School harrassing parent of child in psych hospital for access to records

[georgiabpmom]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

I am a parent advocate for brain disordered children in the Atlanta area. My client is being harrassed by her child's school. The child is currently in a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and does not have an IEP (testing for eligibility is scheduled).

School is calling mother several times a day demanding verification that the child is in the hospital and demanding access to medical records in order to consider child eligible for special education services. School has gone so far as to call the psychiatric hospital three times to find out if the child is actually a patient (hospital does not disclose any information, including verification of a patient's identity or admittance).

Can these actions by the school be punished by law? If so, what code or law can the parent quote to get the school to back off?

Thanks,

Julie Ward

 

[n_and]

The school needs to know where this child is for truancy reasons. They are doing nothing illegal by trying to find this out. Just send them a letter stating that yes, the child is in your custody. If it comes down to that this child needs special education ( and it sounds like s/he does) the school district needs medical records to cover their costs.

 

[kbear71]

Just an FYI

I work in a school and probably would be trying to access the records also. If and when this student returns to their home school after a hospital stay, chances are that they are going to need extra support in school to be successful. The real only way that this child will be eligble for special education is with input from the hospital and doctors. This process can take up to a month to assess and another month to implement. Parents become very frustrated when schools can not immediately implement an individualized education plan when their student returns to school. However, consent forms can be signed to indicate who in the school can assess the information. One person can assess the information and keep it confidential, which is a major concern for parents. It sounds that the school is trying to be helpful and efficient, but if the parents do not want the school's assistance, the parents should not complain when they finally want the school to intervene.

 

[tigger22472]

I don't know but I would think(and I could be wrong) that a letter from the doctor stating where the child is and the dianosis should be enough. If I were these parents I would be ticked off if they got access to the medical records too. A doctor should be able to answer any questions they may have without having full access to the medical records. I mean Hell a patient usually has to fight tooth and nail to get THEIR OWN records... why should the school just get them??