Advice on rewriting an IEP with different label

[PollyParent]

Hi everyone. This is going to be a long post. Sigh.

Last year we investigated all sorts of diagnoses for my son, Saul, who's finishing up third grade. Everyone ruled out ADD or ADHD, but we were investigating bipolar, ODD, anxiety, and possibly AS for quite some time. By the end of his second grade year, we had upgraded a lot of our parenting skills, and with the help of a detail oriented and very dedicated teacher, his behavior in school and at home really improved. Great.

Starting school this year, in third grade, he was placed with a teacher who was quite simply a disaster. (I actually didn't want him in with her, but I took the recommendation of his second grade teacher who said she thought it was a good fit. Turns out I was right and she was wrong.) She tormented him, riding him for every small error, i.e., demanding that the math book be placed in the CENTER of the desk, not just on his desk; demanding that he always make eye contact with her; and repositioning his arms while he was standing in line so that his wrists were touching his thighs. She made him crazy.

He started misbehaving in class, and then she started punishing the misbehaviors. He was denied first one recess then two, then he was not allowed to attend a field trip. To this day he's not sure why he was not allowed to go, and even I am unclear now as to what the rationale was.

Saul has a very good relationship with his principal. On the third week of school, the principal asked him, "Why are you in my office so much this year?" And Saul replied, "I hate my teacher, and I think that if I keep coming to the office you'll see how miserable I am and you'll give me a new one."

OK, then. That sums sit up nicely. We didn't want to give the eight year old the impression that he had the power to request changes whenever he was uncomfortable (he has some ODD behavior, but he can also be manipulative, and at that point we weren't sure what was going on), so we all agreed to keep him with the teacher and to institute better communications between the teacher and home. The teacher refused to get involved.

By October, Saul was falling apart. Nightmares, anxiety attacks, growling, refusal to do any work, etc. The teacher fabricated a story of him attacking a younger child and confronted him with it. (It was later shown to be a fabrication by interviewing the teacher OF the younger child.) He's only in Third Grade, but Saul's known for years now that when he gets upset, he can ask to go to the office or to see the principal. It's his safe place. In this instance he asked to go to the office, and his teacher blocked the doorway, saying he had to talk to her first.

He put his head down, head-butted her in the stomach, told her to move, and then pushed past her to the office. The principal called us to come get him. When I got there he was sweating and shaking. That evening, on a long phone conversation with the principal, I told her that I was not bringing him back to school and that he was NOT going back into that classroom.

We put him on Home and Hospital instruction for two weeks (tutor coming to the house) while we figured out what to do. (by the way, the teacher filed an assault claim against him with the District, and has continued to tell parents and teachers that the claim was "hushed up" because I sit on the School Board. Actually, the claim was denied because she was found to be at fault.)

While he was on Home and Hospital, the decision was made to designate him as ED for qualification for SpecEd. (At that point he was flunking all subjects because he refused to do any work for the teacher, so the academic impact was obvious. The nature of the disability was not.)

Now it's June, and I have a gone through two separate psychiatric evaluations. One found that he has Anxiety not otherwise specified, along with Intermittent Explosivity, and the other finds that he has Asperger's, along with Anxiety and IE. Currently he is on a trial of Ritalin (nope. not working) and Adderall (kinda working) to address the impulse control issue leading to the IE. We meet with the psychiatrist on Thursday to re assess the medications. I'd like to move him over to straight anxiety medications and see how that goes.

I'd like to get the IEP rewritten so that it reflects Autism and Asperger's instead of straight ED. HOWEVER, and this is the question behind the post, I am VERY concerned about rewriting the IEP at this point because the District has failed to meet their commitments.

The IEP was written when he was basically in class, but leaving for the hallway when he got anxious. So the goal is that he will remain in class *at his desk* 80% of the time.

In January of this year, all heck broke loose because of an untrained aide. Within the span of two weeks, he was dragged through the school by teachers and aides when he asked to go to the office (they dragged him there because they said they couldn't trust him to walk on his own), an aide tackled him in the hallway and sat on him after he rolled a chair down the hallway (she was showing off for a new aide), and when he crawled under a table in the hallway screaming, "I hate you all, and if I had a gun I'd put it to my head" they called the police on him. He already has a police phobia. No one called me, but I happened to be at the school when the police arrived and I HAPPENED to get to the hallway before the police dragged him out from under the table. It took me twenty minutes of lying on the floor under the table with him to convince him to come out. The principal got back to school from a District Office meeting to find this going on. No one had called her either. Thankfully, she cleared the hallway and go the police to go away. When I got Saul home his teeth were chattering, he was sweating, and he threw up in the driveway. Totally traumatized.

