COLUMBIA — A decision by the State Board of Education to close 12 Missouri schools for students with disabilities has caused many opinions to circulate, with a lot of them being concerns for the students and how they will transition to different schools.

However, a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education official said there is a team of people that helps students transition if their school closes.

Each student has a team that develops an individualized education program, or IEP, for them. Federal law requires that students in public school who need special education get an IEP. A team made up of parents, the student and school personnel must review the IEP and the student's progress every year.

The assistant commissioner of the Office of Special Education under DESE, Mark Wheat

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