DEXTER, Mo. (KFVS) - A southeast Missouri school for students with disabilities is closing its doors next year.

Crowley Ridge in Dexter is one of 12 state schools serving students with disabilities that will close for good at the end of June 2026.

It’s all part of a plan approved by the Missouri State Board of Education.

Six of the schools were already under “temporary emergency closure” due to staff vacancies. Those include:

Briarwood - Harrisonville

Lakeview Woods - Lee’s Summit

Gateway/Hubert Wheeler - St. Louis

Rolling Meadow - Higginsville

Delmar Cobble - Columbia

Ozark Hills - Salem

Those six schools served about 61 students.

The other six schools will close as part of a “proactive approach” due to challenges the department says would likely result in emergency consolidati

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