March 20, 2026
Grant Impact: Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline (SToPP)
The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council (MODDC) works to make changes that create greater equity for people with developmental disabilities. MODDC provides funding through grants for innovative projects while partnering with universities, nonprofits, and state agencies. The following is a highlight of one of MODDC’s many projects.
About the Grant
“Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline” (SToPP) is a project led by the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association and supported by a $275,000 investment from MODDC over three years. The project ended September 30, 2025.
What the Grant Did
Through restorative justice trainings and coaching, this project disrupts the school-to-prison pipeline (SToPP) for students with developmental disabilities. Restorative justice circles build relationships, repair harms, enhance respect, recognize responsibility, and enable integration. This project will lead to the creation of policies and practices to provide more inclusive education, keeping students in the classroom and out of the juvenile system.
Grant Impact
Over 450 people were trained through this project, and over 1,000 people with disabilities reported having increased their advocacy skills. Watch a video about the impact of this grant.
Visit the MODDC website to learn more about the Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline (SToPP) grant.
Council Member Spotlight: Lisa Liss
Meet Lisa Liss, a member and the chairperson of the MODDC Council. Lisa was appointed in July 2020 and is the mother of a young adult daughter with developmental disabilities. She is also a 2008 graduate of Partners in Policymaking.
Lisa’s why: “I am passionate about creating a space where individuals with disabilities are empowered to live the lives they choose. As parents, caregivers, teachers, and professionals, it is our responsibility to remove barriers rather than impose our own beliefs on what a person’s life should look like. To achieve this, we must work on systems such as inclusive education, alternatives to guardianship, voting rights, and competitive integrated employment (CIE), to name a few. We should be training parents and caregivers from the beginning to ensure they understand this is possible.”
Lisa’s call to action: “Parents, caregivers, teachers, and professionals – ask people with disabilities what THEY want from the beginning. It is never too early to teach people with disabilities that they have a voice and that what they say matters. No matter the disability. They get to say what their GOOD LIFE is; it’s our job to help them get there!”
Lisa’s favorite MODDC-funded projects: Alternatives to Guardianship and Disability Benefits 101 (DB101)
Policy Watch: Issues You Need to Know
Texas v. Kennedy
Missouri is one of nine states included in a lawsuit, specifically an amended petition titled Texas v. Kennedy. The amended petition challenges the 2024 rule under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. It states that the integration mandate included in the rule is unlawful and unconstitutional. The integration mandate allows people with disabilities to receive services in the community rather than in institutions.
MODDC met with the attorney general’s office to discuss Missouri’s involvement in the amended petition. MODDC’s Olmstead Committee and staff continue to work with the attorney general’s office to provide education on the importance of the integration mandate and advocate for Missouri to support laws and policies that enable people with disabilities to live in their communities.
If you want to be heard on this topic, contact the Missouri Attorney General’s Office via their website by completing their Regulatory Reform form.
National advocates on this topic include:
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
- ADA Watch
- Center for Public Representation
- Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
- Disability Scoop
- The Arc of the United States
DOJ Report on Seclusion and Restraint in Missouri Schools
On February 23rd, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that the Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) broke Missouri law and its own rules by using seclusion and restraint too often, even when there was no physical danger. The DOJ investigated SSD for about 21 months. It wanted to see how SSD used seclusion (putting a student alone in a room) and restraint (physically holding a student so they can’t move). These methods are supposed to be used only when someone is in immediate danger.
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