Lee's Summit Autism: February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: David McGehee (DrDavidMcGehee) on Twitter

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: David McGehee (DrDavidMcGehee) on Twitter

My superintendent has blocked me from following him on Twitter. What is that all about? My tax dollars pay his salary, which is the highest in Missouri, and I can't see what he is twittering.

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: How Do They Sleep At Night?

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: How Do They Sleep At Night?

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Sometimes I sit and relive the past four years. I think of all of the tears, anger, frustration, fear, anxiety, and hurt that my family has gone through. Then I think of all of the other families that are going through the same thing. Their lives being destroyed while they sit back and helplessly watch it happen.

One thing always comes to mind. How do the people that are paid with my tax dollars sleep at night? How can they destroy the life and future of another human being and then take their paycheck? How can they hug their children while they are destroying the lives of other children?

I was raised in the 60s and the 70s. My parents were strict and taught us to be honest, caring, and loving human beings. We were taught that you never progress in life without hard work, integrity, honor, and respect. You never hurt others or lie.

I wonder what the parents our of teachers, principals, superintendents, legislators, and school board officials taught their children. Would they be disgusted by the things that their children do to innocent children? Would they be dismayed that their children care about nothing more than self promotion and the almighty dollar? Would they be proud that their children are successful because they are robbing children of their future? My parents would disown me. They would not tolerate the behavior that I see every day.

I have been to many school meetings and sat across the table as these people have lied, cheated, and stolen my child's future. I have seen my legislator sell out my child to further his political career and then lie about it and call me a politcal stalker. I am powerless to stop them. They have all of the power and my hard earned tax dollars have bought it for them.

How many lives are going to be destroyed before this is stopped? How many people are willing to stand up for their children no matter what the consequences are? I am. I have been for four years. Its a lonely journey and I invite you to join me.

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Letter From A Parent

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Lee's Summit School Board Members

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Lee's Summit School Board Members

These are members of our school board. They vote on salaries for retired teachers and current employees. Can we honestly say that they don't have a conflict of interest. When they investigate procedure violations are they really objective? Isn't it time that someone is on the board that can really make a change in this district and help it live up to the reputation that they have? How many of you moved here because of their excellent reputation and then realized you made a major mistake? I can name dozens of families.

Ron Baker

PresidentRon Baker was elected to the Board of Education in April 2009, is currently serving as president and previously served as vice president. He retired in 2001 after working for 36 years in the R-7 School District. During his career, he taught science at the high-school and middle-school levels, Mr. Baker is married to Serece Baker, a retired R-7 science teacher.

Jack Wiley

Vice President
Mr. Wiley and his wife, Suzanne, a teacher in the R-7 School District

Phyllis Balagna

MemberShe taught English and theatre arts for five years, with two of those at LSHS.

Chris Storms

Member
His family includes his wife, Audra, a third-grade teacher at Summit Pointe Elementary

Bob White

Member
Mr. White retired from the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District in 2007 after a 33-year career. Within R-7, he worked as director at Summit Technology Academy, as assistant principal at Pleasant Middle School and Lee’s Summit High School and as a language arts teacher. A Lee’s Summit resident, he has been married for 42 years to Candy White, a retired R-7 teacher. They have a son, Kevin White, a special-education teacher at LSHS; a daughter-in-law, Mitch White, a substitute aide;

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Teacher records autistic boy stuck in chair - WNEM TV 5

Teacher records autistic boy stuck in chair - WNEM TV 5

GOODRICH, MI (WNEM) -

An 11-year old autistic child gets his head stuck in a classroom chair but instead of helping, the teacher recorded it.

Officials say the teacher, Nicole Mcvey, recorded it all on her cell phone as the rest of the class stood by. The incident happened in a fifth grade classroom at Oaktree Elementary in Goodrich last November.

You can hear the teacher ask him if he wants to get tasered and then the principal comes in referring to it not being an emergency. He resigned shortly after.

