The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working with families of students at six state schools for the severely disabled to move them to new locations after the 2025-26 school year.

The discussions come after DESE voted in mid-August to wind down classes at six locations, including Prairie View State School in Marshall. Assistant Commissioner Mark Wheatley says families and staff have recently visited with Dr. Gregery Caine, superintendent of the state school’s system, to discuss the system’s plans going forward as well as their needs.
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Wheatley says new locations for students in the system will come up during reviews of their individualized education plans, which he says are already considered during their annual review. He says each student & their family will have three options.

In addition to Prairie View in Marshall, state schools in Bowling Green, Dexter, Eldon, Joplin, and Potosi will close after this school year. Wheatley notes that staff at the six schools will have the opportunity to transfer to any of the remaining schools in the system.