• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Failure to protect?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

momniecy

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland

Let me apologize in advance for the long post, but, there is a lot of information I think is important to know.

My son is 11 and in 6th grade. He also has autism and adhd, both diagnosed by a psychologist. He has an IEP in school. All of the following incidences happened at school. For the past 2 1/2 months he's been getting bullied. The first attack was a girl who stabbed him repeatedly in the arm with a pencil, then punched him in the same arm. I went immediately to the school when the nurse called me, and spoke with the vice principal. He told me her reason for assaulting my son... she was having a bad day. The vice principal said he would "take care of the problem" but she just got a verbal reprimand. The second time, he was hit in the back of the head with a folder. My son, assuming he was playing, hit the child with the same folder. The child proceeded to punch him in the face. My son returned back to his chair and the kid came to him and grabbed the back of his neck, then tried to knock his feet from under him. He had bruises for several days. Again, I went immediately to the vice principal and was told the same thing. The third time, his belongings were repeatedly being knocked to the floor and cursed at by 3 students. Again, I went back to vice principal, same response. The fourth time, he was hit in the back of the head with a drum practice board from a music class by one of the 3 students in the prior bullying. I went back to the VP again, same response. By this time, we demanded a meeting with all of his teachers, vice principal and councelors. The assured us they would keep a better eye on our son.

The fifth time, 1 of the 3 coersed one of the others to hit my son with a drumstick. My son has bruises and swelling on his finger for several days after. I went back to VP again, in all these incidents, always same response, he would take care of it. I asked for an aide to be with my child to protect him, but he told me that the principal and he had discussed him and he didn't feel like he needed one and that he needed to find out what my son was doing to make him a target. I was outraged! I told him of course he's a target, he has autism, he rocks or repeats words and told him this was not his fault. The sixth time, 1 of the 3 kicked him in the back of his foot, leaving bruising on his ankle. The seventh time, the kid from the 6th incident ran into him full force with his shoulder, leaving a huge bruise on his back. My son has tried to tell the teachers of what is happening, and they refuse to do anything, like the principals. The guidance counselor and the psychologist did meet with my son, but nothing changed.

After this final assault, my son had a breakdown and had to be hospitalized. He told the psychiatrist that he was bullied every single day and he felt like committing suicide because he didn't want to be living only to be bullied. I did not know the full extent of the bullying occuring until my sons desire to kill himself. He is now in a locked down psychiatric hospital with diagnoses of severe depression and post traumatic stress. Aside from that, my son had been having mightmares about being bullied, he has terrible anxiety and is fearful of returning to that school. He's having to go on medication for his depression. The doctor told me that after talking to my son, she believes he would have been a fine, healthy, happy child had this bullying not occured.

When the principal was told my son was in the hospital because of the bullying, all of a sudden, she wants to give him an aide or transfer him to another school. I listened to what she had to tell me over the phone, but I did not respond with anything other than my son will not be going back to her school. I will be filing assault charges on each and every one of the children that has assaulted my son. Clearly the school failed to protect my son and My hisband and I are so angry and distraught that the school failed my son. We now get to see our son only a few hours a day and have 5 minute max phone calls. Is there legal action we can take?

Thank you for responding, Denise.
 
Last edited:


Just Blue

Senior Member
IMO, both the school and you failed to protect your child. Had you filed a criminal complaint with the police dept upon first hearing about these assaults, it would have stopped.
 

Bloopy

Senior Member
I agree with Blue Meanie. Both you and the school should have done more, sooner.

Do you have any paper trail of the proior incicdents and WRITTEN requests for intervention you requested?

Did they refuse your written request for a meeting with all of the teachers? That's big, being that you have a right to call a Child Study meeting at any time. What alternative did they offer to your 1:1 aide request?

I don't think you should SUE them so much as you have damn good leverage to get him in any program you want. It sounds like it's a crappy, out-of-control scchool that any child, disabled or not, would be better off away from. Find him a good program.
 
Last edited:

momniecy

Junior Member
I know you are both saying it is my fault as well, but I believed the school when they said they were taking care of the problems. My daughter attended school there as well and she had no issues.

Yes, I do have a paper trail. I have copies of every bullying report I submitted for every incident that I knew about. Before he was admitted, my son admitted to me that he stopped telling the teachers because nothing was being done,and he felt like it was a waste of time. I also have the letters of the requests.

No, they did not refuse, in fact, we met with all of his teachers and Vice principal at a meeting we demanded. When the bullying was addressed with each teacher, we asked specifically had they read his IEP. Some said they had, while others said they had not.

Their alternative was to have my son meet with the psychologist, guidance counselor and recieve a "hot pass" to allow him to leave the room whenever he was being bullied and go to the guidance office to speak to either the psychologist or a guidance counselor. However, I found out later that it made no difference. He was able to leave the classroom, but no one was available to talk to him and they sent him back to class. Also they said he was going to be meeting with the psychologist on a regular basis, that didn't happen.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
I know you are both saying it is my fault as well, but I believed the school when they said they were taking care of the problems. My daughter attended school there as well and she had no issues.

Yes, I do have a paper trail. I have copies of every bullying report I submitted for every incident that I knew about. Before he was admitted, my son admitted to me that he stopped telling the teachers because nothing was being done,and he felt like it was a waste of time. I also have the letters of the requests.

No, they did not refuse, in fact, we met with all of his teachers and Vice principal at a meeting we demanded. When the bullying was addressed with each teacher, we asked specifically had they read his IEP. Some said they had, while others said they had not.

Their alternative was to have my son meet with the psychologist, guidance counselor and recieve a "hot pass" to allow him to leave the room whenever he was being bullied and go to the guidance office to speak to either the psychologist or a guidance counselor. However, I found out later that it made no difference. He was able to leave the classroom, but no one was available to talk to him and they sent him back to class. Also they said he was going to be meeting with the psychologist on a regular basis, that didn't happen.
You, yourself, have stated that your child was assaulted SIX times within a few month period. You delt with the school and they did little or nothing to stop these assaults. Yet you still maintain that, despite their failure, you still expected them to deal with this.

YOU could have filed a police complaint after the very first assault. Or the second, third...forth...fifth...And STOPPED THESE ASSAULTS.

You are as much, if not MORE, responsible for your son's current situation than the school.
 

I'mTheFather

Senior Member
You, yourself, have stated that your child was assaulted SIX times within a few month period. You delt with the school and they did little or nothing to stop these assaults. Yet you still maintain that, despite their failure, you still expected them to deal with this.

YOU could have filed a police complaint after the very first assault. Or the second, third...forth...fifth...And STOPPED THESE ASSAULTS.

You are as much, if not MORE, responsible for your son's current situation than the school.
I don't disagree, but just want to give mom a little slack here. She did inform the school. She did meet with teachers. Unfortunately, many parents don't realize that they can file a report with the police, and I can guarantee that the school administrators don't often suggest that.

Mom, contact an attorney who advocates for students with disabilities. Bloopy is right that you can probably use these events to get your son into a better school or program, and a lawyer can help.

Good luck!
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top