At a meeting Monday night, parents

rallied behind her at the school board meeting.

Patrick Greenfelder was hired by the boy's family

as the incident has sparked so much controversy in the community.

Greenfelder says the teacher is on paid administrative leave while private tenure hearings debating her future take place.

Late last year the board voted to fire her.

Goodrich Superintendent Scott Bogner sent TV5 this statement.

Under Michigan's tenure law, that teacher has a right to a private hearing of any charges against her. The district is obligated to respect that right and will not discuss specifics of this case.

Greenfielder says the incident happened in November and the community has rallied behind teacher without seeing this video. At the Goodrich school board meeting, parents continued to stick by her.

We're told the boy was stuck in the chair for roughly ten to fifteen minutes.

His parents' attorney says they are considering a lawsuit against the school district, but they want to wait and see how the tenure hearings playout for the teacher involved.

Attorney Greenfelder has told me that the video was distributed to not just school staff, but to the friends of the principal and teacher who were not school staff. He says this is a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and contradicts the argument that this was a "teaching moment."

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Thimerosal and Autism Timeline | A Shot of Truth

CDC forced to release documents showing they knew vaccine preservative causes autism | The Refusers

The CDC has been shunning the correlations between thimerosal and neurological disorders for a very long time. Although the FDA gave a two year deadline to remove the mercury based preservative from vaccines after the neurotoxin was banned in 1999, it still remains to this day in60 percent of flu vaccines. A vaccine industry watchdog has now obtained CDC documents that show statistically significant risks of autism associated with the vaccine preservative, something the CDC denies even when confronted with their own data.

For nearly ten years, Brian Hooker has been requesting documents that are kept under tight wraps by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His more than 100 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have resulted in copious evidence that the vaccine preservative Thimerosal, which is still used in the flu shot that is administered to pregnant women and infants, can cause autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Hooker, a PhD scientist, worked with two members of Congress to craft the letter to the CDC that recently resulted in his obtaining long-awaited data from the CDC, the significance of which is historic. According to Hooker, the data on over 400,000 infants born between 1991 and 1997, which was analyzed by CDC epidemiologist Thomas Verstraeten, MD, “proves unequivocally that in 2000, CDC officials were informed internally of the very high risk of autism, non-organic sleep disorder and speech disorder associated with Thimerosal exposure.”

Factually, thimerosal is a mercury-containing compound that is a known human carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen and immune-system disruptor at levels below 1 part-per-million, and a compound to which some humans can have an anaphylactic shock reaction. It is also a recognized reproductive and fetal toxin with no established toxicologically safe level of exposure for humans.

In November, 1997, the U.S. Congress passed the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, requiring the study of mercury content in FDA-approved products. The review disclosed the hitherto-unrecognized levels of ethylmercury in vaccines.

In July 1999, public-health officials announced that thimerosal would be phased out of vaccines. The CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, and FDA insisted that the measure was purely precautionary. They requested of all vaccine manufacturers to eliminate mercury from vaccines.

The requests were denied by vaccine manufacturers and continued every year thereafter.

The FDA does not require ingredients that comprise less than 1 percent of a product to be divulged on the label, so a lot more products may have thimerosal and consumers will never know.

Elevated Risk of Autism

When the results of the Verstraeten study were first reported outside the CDC in 2005, there was no evidence that anyone but Dr. Verstraeten within the CDC had known of the very high 7.6-fold elevated relative risk of autism from exposure to Thimerosal during infancy. But now, clear evidence exists. A newly-acquired abstract from 1999 titled, “Increased risk of developmental neurologic impairment after high exposure to Thimerosal containing vaccine in first month of life” required the approval of top CDC officials prior to its presentation at the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) conference. Thimerosal, which is 50% mercury by weight, was used in most childhood vaccines and in the RhoGAM shot for pregnant women prior to the early 2000s.