From January on, he has refused to enter the classroom. From January through March he mostly wandered the school with his aide who tried to convince him to go back to class. Starting in February he started leaving school all together and walking home (with his aide trailing him along with a police car).

In March (because I had been having fits in the Superintendent's office) we hired a new employee who became Saul's case manager. To address his school phobia, she reduced his school day to about an hour, trying to get him back to being comfortable at school. She kept saying that they'd get him back into the classroom by the end of the year.

School's over, and he hasn't been back in the classroom except for a few lessons here and there. But he's nowhere NEAR 80%. As far as I'm concerned, the District has broken their commitment to the IEP and to Saul.

On the one hand, I want the IEP to remain as it is so that they can't wiggle out of it. On the other hand, I want the IEP to be rewritten so as to reflect his true disability. Opinions?

What do you do when the District fails in its IEP contract? I've considered requesting that they place him in a private setting, at the District's expense, but the only placement the Director of Special Education can find for him would be for AS designated students, and it's a Middle School setting. He's going into fourth grade. (With his behavior issues, most private schools don't want to touch him. He's very bright. With three weeks of dedicated instruction by his aide at the end of the year, he passed the Third Grade benchmark test with the highest grade in his class.) Maybe I ask for private instruction? But he needs the social interaction too.

I don't know what to do.

 

[Babbs]

Polly,
wow - it sounds like the teacher and the aides need some basic education on how to deal with kids period. Sounds like a teacher who has certain issues of her own just hasn't learned that it's the war that matters, not every little squirmish.

1. Definitely get the diagnosis changed. It opens more doors and considering that any future IEP is derived from the most recent evaluation you want that information to be correct. SD's are only obligated to re-evaluate a minimum of every 3 years - that's a long time to deal with an evaluation which does not give the full picture. Did he have a complete speech and language evaluation? Many children who have Asperger's have extreme difficulty with pragmatics and inferences which won't necessarily show up on a quick language screening. And if you don't understand pragmatics, then following directions becomes VERY difficult.

2. Special Education is academically focused. That's the purpose of school, right? Bleh. In order for a student with a disability on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) spectrum to benefit from a free and appropriate education (FAPE) several other issues are usually more important. If behavior and social skills aren't dealt with, addressed, and instruction provided, his ability to sit in a general education classroom is going to be severely impacted. Unfortunately, most SD's suck at teaching behavior and social skills. It sounds like the IEP team has a lot of work ahead of it in order for him to learn work task behaviors and social skills.

3. If your son is having that much anxiety then forcing him to be in the classroom 80% or greater of the time is punishing him. And it sounds like that's the last thing you want to do for him at this point. Anxiety with kids who are on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) spectrum is often influenced greatly by sensory defensiveness - which is just the overacting of our protective reflexes - those old fight, flight, or fright reactions. Imagine trying to live your life and learn when you're in constant fear or fright. Kids who experience high levels of anxiety are often living life like that and then the uninformed adults in their world try to make them "get over it."

4. You may want to spend this down time over the summer finding a good sensory based Occupational Therapist (OT) and have him tested. The Occupational Therapist (OT) then can make some great recommendations for his sensory needs, not only at school but also at home. The school Occupational Therapist (OT) can only address issues which directly impact a student in their educational environment. There's a lot of things you can do at home to help transition in the mornings and afternoons to help a child with sensory defensiveness. Direct treatment for sensory defensiveness doesn't tend to help, however understanding that part of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis, making accomodations, and helping him learn to self calm from a sensory perspective can be a huge difference in his life.

5. Make sure to have the IEP written for his needs - not to fit into an existing program (which SD's love to do). Has the school tried placement in a more restrictive classroom (like a self contained classroom)? It sounds like all they have tried is to keep him in a general education classroom, which is not always the best placement for kids who get overwhelmed and anxious. Before most SD's agree to pay for private schools they will go through mediation first - and they can demonstrate that after only one year all available options in the public school haven't been tried yet.

