at this time. During the meeting, however, Rochester School Board President Katie Miller said they were looking into the matter to make sure there would be a proper resolution to the issue.