The CDC maintains there is “no relationship between Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism rates in children,” even though the data from the CDC’s own Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) database shows a very high risk. There are a number of public records to back this up, including this Congressional Record from May 1, 2003. The CDC’s refusal to acknowledge thimerosal’s risks is exemplified by a leaked statement from Dr. Marie McCormick, chair of the CDC/NIH-sponsored Immunization Safety Review at IOM. Regarding vaccination, she said in 2001, “…we are not ever going to come down that it [autism] is a true side effect…” Also of note, the former director of the CDC, which purchases $4 billion worth of vaccines annually, is now president of Merck’s vaccine division.

Toxic Effects of Thimerosal No Longer Disputed by Scientific Study

Thimerosal-Derived Ethylmercury in vaccines is now well established as a mitochondrial toxin in human brain cells.

There are dozens of scientific inquiries and studies on the adverse effects of thimerosal, including gastrointestinal abnormalities and immune system irregularities.

Thimerosal, is metabolized (converted) into the toxic and “harmful” methylmercury. And then in turn, the harmful methylmercury is metabolized (converted) into the most harmful, long-term-toxic, “inorganic” mercury that is retained in bodily tissue.

“Inorganic” mercury is the end product of mercury metabolism. Methylmercury subject groups confirm that the metabolic pathway for mercury in the human and animal body consists in the reduction/conversion of the harmful methylmercury into a more harmful “inorganic” mercury which is tissue-bound, and long-term-toxic. Hence, both the originating substance (methylmercury) and its conversion/reduction, inorganic mercury are found.

Based on published findings by Dr. Paul King, the metabolic pathway for organic mercury involves the conversion of Ethylmercury (Thimerosal) into “methylmercury” and then the further reduction of “methylmercury” into inorganic mercury.

Congress Must Act

Dr. Hooker’s fervent hope for the future: “We must ensure that this and other evidence of CDC malfeasance are presented to Congress and the public as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence. Children’s futures are at stake.” A divide within the autism community has led to some activists demanding that compensation to those with vaccine-injury claims be the top priority before Congress. Dr. Hooker maintains that prevention, “protecting our most precious resource — children’s minds,” must come first. “Our elected officials must be informed about government corruption that keeps doctors and patients in the dark about vaccine risks.”

Referring to an organization that has seen its share of controversy this past year, Dr. Hooker remarked, “It is unfortunate that SafeMinds issued a press release on my information, is accepting credit for my work and has not supported a worldwide ban on Thimerosal.”

Brian Hooker, PhD, PE, has 15 years experience in the field of bioengineering and is an associate professor at Simpson University where he specializes in biology and chemistry. His over 50 science and engineering papers have been published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Hooker has a son, aged 16, who developed normally but then regressed into autism after receiving Thimerosal-containing vaccines.

Sources:prweb.com
preventdisease.com
ashotoftruth.org

Dave Mihalovic is a Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in vaccine research, cancer prevention and a natural approach to treatment.

Read the article

Thursday, February 20, 2014

2 Mo. Principals Accused Of Not Reporting Violence | KMBC Home - KMBC Home

PARK HILLS, Mo. —Two eastern Missouri middle school principals are expected to face misdemeanor charges, alleging they violated the Missouri Safe Schools Act by failing to report violence.

The Park Hills Daily Journal reported that St. Francois County prosecutor Jerrod Mahurin plans to charge Central Middle School's principal and vice principal. As of Wednesday morning, formal charges have not been filed.

A probable cause statement said school resource officer Craig Newberry learned that a 14-year-old boy struck a 12-year-old girl in the buttocks with his knee, causing a fractured tail bone. The incident happened at the school on March 29 and was not reported to police by either principal.

The Safe Schools Act requires administrators to report an act of violence as soon as reasonably practical to police. Last week, a detective spoke with both the principal and vice principal. Both said they were aware that the girl had been injured by the boy, but did not report it.