I would definitely recommend that the IEP be rewritten to reflect his needs for this next school year. The purpose of an Individual Education Plan is for him to have goals that he's working on and that the school provide specially designed instruction as well as accomodations and modifications. If the IEP isn't meeting his needs, then why try to hold the school's feet over a fire and keep them from wiggling out of it? Is it written to reflect your son's true needs? A good IEP team recognizes when a plan needs to be changed and ammendments are easy to do compared with the whole evaluation initial IEP process.

by the way, where was the special education teacher in this mess? It sounds like he had only a general education teacher and aides working with him last year. It sounds as though you had behavior goals on the last IEP but how were they trying to or intending to teach him those skills? An 80% goal to sit at a desk sounds all well and good but if it doesn't produce actual learning, is it really meeting his needs? Some of the best learning I've seen kids do is while they stand at their desk, learn their spelling words as they walk the track, do addition problems in a net swing.

Best of luck to you Polly

 

[Sheila]

Very often, parents and sd personnel misunderstand eligibility categories and IEP services, accommodations, etc. The qualifying disability category doesn’t matter; it’s the unique needs of the student that should drive the IEP.

As an example, consider a student that has an IEP because of diabetes. If the student also needs speech language therapy, the student should receive speech language therapy as a “related service.”

You are wise to have had private evaluations performed. The IEP sd committee members must consider your private evaluations. However, if the sd doesn’t want to use your current private evaluations, they are entitled to perform their own evaluation(s).

As the parent you are a full member of the IEP team. As such, you can call an IEP meeting at anytime. If you feel your child’s IEP needs to be revised, call an IEP meeting and make recommendations that you see fit.

It’s sad that your child has experienced these type problems and so unnecessarily. My son and I have personally experienced this and it created major issues.

It’s been the experience of many that problems are too often created by an educator that may be well trained to teach, but has little to no training in a child’s specific disorders OR despite the training, the educator is inflexible in their thinking and believe the problem lies with the student or the parent.

By law, all educators who interact with your child should be appropriately trained. If they are not, you are within your rights to request the training with the expectation that the sd will get it done. These type requests are best done in writing and via Certified Mail.

The following quotes are not from IDEA 2004, however, they remain applicable. (I just don’t have time to look them up.)

“The federal law, 20 U.S.C., Section 1413(a)(3), provides that the local education agency (your school) shall ensure that all personnel necessary to carry out (the IDEA) are appropriately and adequately prepared, consistent with the requirements of Section 20 USC Section 1453(c)(3)(D).

Section 1453(c)(3)(D) concerns grants to states, and how the funds will be used. It specifically requires a state to address the identified needs for in-service and pre-service preparation to ensure that all personnel who work with children with disabilities (including both professional and paraprofessional personnel who provide special education, general education, related services, or early intervention services), have the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of children with disabilities . . ."

I'm sure I'm forgetting to address something, but welcome to the board.

 

[PollyParent]

Thanks for the replies.

I've requested a number of IEP addenda over the year, so I'm no stranger to that process. Thank you Babs for the suggestion to find a private Occupational Therapist (OT) for an evaluation. At the last IEP we were supposed to hear a report from the SD's Occupational Therapist (OT), but she never showed. I saw a preliminary report from her at one point, and it seemed to mostly parrot what the frustrated aide was seeing, not what Saul was actually doing. He's very sensitive to noises, for example, but two out of the three aides this year didn't see it.

Also, there was no Special Education teacher involved with this case until late May. This school has reading and math resource teachers, and one SpecEd teacher who works with severely handicapped children in a separate room, but there's no overlap. His original case manager, who gave permission to call the police, told me on three separate ocassions that she doesn't "believe in" full inclusion and is waiting for the laws to change back. (At this point I asked the District Special Education Dep't to reassign his case manager. I found out at this point that this teacher was working on an emergency credential, had been for four years, and had had her original waiver extended before that. Goodie.) This school is crawling with untrained people. This is one reason why the principal and I get along so well. She keeps assuming, as do I, that the staff will react appropriately. They keep proving her wrong and she's constantly mortified.

Being on the school board has helped this school though, as I demanded that all staff receive CPI training, especially after Saul was first dragged and then tackled on school property.

