Editor's note: This story was produced by students in the University of Notre Dame's Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy. The students spent about three months gathering data, interviewing dozens of sources and writing and editing stories under the guidance of a former Star reporter now teaching at Notre Dame.

When Jackie Busch’s adopted son Makenley began attending high school in Hendricks County, she was confident he would succeed despite the brain abnormality and cerebral palsy that physically challenged him.

And for the next few years, the only things she heard from Makenley’s teachers at Danville Community High School were praise for her talented son and reassurances about his progress in school. So as she helped her son prepare for graduation, Busch was shocked to

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