The probable cause statement said the vice principal told police her own daughter had been playing with the same boy, causing bruises to her arm. The vice principal said she spoke to the boy earlier in the day on March 29 - before the 12-year-old girl was hurt - and told him to keep his hands to himself.

Central superintendent Desi Mayberry said a district review found the injury happened during horseplay and wasn't an assault that needed to be reported under the Missouri Safe Schools Act.

Mayberry said if prosecutors choose to press charges then all teachers and principals in the county are at risk of criminal charges every time a student gets hurt while under their care.

But Mahurin said he will prosecute any case necessary to protect victims, especially children.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Does your school have a secret history of abusing disabled children? Find out here - National special education | Examiner.com

Does your school have a secret history of abusing disabled children? Find out here - National special education | Examiner.com

Missouri
1. North Mercer R3, Mercer, MO (Seclusion Room: Closet converted to seclusion room)
2. Underwood Elementary School, Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, Lee’s Summit, MO (Seclusion: Child kept in closet for most of a month)

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: How Do They Sleep At Night?

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Autistic child's mom wants cameras in special needs classes

CLEVELAND -- Tara Heidinger wants cameras in all special needs classrooms in Ohio. She started this campaign when her son, Corey, came home with bruises on his arm.

"He said the teacher was mean to me," Heidinger said.

She says her son is autistic and the school believed he made it up. There was no proof of abuse, so that's when this mom decided cameras should be in Ohio special needs classrooms.

"I want more eyes and ears in these classes," says Heidinger.

She hopes legislation will be introduced in Ohio soon. She has a Facebook page and supporters all over the country and world.

Not everyone agrees.

The Ohio Education Association said this:

"Incidents of abuse are abhorrent, but rare. Current school district policies guard against such incidents and provide the means to correct any neglectful or abusive practices. The ramifications of mandating cameras in the classroom pose greater issues for student privacy than merely seeking to eliminate abuse."

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Restraints, Seclusions Target Students With Autism, New Report Shows | Connecticut Health Investigative Team

Children with autism were the most frequently subjected to restraint or seclusion in Connecticut schools in the 2012-13 school year, according to a new state report that tallied more than 33,000 incidents of physical restraint or seclusion in public schools and private special education programs.

The report from the state Department of Education shows that autism was the primary disability among special education students subject to “emergency” restraint or seclusion, with 40.4 percent of all such incidents involving a child with autism. Autism also accounted for nearly half of all cases in which children were put in seclusion as part of their individualized education plans, or IEPs.

Jordan Harrison Graphic

The report shows a slight decline from the previous year in the overall number of students restrained or secluded, and a drop in reports of injuries – from 840 in 2011-12, to 378 last year. But the number of serious injuries rose from eight to 10, and more than 900 reported episodes of seclusion or restraint lasted more than an hour.

“This is just so disheartening,” said Shannon Knall of Simsbury, policy chair of the Connecticut chapter of Autism Speaks, an advocacy group. She blamed the high incidence of children being restrained and secluded on “a tremendous lack of training” of teachers and school staff in alternative interventions.

“The numbers of children with autism are skyrocketing, and I think our school districts are just overwhelmed,” she said. “The people on the front lines need training and tools” in alternative behavior management. “If you only give someone a hammer and a nail, that’s all they’re going to use.”

This is the second year that the state Department of Education has compiled data on restraints and seclusions submitted by schools. While the education department has no specific strategy to reduce those practices, the report says that the “continued examination” of the data will inform “technical assistance and trainings” that promote the use of positive interventions and reduce reliance on restraint and seclusion.

The release of the report comes as a coalition of eight state agencies, including the Office of the Child Advocate and Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, begins a public education campaign to reduce the unnecessary use of restraints and seclusion in schools. The education department is a partner in that effort.

Sarah Eagan, the state’s child advocate, said the new report illustrates that the use of physical restraint and seclusion is still common in schools, especially among young children with developmental disabilities. About half of all the 2012-13 incidents involved special education students in grades five and below, with about 180 incidents involving children in kindergarten and pre-K.