Sheila, thank you for those references. I've copied them into my file, and I will be demanding that all staff who come into contact with my son receive proper training from this point on. Autism rates are on the rise, and really, crisis prevention is a tool that should be in every educator's toolkit.

I've got some time over the summer. I think I need to take some time and really think about what I want his IEP to look like. So many of his appropriate accomodations are really curricular. If the curriculum is presented to him in the right way, his behavior improves. I couldn't get Either one of his TWO general ed teachers to see that. Then then new case manager showed up, changed his curriculum, and boom, no more running away, and he did all his work, sometimes week's worth in a single day. I'm not sure that the second teacher still really understands what happened.

Maybe I'll work on writing up some drafts of Behavior plans and curricular modifications.

 

[Babbs]

Polly,
did the school based Occupational Therapist (OT) have you fill out a sensory profile? Or include information from the new school companion to the sensory profile? That should give more information than just what 2 people are seeing. If you feel that the current Occupational Therapist (OT) is not doing an accurate or appropriate job you can always request a re-evaluation from another therapist in the district or demand that they pay for an external evaluation. When it comes to OTs, one thing to remember is that not every Occupational Therapist (OT) is a specialist when it comes to sensory processing and dealing with sensory based behaviors. It's specialized training that is what we call a frame of reference through which some of us in the profession use to understand what is observed. I would definitely interview an Occupational Therapist (OT) who would evaluate your child in order to find out if they have had sensory processing dysfunction (sensory processing disorder (SPD) or SI is the old terminology) and the professional's personal use within that framework. For example, I'm a middle of the road user of SI theory - I have a strong educational background in the theory and frame of reference, I've taken numerous courses, however I've not gone through formal training through the big SI clinics nor have I been trained to use the SCSIT nor the SIPT neither do I look at all behavior through a sensory lens like some more SI ingrained OTs do. I'm a developmental specialist with strong SI background. So finding and requesting an Occupational Therapist (OT) for whom sensory integration is a preference or strength can make a huge difference in the outcome of an evaluation.

WRT to the unique needs of the student driving the IEP I wholeheartedly agree. However, the evaluation needs to be accurate - it drives the IEP legally. If you ever find yourself in the position of having to take the school district to court, you want the evaluation to accurately reflect what Saul's needs were identified as in order to demonstrate that they were not provided for. You can request for a revision to the original to include the updated medical information as well as include a formal Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation for his sensory needs. There's a simple rule that's pounded into us medical types - if it ain't documented it didn't happen. Ipso facto - get the evaluation updated and corrected as part of the process. It should not take as long as the first process (I've seen revisions happen within 2 weeks easily). I also hope that an FBA was part of the original evaluation and that the IEP team has developed a PBIP as part of the IEP.

 

[Sheila]

I'm partial to SIPT testing.

If you are interested, there are some threads in the Special Education, General and Primary Zone (I think) forum Archives pertinent to Occupational Therapist (OT) and sensory issues.

 

[SRL]

Polly, if the district can't find an appropriate setting to place your son in then I believe they are legally responsible for creating and funding one. A personal friend of mine forced the district (took an attorney) to create a multiple handicapped classroom for their son because there wasn't one anywhere in the area. That first year he was the only pupil but afterwards other districts started busing in their kids.

In regards to Autism training, I'll mention what happened in our district some years back that my kid and many others are benefitting from: one mother worked cooperatively with the district to develop a staff Autism training program as part of the district-wide professional development. On institute days they have brought in speakers to address the entire staff in overview fashion and in summer offer more specific training to teachers and aides who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) kids scheduled for their classrooms the following year. Booklets have been developed for this year's teacher to fill out on the student and pass on to the next covering basic problem spots that many Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) kids have. It's been overwhelmingly positive for students, parents, and teachers alike. Usually it's the small stuff that hangs these kids up and builds and hearing that from a professional instead of a parent makes a world of difference.

 

[Babbs]

Sheila, you're partial to the SIPT?

While I can definitely understand your opinion that it's the gold standard, a very small population of Occupational Therapist (OT)'s are actually certified to administer the assessment and many good therapists can accurately assess a student's sensory motor skills with alternate assessments. First, it was standardized on an extremely small population - 2,000 children. Most good standardized assessments have a larger population pool. Secondly, it was standardized well before A. Jean Ayer's death in 1994 and I'm not aware of any updated standardization. So the standardization may be outdated at this point.

