MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Advocates for adults and children living with disabilities say Tennessee continues to fail to provide care and resources for the nearly 2 million people living with disabilities in the Volunteer State.

From 2022, Tennessee Coalition for Persons with Disabilities launched a scorecard assessing state practices, opportunities, policies and outcomes.

This year’s score, a “D,” is an improvement from from last year grade “D-” almost failed.

Meghan Wilson is from Fayette County and spoke with Action News 5 about navigating the state’s education system with her autistic son, Conor.

Wilson says Conor was non-verbal until the last year and a half.

“It’s like something new for him,” she said. “And now he’s not just telling you he can say these things, he’s writing them down and then reading them to you.”

Wilson says last school year, her six-year-old’s special education requirement of 30 minutes in a regular classroom was not met.

Instead, he spent the day in a K-5 comprehensive developmental classroom.

“I knew my son was kind of abandoned and he was going to stay there,” Wilson said. “And then I asked why they weren’t following the IEP and why he wasn’t in a general education class and was told the other teachers would complain about him. And I’m like, that’s not right. I don’t think any of them would have complained about him.”

The coalition gives Tennessee a “D” in education. One of the problems they report is that 45% of teachers say they don’t have support staff to teach students with disabilities.

“It’s under-resourced, under-supported,” said director of public policy Jeff Strand. “There’s just, you know, a growing, regressive attitude toward children with disabilities and their place in public schools.”

Strand says 115,000 public school children are in a special education program.

Also, teaching is resource intensive and requires well-trained adults.

“Every district in the state, I guarantee, has at least one child who is non-verbal in one of their schools,” Strand said. “So every district has to think about that. Each district has to think about how they’re going to support that child.”

Wilson hopes the state will focus on higher pay for special education teachers to help fill gaps in Tennessee schools.

“I just want people to realize that these kids need that extra help. It doesn’t mean they won’t get there. It just means they need help getting there, and we need to put our resources into getting them there.”

The Tennessee Disability Coalition also says Tennessee ranks 45th in the nation for state revenue dedicated to education.

If you want to read this year’s scorecard, click here Here.

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