“What this highlights is that ultimately, the practices are widespread,” Eagan said. “What we have to remember is that the use of restraints and seclusion [for behavior management] has no research to support it. We’re really going to have to support schools and teachers with resources and tools so they can find a better way” to de-escalate problem behaviors.

A seclusion room for children with emotional/behavioral problems.

Connecticut state law allows for the use of restraints and seclusion in emergencies that pose imminent danger to a student or others. It also allows for special education students to be put in seclusion if their IEPs provide for such measures – a provision that some child advocates say is overly broad.

Schools reported that the majority of restraints and seclusions – 71 percent -- were in response to emergency risk of harm, with the remaining 7,741 seclusions done in accordance with an IEP. In many cases, individual children were restrained and secluded multiple times throughout the year. Forty students were physically restrained or secluded more than 100 times -- and 11 of them were subject to those practices 300 to 900 times during the year, the report shows.

Eagan noted that the U.S. Department of Education issued a “resource document” to schools in 2012 that discourages the use of physical restraints or seclusion except in extreme situations where a child’s behavior poses imminent danger of serious harm to self or others. But there is no federal law restricting the practices.

Data in the new state report shows the majority of restraints and seclusions lasted 20 minutes or less. However, 30 emergency restraints and 119 seclusions lasted more than two hours.

Farm Hill Elementary School

Reporting by individual school districts and programs varied widely, with some smaller programs reporting hundreds of incidents, and some large districts reporting a handful. Hartford schools reported no incidents, Bridgeport reported 28, and New Haven reported 54.

Education department officials said they were following up with districts that reported very low numbers.

Eagan said that, on the flip side, some programs may be diligently reporting “every time they put hands on a student,” boosting their numbers.

Among districts reporting the highest number of restraints and seclusions were: East Hartford, with 1,644 cases involving 165 special education students; Darien, with 895 incidents involving 10 students; Vernon, with 357 incidents involving 24 students; and Windsor, with 298 incidents involving 19 students.

High numbers were reported by many state-approved private special education programs and regional education centers, including: CREC, with 3,860 cases involving 89 students; Benhaven School in Wallingford, which serves children with autism, with 2,162 incidents involving 30 students; and the Connecticut Center for Child Development in Milford, which also specializes in autism, with 3,183 cases involving 35 students.

The report indicates that black and Hispanic children are more likely to be restrained and secluded than white students. Fifty-seven percent of students who were restrained or secluded were members of minority groups, while the majority of special education students statewide are white.

Read the full report below.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Restraints, seclusions target Connecticut students with autism

The report shows a slight decline from the previous year in the overall number of students restrained or secluded, and a drop in reports of injuries — from 840 in 2011-12 to 378 last year. But the number of serious injuries rose from eight to 10, and more than 900 reported episodes of seclusion or restraint lasted more than an hour.

“What this highlights is that ultimately, the practices are widespread,” Eagan said. “What we have to remember is that the use of restraints and seclusion (for behavior management) has no research to support it. We’re really going to have to support schools and teachers with resources and tools so they can find a better way” to de-escalate problem behaviors.

Connecticut state law allows for the use of restraints and seclusion in emergencies that pose imminent danger to a student or others. It also allows for special education students to be put in seclusion if their IEPs provide for such measures — a provision that some child advocates say is overly broad.

Schools reported that the majority of restraints and seclusions — 71 percent — were in response to emergency risk of harm, with the remaining 7,741 seclusions done in accordance with an IEP. In many cases, individual children were restrained and secluded multiple times throughout the year. Forty students were physically restrained or secluded more than 100 times — and 11 of them were subject to those practices 300 to 900 times during the year, the report shows.

Data in the new state report shows the majority of restraints and seclusions lasted 20 minutes or less. However, 30 emergency restraints and 119 seclusions lasted more than two hours.

Education department officials said they were following up with districts that reported very low numbers.