Personally I haven't been able to get certified. Why? Well, like most Occupational Therapist (OT)'s I can't afford to do it on my own. Two courses to become certified - the courses themselves cost of $1K, not including time off work, travel, etc. The first course is only offered 7-9x a year and the 2nd only 2x a year. To take the 2nd course you have to have an SIPT to use - a $1K test with a $300 scoring manual (at least now you can purchase CD's to score your own tests - you used to have to mail the test to the Ayers Clinic). So you're talking over $2,500 to get certified to administer a test that's not reimbursed by most insurance companies. Sensory Processing is not an area of treatment in the schools - we treat motor problems, not sensory processing problems. So most school districts do not encourage their Occupational Therapist (OT) department to use the limited CE funds to become certified to administer a test that's primarily used in the private sector. So, like most Occupational Therapist (OT)'s, when I have the chance to sign up for continuing education I tend to head towards courses that are local verses long distance in order to go to more verses less.

Like any standardized evaluation, the assessment is only as good as the administrator. And every standardized assessment has its pros and cons. In the district I'm currently working in (only 6 more school days yeah!) there's 1 Occupational Therapist (OT) out of 9 who is certified - the only one in the last 3 districts I've worked in. And she has stopped using the SIPT in the schools.

Two really good books for people just learning about Sensory processing dsyfunction are:

"The Sensory - Sensitive Child: Practical Solutions for Out-0f-Bounds Behavior", Karen Smith and Garen Gouze. Both are psychologists but also parents of children with sensory processing disorders and have a lot of input from OTs.

"Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder", Lucy Jane Miller. Dr. Miler has been one of the primary researchers to continue to push forward the knowledge base of sensory processing disorder (SPD) and for people who aren't steeped in SI theory, a much easier read than A. Jean Ayers.

 

[Sheila]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sheila, you're partial to the SIPT? </div></div>

Absolutely.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> a very small population of Occupational Therapist (OT)'s are actually certified to administer the assessment </div></div>

Yes. As a layperson, I view an Occupational Therapist (OT) with-SIPT certification as having a subspecialty in Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) - much like an accountant with-an MBA in Accounting, an attorney Board Certified in XYZ, Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, etc.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sensory Processing is not an area of treatment in the schools - we treat motor problems, not sensory processing problems. </div></div>

There are many different instances of sds telling parents "we don't do that" but as a related service, it should be treated.

A favorite of mine on Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) from http://gigli.tripod.com/therapies/parents-role.htm .

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I can't imagine a case of untreated SI that doesn't interfere with a child's education. If the child is distracted and annoyed by sounds, sights, movement (or lack of), touch, smells and tastes (among other sensations) how could these irritants not interfere with his/her education???? Is this possible?

Try this: Turn on the radio, but don't tune it. Leave it on static and fuzz. Turn it up. Ask someone to turn the lights on and off, at will. Strap yourself into a broken chair that is missing a leg and use a table that is off balance - you know the ones in restaurants that makes us all so mad. Now, put on some scratchy lace in place of a comfy T-shirt, put your pants on backwards and wear shoes one size too small. Pour a bowl of grated parmesan cheese, open a can of sardines and bring the cat box to the table. Now, snack on your least favorite food; the one you NEVER eat because it comes with a gag reflex. With all this in place, pick up a new book and learn something new! How can anyone claim that SI problems don't interfere with education??
</div></div>

But I know first hand that most sd's will fight against it tooth and nail. The sd Occupational Therapist (OT) that evaluated our son was very good. She didn't have SIPT certification, but was in the process of getting certified. She understood Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) and the problems it was causing difficult child in school.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Like any standardized evaluation, the assessment is only as good as the administrator.</div></div>

I agree.

I have a great deal of respect for Occupational Therapist (OT)'s. difficult child's 1st private Occupational Therapist (OT) knew more about neurological disorders than any other professional that had seen my son -- and that was "many." She helped me understand what was going on with-difficult child's various problems. To paraphrase, she said, "Every person has one Central Nervous System -- the brain. It's all connected." It was a lightbulb moment for me.

