Skip To Main Content

Annual Notifications

Anti-bullying policy

To promote a safe learning environment for all students, Mehlville School District prohibits all forms of bullying. The district also prohibits reprisal or retaliation against any person who reports an act of bullying among or against students. Policy JFCF outlines how the district defines bullying, identifies who investigates incidents of bullying and how to report bullying. Review Policy JFCF: Bullying on the district website.

Anti-discrimination and anti-harassment statement

The Mehlville School District strictly prohibits discrimination and harassment against employees, students or others on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity and other characteristics protected by law. The following individuals have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: contact Adam Smith at 314-467-5006 or asmith@msdr9.org.

Asbestos Notification: Mehlville School District complies with asbestos regulations

On Oct. 22, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Act (AHERA, Public Law 99-519). The law required the EPA to develop regulations that provide a comprehensive framework for addressing asbestos problems in public and private elementary and secondary schools to inspect for friable and non-friable asbestos, develop asbestos management plans that address asbestos hazards in school buildings, and implement response actions in a timely fashion.

The Mehlville School District conducted a complete inspection of its facilities in October 2018, and a three-year re-inspection has been completed since the initial asbestos audit in 1988. In addition to the three-year re-inspection, (2) six-month surveillance inspections take place each year and are included in the management plan. This management plan is available in the district’s Maintenance Building and in the offices of each school during normal business hours, without cost or restriction, for inspection by representatives of the EPA and the State, and the public, including teachers, other school personnel and their representatives and parents.

Asbestos-containing material was removed from the following building(s) performed by licensed contractors using state of the art technology and methodology. An on-site manager, project designer, and a third-party air monitor were also used.

Oakville High School – Prop S Renovations
Bierbaum Elementary – Phase II Prop S Renovations
Beasley Elementary – Prop S Renovations
Wohlwend Elementary – Prop S Renovations
2900 Lemay Ferry - Demolition

The purpose of the federal and state regulations is to protect the health and well-being of all persons entering the buildings of this district for any reason.

Mike Gegg, Director of Facilities, is trained to oversee asbestos activities and ensure compliance. As required by the rule, Mr. Gegg is the single contact for the public to obtain information about asbestos-related activities in the district and can be reached at 314-467-7800.

Discipline Policy and Codes of Conduct

The district must maintain a safe school environment and a climate that allows teachers to communicate effectively with all students in the class and allows all students in the class to learn. Discipline will be equitably applied and viewed as a learning opportunity with the ultimate goal of improving behavior, safety and the school climate. The district seeks to minimize the unnecessary exclusion of students from classrooms and schools and encourages the superintendent and district staff to exclude students only when necessary to maintain a safe and appropriate learning environment.

The Board of Education has created a discipline code that addresses the consequences for students whose conduct is prejudicial to good order and discipline in the schools or impairs the morale or good conduct of other students.

The following policies and associated procedures encompass the district’s discipline code and can be accessed via  the Mehlville School District Board Policies website:

  • Policy JG, Student Discipline
  • Regulation JG-R1, Student Discipline 
  • Policy JGA-2, Corporal Punishment
  • Policy JGB, Detention and/or In-School Suspension of Students
  • Policy JGD, Student Suspension and Expulsion
  • Policy JGE, Discipline of Students with Disabilities 
  • Policy JGF, Discipline Reporting and Records

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Notice

Our district is required to inform you of information that you, according to the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-95), have the right to know. Upon your request, our district is required to provide to you in a timely manner, the following information:

  • Whether your student’s teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
  • Whether your student’s teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
  • Whether your student’s teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.
  • Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications. In addition to the information that parents may request, a building receiving Title I.A. funds must provide to each individual parent:
    • Information on the level of achievement and academic growth of your student, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments required under Title I.A.
    • Timely notice that your student has been assigned, or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who has not met applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

 

Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 Complaint Procedures

 

1. What is a complaint?

For these purposes, a complaint is a written allegation that a local education agency (LEA) or the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (the Department) has violated a federal statute or regulation that applies to a program under ESSA.

2. Who may file a complaint?

Any individual or organization may file a complaint.

3. How can a complaint be filed?

Complaints can be filed with the LEA or with the Department.