Eagan said that, on the flip side, some programs may be diligently reporting “every time they put hands on a student,” boosting their numbers.

The co-chairs of the legislature’s Committee on Children, Sen. Dante Bartolomeo and Rep. Diana Urban, both expressed concerns about the unnecessary use of restraints and seclusion at a recent forum on the issue convened by the Office of the Child Advocate and the Office of Protection and Advocacy. Last year, leaders of those two agencies called for an end to the use of restraints and seclusion as behavioral interventions in schools, as they investigated the controversial use of “scream rooms” at the Farm Hill Elementary School in Middletown. The report indicates that black and Hispanic children are more likely to be restrained and secluded than white students. Fifty-seven percent of students who were restrained or secluded were members of minority groups, while the majority of special education students statewide are white.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Findings in the audit of the Lee's Summit R-VII School District

Findings in the audit
of the Lee's Summit R-VII School District

The district did not competitively bid several purchases
in accordance with district administrative procedure and state law, including
travel services ($29,172), installation of technology equipment ($21,866), and
printing ($20,357), and did not always document in writing single feasible
source

justifications. District administrative procedures
require competitive, advertised, sealed bids for construction of facilities
costing $15,000 and above and require bids for individual non-construction
purchases projected to cost $5,000 or more and quotes for non-construction
purchases under

$5,000. The district does not always document the
evaluation and selection of architectural/construction management services for
non-bond issue projects as required by board policy and state law. The district
has not periodically solicited proposals for some professional services and has
used the same vendors for several years. The district has used the same auditor
for 15 years, diversity initiative provider for 6 years, and primary legal counsel
for 4 years without periodically soliciting proposals.

The district does not have written agreements with the
entities providing legal services or the communications audit, and district
officials did not sign an education services contract for the 2012-2013 school
year until March 28, 2013. The district pays $25,000 to the Lee's Summit
Economic

Development Council for membership, but the council's
website indicates maximum membership benefits are available for $10,000, and it
is unclear what additional benefits the district receives for the additional
contribution.

The district subsidizes a significant portion of the
operating expenses of the Lee's Summit Educational Foundation, a legally
separate not-for-profit corporation, and has not entered into a written
agreement with the foundation. The foundation's employees, its Director, and
Administrative Assistant are housed in the district's main administration
building free of charge, and the district pays their salaries and fringe
benefits and other foundation expenses even though they spend only 10 percent
of their time working on district activities.

The district did not adequately monitor contract
payments, and a contractor overcharged the district $4,095 in the 2012-2013
school year. The contractor subsequently reimbursed the district. The district
does not competitively bid significant changes to construction projects and
does not always timely approve construction change orders. The district paid a $25,340
change order for a paving project at Lee's Summit North High School that was
not included in the vendor's original bid proposal, and the

Board did not approve and district officials did not sign
the change order until at least a week after the work was complete. The
district paid a $60,616 change order for carpet removal and replacement at
Meadow Lane Elementary that was not included in the vendor's original bid
proposal and approved by the Board. The district does not monitor purchasing
card transaction limits, and limits for some individuals are excessive. The
district has over 900 purchasing cards assigned to various personnel with
monthly limits ranging from $1,000 to $600,000.

The district has historically paid a vehicle allowance to
several employees who use their personal vehicles to conduct official business
within the district, but, other than for the superintendent, the district does
not include vehicle allowances in employee contracts, and the Board does not
approve

the allowances as additional compensation. The district
has not performed an analysis to ensure the vehicle allowances meet the needs
of these positions or are reasonable. Using the IRS-allowed mileage rate, the superintendent
would need to travel over 26,000 business-related miles to earn the $15,000
vehicle allowance he would have been paid for the year ended June 30, 2014.
This number of miles is considerably more than the 4,284 business-related miles
he drove his district-provided vehicle during

calendar year 2012. The Board indicated in its response
to our recommendation that it will no longer provide the superintendent with
the vehicle allowance.