 

[SRL]

[ <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sensory Processing is not an area of treatment in the schools - we treat motor problems, not sensory processing problems. </div></div>

I have to agree with Sheila. My school district as well as several others in our area do a superb job in this area. My son's issues have never been brushed off and both the Occupational Therapist (OT) and teachers have always been helpful in considering his sensory needs. Likewise I have run into many parents online whose children have been well served by their school districts in the area of sensory processing. I don't think making a blanket statement that schools only treat motor problems is a fair representation.

 

[PollyParent]

In as far as ANYONE in the District is trained, I will say that my district does a decent job of assessing and coping with sensory issues.

It's just not the first thing that people think about. Mostly the staff responds to the behavior and gets annoyed when the child is not punished for behaving badly. ("Sets a bad example for the other kids" or, "it's not appropriate" OK, so it's not appropriate, but he's still doing it. How do you plan on dealing with the behavior which is happening right now regardless of how appropriate it is?)

I do think Autism training for the staff is important. However, I'm getting a lot of resistance from the Gen Ed teachers to even look at behavior issues as a part and parcel of a disability. The Special Education teachers and resource workers for the most part get that. Gen Ed wants to look at Learning Disabilities.

My son scored the highest in his class on an end of year benchmark test. Special Education sees this as a sign that if he is given the right environment even if it's for only three weeks at the end of the year, then he can learn a year's worth of material. Gen Ed teachers see this as a sign that he was only being a brat, or maybe he had overblown anxiety, but he must have known all that stuff earlier in the year and was refusing to admit it.

That's the major disconnect.

That and the fact that the High School VPs and Principal are abouut to get us in trouble by the way that they discipline SpecEd kids. The adults think the kids are "getting over" when you bring up sensory problems.

In terms of where and how the district is going to place him, I've got him set up through the summer. The District is paying for a summer camp for kids with conduct disorders, AS, and ADD, because they were going to set him up in summer school to relieve his transition anxiety coming into school inthe fall. The camp was seen as a much better fit.

I'm going to request an addendum to the IEP when I talk to the principal in late July regarding Saul's fourth grade teacher assignment. By that time, I hope to have a plan drafted which will take into account what curricular interventions have worked, his need for a complete Occupational Therapist (OT) assessement and perhaps an FBA, and I'm going to request an aide trained in AS and Autism be assigned to him. His General Ed teachers are going to need As/Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) training too. I need to get my sources and legal rights clearly lined up before that meeting.

I'm pretty well convinced that the Middle school here is never going to serve my son. He's got two years left in elementary, so I'm focusing on those.

In the meantime, I've also drafted a legal complaint against indivdual employees and the district as a whole based on the two instances of assault and one of verbal harrassment and intimidation, all of which increased his anxiety and disrupted his learning environment to the point where his IEP could not be implemented. (Casued school phobia to the point where he was running away, and he ceratinly couldn't stay at his desk for a appropriate amount of time, let alone walk into the classroom.) I've got a meeting with the Superintendent and the Board President for mid-July when they both come back form vacation.

Either I file the lawsuit, or they work with me on training the entire district on how to deal with kids with conduct disorders in the district. Tackling kids and then sitting on them really should not be the first plan here.

(In all honesty, I'm not expecting to go through with the lawsuit as written, because I know that they will try to help. But I needed to get the thing into legalese to impress upon the Prez that this issue needs to take top priority. Over the football stadium at least. That doesn't mean that I'll never sue in order to protect my son's rights, but probably not on this issue at this time.)

 

[SRL]

If you have no intention of going through with the lawsuit, then you probably should edit your post to remove that statement. We have had school districts read this site and easily identify families with the details provided in the posts.

 

[Martie]

in my opinion you shouldn't divulge your intentions even if you DO intend to sue after you finish the administrative process,

This is a pubic forum and SD do follow their "particular" parents sometimes.

Martie

 

[PollyParent]

Well, I edited it somewhat. I still do intend to go forward with lawsuits against individuals if needed. Assault against my son was not OK, and having the District not discipline them is also not OK.

The point is here that I'm trying to get the people at the top of the District to trun their attention to the possibility of mine and OTHER lawsuits coming down the pike. I know that at least one other child was assaulted by his aide in my school, so it's already something of a pattern. And the confidentiality issues are ongoing and worthy of a lawsuit under FERPA if nothing else.