4. How will a complaint filed with the LEA be investigated?

Complaints filed with the LEA are to be investigated and attempted to be resolved according to the locally developed and adopted procedures.

5. What happens if a complaint is not resolved at the local level (LEA)?

A complaint not resolved at the local level may be appealed to the Department.

6. How can a complaint be filed with the Department?

A complaint filed with the Department must be a written, signed statement that includes:

  1. A statement that a requirement that applies to an ESSA program has been violated by the LEA or the Department, and
  2. The facts on which the statement is based and the specific requirement allegedly violated.

7. How will a complaint filed with the Department be investigated?

The investigation and complaint resolution proceedings will be completed within a time limit of forty-five calendar days. That time limit can be extended by the agreement of all parties.

The following activities will occur in the investigation:

  1. Record. A written record of the investigation will be kept.
  2. Notification of LEA. The LEA will be notified of the complaint within five days of the complaint being filed.
  3. Resolution at LEA. The LEA will then initiate its local complaint procedures in an effort to first resolve the complaint at the local level.
  4. Report by LEA. Within thirty-five days of the complaint being filed, the LEA will submit a written summary of the LEA investigation and complaint resolution. This report is considered a public record and may be made available to parents, teachers, and other members of the general public.
  5. Verification. Within five days of receiving the written summary of a complaint resolution, the Department will verify the resolution of the complaint through an on-site visit, letter, or telephone call(s).
  6. Appeal. The complainant or the LEA may appeal the decision of the Department to the U.S. Department of Education.

8. How are complaints related to equitable services to nonpublic school children handled differently?

In addition to the procedures listed in number 7 above, complaints related to equitable services will also be filed with the U.S. Department of Education, and they will receive all information related to the investigation and resolution of the complaint. Also, appeals to the United States Department of Education must be filed no longer than thirty days following the Department’s resolution of the complaint (or its failure to resolve the complaint).

9. How will appeals to the Department be investigated?

The Department will initiate an investigation within ten days, which will be concluded within thirty days from the day of the appeal. This investigation may be continued beyond the thirty-day limit at the discretion of the Department. After the investigation, the Department will communicate the decision and reasons for the decision to the complainant and the LEA. Recommendations and details of the decision are to be implemented within fifteen days of the decision being delivered to the LEA.

10. What happens if a complaint is not resolved at the state level (the Department)?

The complainant or the LEA may appeal the decision of the Department to the United States Department of Education.

Annual Notification Regarding Student Records (FERPA)

The protection of student rights has always been a top priority of the Mehlville School District. This document is distributed annually to all parents and students in order to comply with state and federal requirements to notify the parents/guardians and eligible students of their rights with respect to the student’s educational records. 

In general, a student’s educational record includes any information maintained by the school district, which contains information directly related to a student. A major exception would be a personal record kept by a staff member if it is kept in the sole possession of the maker of the record and is not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record. 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords to parents/guardians (“parents”) of students, and to students themselves who are over 18 years of age (“eligible students”), certain rights with respect to the student’s education records maintained by Mehlville School District (“District”). 

These rights are outlined below: 

1. The right to inspect and review the student’s education records within 45 days of the day the District receives a written request for access. Parents or eligible students should submit to the school principal a written request that identifies, as precisely as possible, the record(s) they wish to inspect. School officials will make arrangements for access and notify the parent or eligible student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. 

2. The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate or misleading. Parents or eligible students may ask the District to amend a record that they believe is inaccurate or misleading. They should write the principal or other appropriate official, clearly identify the part of the record they want changed, and specify why it is inaccurate or misleading. If the District decides not to amend the record as requested by the parent or eligible student, the District will notify the parent or eligible student of the decision and advise them of their right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. 

3. The right to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable information contained in the student’s education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. One exception that permits disclosure without consent is disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official includes a person employed by the District as an administrator, supervisor, instructor, counselor or support staff member (including health or medical staff and law enforcement unit personnel); a person serving on the District’s School Board; a person or company with whom the District has contracted to perform a special task (such as an attorney, auditor, medical consultant or therapist); or a parent, student or other person serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record to fulfill his or her responsibilities for the District.

The Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC) and its officers, employees and agents are also school officials with legitimate educational interests because they act for and on behalf of the District with respect to transfer students and the transfer program, and because they seek to advance the interests of both. A transfer student’s attendance records and other educational records relevant to the student’s participation in the program or to the program itself may accordingly be disclosed to VICC without obtaining written consent from the parent/guardian or eligible student.

Upon request, the District also discloses education records without consent to officials of a school district in which a student seeks or intends to enroll. 

4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the District to comply with the requirements of FERPA. The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are: 

Family Policy Compliance Office 
U.S. Department of Education 
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W. 
Washington, D.C. 20202-4605 

5. Directory Information may be released by school officials. This includes print and electronic publications of the school district that, if disclosed, would not be considered as determined by the Mehlville School District as harmful or an invasion of privacy. This information may be released without prior written consent to parent and student organizations for marketing purposes, such as for “buzz” books produced in the fall, and to outside organizations including, but not limited to, companies that manufacture class rings or publish yearbooks in the spring. Other examples include playbills for drama productions; yearbooks; honor roll or other recognition lists; graduation programs; and sports activity sheets. Directory information is considered a public record, which must be released upon demand to any person who requests it, under the Missouri Sunshine Law. If a parent, guardian, or eligible student does not want the district to release the information listed below, they must notify the district in writing within 10 days of receiving this notification of the information they do not want to be released. 

General Directory Information - The following information the district maintains about a personally identifiable student may be disclosed by the district to the school community through, for example, district publications, or to any person without first obtaining written consent from a parent or eligible student: 

Student’s name; date and place of birth; parents’ names; grade level; enrollment status (e.g., full-time or part-time); student identification number; user identification or other unique personal identifier used by the student to access or communicate in electronic systems as long as that information alone cannot be used to access protected educational records; participation in district-sponsored or district-recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; dates of attendance; degrees, honors and awards received; artwork or course work displayed by the district; schools or school districts previously attended; and photographs, videotapes, digital images and recorded sound unless such records would be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy. 

Limited Directory Information - In addition to general directory information, the following information the district maintains about a personally identifiable student may be disclosed to: school officials with a legitimate educational interest; parent groups or booster clubs that are recognized by the Board and are created solely to work with the district, its staff, students and parents and to raise funds for district activities; parents of other students enrolled in the same school as the student whose information is released; students enrolled in the same school as the student whose information is released; governmental entities including, but not limited to, law enforcement, the juvenile office and the Children’s Division (CD) of the Department of Social Services: 

The student’s address, telephone number and e-mail address and the parents’ addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. 

In addition, two federal laws require the District to provide military recruiters, upon request names, addresses and telephone listings - unless parents have advised us that they do not want their student’s information disclosed without their prior written consent. 

The Assistant Superintendent of Student Services has district-wide responsibility for student educational records and, as such, is the custodian of the records. Anyone having questions regarding school policy relating to student records is welcome to contact the District at 3120 Lemay Ferry Road, St. Louis, MO 63125; (314) 467-5000.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Students with disabilities have rights and safeguards under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students who qualify as a person with a disability are protected from discrimination and are guaranteed a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to ensure equal opportunity to access and derive meaningful benefits from public education, as compared to non-disabled peers.

Children under Mehlville School District’s jurisdiction, including students attending non-public schools, between the ages of 3 and 21 may be eligible for special education and related services. The Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) provides special education and related services (e.g., physical and occupational therapy, speech and language services, social work services, psychological counseling) for students ages 5-21 qualifying as a person with a disability under the IDEA. Mehlville School District provides special education and related services (e.g., physical and occupational therapy, speech and language services, social work services, psychological counseling) for children ages 3-5 qualifying as a person with a disability under the IDEA. Mehlville School District implements the provisions of Section 504.