The district purchased approximately 51 acres of land in
December 2012 for $775,000 to be used for the district's fourth middle school,
but it did not obtain an independent appraisal, so it has less assurance it
paid the fair value of the property.

The district's superintendent at June 30, 2013, was Dr.
David McGehee. His annual compensation was $258,660, which included a deferred compensation
allowance of $19,716, family medical insurance of $15,377, and association
expenses of $12,000. He was also provided a district vehicle for business and
personal use. The superintendent's compensation is established by the Board.

Monday, February 3, 2014

J.D. v. Atlanta Public Schools: A Lesser Spirit Would Have Been Crushed Long Ago" by Pamela Wright & Peter Wright

Court Upholds Award of Compensatory Education in Draper v. Atlanta Public Schools: "Poor Man's Burlington Remedy" by Steven Wyner, Esq. - Wrightslaw.com

ourt Upholds Award of Compensatory Education in Draper v. Atlanta:
"Poor Man's Burlington Remedy"
by Steven Wyner, Esq. & Marcy J. K. Tiffany, Esq.

Print this page

On March 6, 2008, the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the decision of the District Court in favor of our client in Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Independent School System (11th Cir. 2008).

In 2007, the District Court had ordered the Atlanta Independent School System to pay Jarron's tuition at a private special education school for four years, or until he graduated with a regular high school diploma, as prospective compensatory education for their persistent failure to educate him.

The Atlanta Independent School System and Jarron appealed to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to resolve different issues.

Prospective Compensatory Education in a Non-Public School

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit approved the District Court's award of compensatory education requiring the School System to fund prospective educational services provided by a private school. The Court specifically rejected the notion that the student had to prove that the public school system was incapable of providing the compensatory education.

The Court relied on the Supreme Court decisions in Sch. Comm. of Burlington v. Dep't of Educ., 471 U.S. 359, 105 S.Ct. 1996 (1985) and Florence County Sch. Dist. Four v. Carter ex rel. Carter, 510 U.S. 7, 16, 114 S.Ct. 361, 366 (1993), which held that school districts are required to reimburse parents for the costs of private placements in nonpublic schools when the public school failed to provide an appropriate education.

IDEA Does Not Provide Wealthier Parents with Greater Benefits Than Poorer Parents

Relying on these decisions, the Court reasoned that the District Court had the authority to require a public school to pay the cost of prospective compensatory education that would be provided by a private school.

The Court held that:

"The argument of the School System would provide those wealthier parents greater benefits under the Act than poorer parents. We do not read the Act as requiring compensatory awards of prospective education to be inferior to awards of reimbursement. The Act does not relegate families who lack the resources to place their children unilaterally in private schools to shouldering the burden of proving that the public school cannot adequately educate their child before those parents can obtain a placement in a private school. The Act instead empowers the district court to use broad discretion to fashion appropriate relief."

"Poor Man's Burlington Remedy" for Families That Cannot Afford Private School Tuition

The 11th Circuit fashioned a "poor man's Burlington remedy" for families that cannot afford to unilaterally remove their child from a public school and pay the cost of educating a child in a private school after the public school failed to provide a FAPE, while also incurring the expense of a due process hearing and subsequent litigation before they can recover the cost of tuition for the private placement.

Significance of Decision in Draper

Negotiating for Quality Compensatory Education Services

This decision should help special needs families and their counsel in negotiating settlements that provide quality educational remediation when their child has been denied a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

When the school system fails to provide FAPE, the family can and should ask for compensatory education from a non public agency or school.

Public schools often offer to provide compensatory education in the form of supplemental educational services provided by their staff. Since the public school failed to provide FAPE previously, compensatory educational services provided in the future (prospectively) by school district staff is generally an ineffective remedy. The same teachers who previously failed to educate the child would be responsible for remediating their past failures.

Compensatory Education Requires More

School officials are fond of interpreting Board of Ed. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist. v. Rowley, 458 U.S. (1982) as requiring that they provide the educational equivalent of a Chevrolet and not a Cadillac.

