'They Should Not Be Segregated': Tulsa Woman, Mother Speaks Out On Proposed Location For TPS Special Needs Academy

A Tulsa woman is upset because TPS plans to put a program for special needs students in an area of town she believes is not safe.

The Tulsa Transition Academy is expected to be life-changing for students in the special needs program who are not quite ready to end their education.

But after learning where it's going, she's worried for the safety of the students.

"We went from being ecstatic that this was a program that she was going to get to participate into pure devastation," said Alana Kennon.

Alana Kennon says this is the hill she'll die on...advocating for her daughter Lucy and other students like her.

The Tulsa Transition Academy is a continuing education program for certain students in special education who will need lifelong support.

The proposed location, the Ross building, currently serves as the Child Nutrition Center just south of the airport.

"Once we saw the building, the fact that there are no recreational activities for them. There's, on property, there's no fencing. And then we went and looked at the sex offender website and found that there were nine sex offenders registered in that area," Kennon said.

This map shows the registered offenders within a one-mile radius of the proposed campus. Many are directly across the street in the neighborhood.

Parents made their concerns known at a board meeting on Monday. The district tabled the decision until they hold a public forum on the issue.

Tulsa Public Schools representatives sent News On 6 the following statement:

Tulsa Transition Academy is specifically designed to serve young adults between the ages of 18-22. We give special consideration to serving the needs and providing opportunities for the academy’s population, while also creating the most appropriate settings for all learners. We heard and appreciate the TPS families who spoke at a recent Board of Education meeting, and are taking their feedback into account with our continued planning efforts. Next week, we will have two opportunities to hear from families and stakeholders, and share more about the planning process as well as some of the exciting opportunities under development for our students in Tulsa Transition Academy.

"They should not be surrounded by sex offenders, they should have a campus that has a fence around it. They should not be segregated and moved to the most remote area of the district.," Kennon said.

The district says parents and advocates will be able to attend two public forums on the concerns next week. However, the dates for those forums weren't provided.