Mehlville School District and SSD share the responsibility of locating, evaluating, and identifying children with disabilities under the IDEA, regardless of the severity of the disability, including children attending private schools, children who live outside the district but are attending a private school within the district, highly mobile children (e.g., migrant, homeless), children who are wards of the state, and children who are suspected of having a disability and in need of special education even though they are advancing from grade to grade. Disabilities include Autism, Deaf/Blindness, Emotional Disturbance, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairments, Specific Learning Disabilities, Speech and/or Language Impairments, Traumatic Brain Injury, Visual Impairment/Blindness, and Young Child with Developmental Delay. Parents/guardians may refer a child for an evaluation by contacting the school staff (e.g., principal, assistant principal, school counselor) and are entitled to written notification regarding proposed or refused evaluation and placement decisions.
 
All students with disabilities are served in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and attend Mehlville School District schools unless determined otherwise by the IEP or 504 team. The disabilities teams are charged with determining the necessary services, accommodations, modifications, related aids and adaptive equipment to ensure FAPE. The opportunity to participate in the Mehlville School District curriculum, extracurricular activities, earn credits, and obtain a high school diploma is available to all students. 

Mehlville School District and SSD assure the provision of information and referral services necessary to assist the State Education Department in the implementation of early intervention services for infants and toddlers eligible for the Missouri First Steps Program.

Mehlville School District and SSD provide that personally identifiable information collected, used, or maintained by the districts for the purpose of identification, evaluation, placement or provision of FAPE under the IDEA and Section 504 may be inspected and reviewed by parents/guardians. Additionally, parents/guardians may request an amendment to the educational record if the parent/guardian believes the record is inaccurate, misleading, or violates the privacy or other rights of their child. Parents have the right to file complaints with the U.S. Department of Education or the MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education concerning alleged failures by the district to meet the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). 

A Local Compliance Plan is in effect to ensure implementation of the state regulations for the IDEA. The plan contains the policies and procedures of Mehlville School District and SSD regarding storage, disclosure to third parties, retention and destruction of personally identifiable information and the agencies' assurances that services are provided in compliance with the General Education Provision Act.

The rights of students with disabilities are further explained in the State Plan for Special Education from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and various Mehlville School District Board Policies. 

To review the plan or obtain this notice in an alternate language, contact the Mehlville School District Student Services Department 314-467-5229 or SSD 314-989-8100. 

For more information about special education services for children ages 3-5, call 314-467-5300. 

For more information about special education services for those ages 5-21, contact your child's principal or call 314-989-8100.

Mehlville School District Policies

All Mehlville School District policies can be viewed on the district website here. 

MO Healthnet for Kids

The district will provide information about the state children's health insurance program, MO HealthNet for Kids (MHK), the state of Missouri’s children’s health insurance program, is available to families who do not have health insurance and meet eligibility requirements. Learn more about Mo Healthnet for Kids online.

Missouri Course Access Program (MOCAP)

Qualifying students may enroll in virtual courses offered in the Missouri Course Access Program (MOCAP) at district expense. Learn more about MOCAP and virtual learning.

Rights and protections under the federal McKinney-Vento Act

If your family lives in any of the following situations:

  • In a shelter
  • In a motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation
  • In a car, park, abandoned building, or bus or train station
  • Doubled up with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship

Your school-age children may qualify for certain rights and protections under the federal McKinney-Vento Act.

Your eligible children have the right to:

  • Receive a free, appropriate public education.
  • Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
  • Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents.
  • Enroll in the local school; or continue attending their school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is your preference.
  • If the school district believes that the school you select is not in the best interest of your children, then the district must provide you with a written explanation of its position and inform you of your right to appeal its decision.
  • Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if you request this.
  • Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to your children’s needs.

If you believe your children may be eligible, contact the local liaison to find out what services and supports may be available. There also may be supports available for your preschool-age children.

Local Liaison: Mr. Adam Smith, Assistant Superintendent - Student Services, 314-467-5229, asmith@msdr9.org.

School Food and Nutrition Services

Mehlville School Food and Nutrition Services provides breakfast and lunch for students and participates in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. 

Learn more about the availability of free and reduced-priced meals and apply.

All school districts participating in the National School Meals Program must have a written unpaid meal charge procedure. Mehlville School District’s unpaid meal policy can be found here. 

Student participation in statewide assessments

The Mehlville School District student assessment plan is under the curriculum section of the district website. 

Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative

Information about the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative is available online at dese.mo.gov/college-career-readiness/school-counseling/traumainformed