While the Supreme Court decision in Rowley requires school districts to provide special needs students with a "basic floor of opportunity" that provides "some educational benefit," the 11th Circuit held that compensatory awards must do more, and "should place children in the position that they would have been in but for the violation of the Act." Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Independent School System (11th Cir. 2008)

Simple Themes: Teaching a Child to Read
Simple themes win cases. In Jarron's case, the themes included the following: the school system failed to appropriately evaluate him, misdiagnosed him as mentally retarded when he had dyslexia, and failed to teach him to read.

If schools don't teach children the basic skills of reading, writing and math, these children will not have an opportunity to become productive, self sufficient members of society, as envisioned by the IDEA.

When you read the decisions from the U. S. District Court and the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, you see this theme repeated over and over - that Jarron's reading skills were at the 3rd grade level, year after year, until he finally left school.

Resources: Draper v. Atlanta Independent School System

"A Lesser Spirit Would Have Been Crushed Long Ago" is the "inside story" of Jarron Draper's case. When the Judge issued a favorable decision in 2007, Jarron was 20 years old, stocking shelves at Target and working as a security guard. He couldn't read, earn a high school diploma, or fulfill his dream of attending college.

In A Lesser Spirit, you'll learn about the battles his family fought, how school employees viewed their responsibilities to Jarron, and who stepped up to the plate to represent him in the due process hearing. You'll learn about some legal issues - burden of proof, statute of limitations, and remedies for the failure to provide a child with a free appropriate education. You'll meet the dedicated and talented attorneys who also stepped up to the plate to help Jarron and his family when their case went to federal court.

Legal
Complaint in Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Public Schools (03/01/07)

Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Independent School District (N.D. GA 2007) - The U. S. District Court finds, "Based upon a preponderance of the evidence, the Court concludes that APS failed to provide J.D. with a FAPE for the 2002-03,2003-04, and 2004-05 school years. APS failed to timely assess J.D. in the 2002-03 school year making it impossible for APS to design a proper IEP to meet J.D.'s unique needs." The Court ordered the school system to pay for four years of compensatory education at a private special education school.(03/20/07)
Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Independent School System (11th Cir. 2008) - The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously upheld the decision of the District Court and ordered Atlanta Public Schools to pay Jarron's tuition for four years at a private special education school as compensatory education for their persistent failure or refusal to educate him. (03/06/08)
News
Atlanta school tuition case is ‘tip of iceberg’ - Dyslexic student awarded $38K toward education after being placed in special education classes in Atlanta Public Schools - Jones Day attorney David M. Monde, who represented Jarron Draper as co-counsel with Wyner & Tiffany, suggested that Jarron’s case is “the tip of the iceberg … given this kid’s needs are not particularly unique. There are an awful lot of other Jarrons out there in the system who just don’t get the help they need.” (Daily Report, 04/03/07)

Jones Day Obtains Pro Bono Eleventh Circuit Win for Special Education Student - Jones Day represented Jarron Draper, against the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) in an appeal of last year's order from U.S. District Court Judge Shoob that APS pay up to $156,000 in future private school tuition, plus transportation costs, because of APS' multiple violations of federal law. The Firm worked with California-based Wyner & Tiffany, a nationally-recognized firm in the area of special education law. (Jones Day, 03/08)
Family Says School Misdiagnosed Boy As "Retarded" from www.wsbtv.com (includes link to video)

Atlanta Schools Told to Pay up to $136,600 For Private Tuition: Student's Dyslexia was Misdiagnosed by Kristina Torrcis - A federal judge has ordered Atlanta Public Schools to pay for a former student misdiagnosed as mentally disabled to go to private school to get his high school diploma.The student, Jarron Draper, now 20, has been out of school since June, stocking shelves at Target and working full time as a security guard while he and his family fought for an education that he hopes will get him into college. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 03/23/07)