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Can the school force me to go to an alternative school?

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funnystory

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan
Hey everybody I need some advice on what i should do on this situation.So heres a little bit of back ground information. Im 16 years old and i recently dropped out of high school.My freshmen year in high school i failed almost all of my classes and i only managed to get 1.5 out of the 6 credits required for the whole year, alot of this was due to the fact that i was on some strong medication that made me go to sleep during school. This caused me to fall behind in school to the point where it was nearly impossible for me to catch up with what i had missed.During the summer i received a phone call from the local alternative high school in the district basically telling me that i had to go there. So I start going to school in this new alternative high school and i realize that it was not what i had expected. The school was full of bullies and the staff were disrespectful and rude to me I just did not feel safe or comfortable going to that school. It got so bad to the point wee i decided that my only way out was to drop out because i turned 16 in october. The school district WILL NOT let me go back to a traditional high school which i think is absolutely ridiculous.First of all why cant i just retake freshmen classes and take upon myself to recover my credits. It shouldnt be their call on where i go to school my parents pay taxes and i should have the right to education in a place where i feel safe and comfortable. Its not a private school. They dont have the right to weed out students they dont want and try to manipulate me into thinking i have to do what they say. The thing is I have been diagnosed with both ADD and depression.I think my disabilities have made school very difficult since i get discouraged easily and i have to worry about both not being able to pay attention and my emotional well being. Is it not discrimination if they just eliminate a kid from their school who has disabilities? The other interesting thing is that there is less then 1% hispanics in the high school and i am hispanic but Im not sure if that has anything to do with it. Anyways can they really force me to go to an alternative school or do i have any legal rights in the matter? My parents are willing to hire a lawyer to solve this but i wanted to get some advice.Do i have to choose between not having an education or having to put up with a school that is full of troubled kids and getting harassed every day?Thank you for reading and i hope someone can help
 


aldaron

Member
Maybe getting your GED is your solution then go on to community college. Talk it over with your parents. Government cannot force you to do anything except go to jail.
 

Perky

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan
Hey everybody I need some advice on what i should do on this situation.So heres a little bit of back ground information. Im 16 years old and i recently dropped out of high school.My freshmen year in high school i failed almost all of my classes and i only managed to get 1.5 out of the 6 credits required for the whole year, alot of this was due to the fact that i was on some strong medication that made me go to sleep during school. This caused me to fall behind in school to the point where it was nearly impossible for me to catch up with what i had missed.During the summer i received a phone call from the local alternative high school in the district basically telling me that i had to go there. So I start going to school in this new alternative high school and i realize that it was not what i had expected. The school was full of bullies and the staff were disrespectful and rude to me I just did not feel safe or comfortable going to that school. It got so bad to the point wee i decided that my only way out was to drop out because i turned 16 in october. The school district WILL NOT let me go back to a traditional high school which i think is absolutely ridiculous.First of all why cant i just retake freshmen classes and take upon myself to recover my credits. It shouldnt be their call on where i go to school my parents pay taxes and i should have the right to education in a place where i feel safe and comfortable. Its not a private school. They dont have the right to weed out students they dont want and try to manipulate me into thinking i have to do what they say. The thing is I have been diagnosed with both ADD and depression.I think my disabilities have made school very difficult since i get discouraged easily and i have to worry about both not being able to pay attention and my emotional well being. Is it not discrimination if they just eliminate a kid from their school who has disabilities? The other interesting thing is that there is less then 1% hispanics in the high school and i am hispanic but Im not sure if that has anything to do with it. Anyways can they really force me to go to an alternative school or do i have any legal rights in the matter? My parents are willing to hire a lawyer to solve this but i wanted to get some advice.Do i have to choose between not having an education or having to put up with a school that is full of troubled kids and getting harassed every day?Thank you for reading and i hope someone can help
I would consult an attorney, though I don't think there's any discrimination here.

You slept through your freshman year, and failed most of your classes. The school has a responsibility to provide interventions that will insure your success in school. What did they do during your freshman year to intervene? Did they meet with your parents? Though placement in an alternative school seems a little extreme, if they tried other interventions that didn't work, then perhaps it was an appropriate placement.

Did your parents notify the school that you were suffering from medical/emotional issues? If you were diagnosed with ADD and informed the school, then you probably would have qualified for modifications through either an IEP or 504. If not, then I don't see how the school can be faulted.

So, consult an attorney. If you can re-enroll, even in the alternative school, and get an IEP based on your disabilities, then you may have a better chance of transferring back to the original school based on least restrictive environment guidelines.
 

Humusluvr

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan
Hey everybody I need some advice on what i should do on this situation.So heres a little bit of back ground information. Im 16 years old and i recently dropped out of high school.My freshmen year in high school i failed almost all of my classes and i only managed to get 1.5 out of the 6 credits required for the whole year, alot of this was due to the fact that i was on some strong medication that made me go to sleep during school.
Wat the school nurse or principal aware of your medical condition? Did you have forms on file with the school? Was the medication prescribed by a doctor? Did it cause you to have any discipline referrals, due to the sleeping in school or mood alterations?

This caused me to fall behind in school to the point where it was nearly impossible for me to catch up with what i had missed.During the summer i received a phone call from the local alternative high school in the district basically telling me that i had to go there.
That is usually the procedure in state funded schools - when someone is missing so many credits that they are very unlikely to be able to catch up with an afterschool or saturday program, the school sends the student to the alternative school where they can catch up on credits.

So I start going to school in this new alternative high school and i realize that it was not what i had expected. The school was full of bullies and the staff were disrespectful and rude to me I just did not feel safe or comfortable going to that school. It got so bad to the point wee i decided that my only way out was to drop out because i turned 16 in october.
Did you ever discuss this with a counselor or school personnel?

The school district WILL NOT let me go back to a traditional high school which i think is absolutely ridiculous.First of all why cant i just retake freshmen classes and take upon myself to recover my credits.
Schools have to be very leary of placing older students in classes with freshmen, or young students. Sometimes, it has been shown that these older students disrupt the learning environment for younger students, or use it as a "dating pool," which can lead to statutory rape charges. Schools have to worry about that - about every student's well-being, not just yours.

It shouldnt be their call on where i go to school my parents pay taxes and i should have the right to education in a place where i feel safe and comfortable. Its not a private school.
Your parent's taxes pay for that school too.

They dont have the right to weed out students they dont want and try to manipulate me into thinking i have to do what they say.
You do have to do what they say, or you have the choice to not go back. I think this should make sense to you - schools have rules and procedures to make education possible for every student. Since you didn't follow the traditional four year path, now you don't get to go back and have a do-over. You have to follow an alternative plan.

The thing is I have been diagnosed with both ADD and depression.I think my disabilities have made school very difficult since i get discouraged easily and i have to worry about both not being able to pay attention and my emotional well being. Is it not discrimination if they just eliminate a kid from their school who has disabilities?
Was your diagnosis before or after the drop out? Did the school have an IEP for you? If they didn't know about your disabilities, or if they weren't aware of their severity, they couldn't do anything to help you.

The other interesting thing is that there is less then 1% hispanics in the high school and i am hispanic but Im not sure if that has anything to do with it.
It absolutely does not. Not from what you've posted. And if you pull the discrimination card, then be prepared for the school to refuse any additional help for you outside of the strict guidelines.

Anyways can they really force me to go to an alternative school or do i have any legal rights in the matter?
You don't have any legal recourse, but you do have options.

My parents are willing to hire a lawyer to solve this but i wanted to get some advice.Do i have to choose between not having an education or having to put up with a school that is full of troubled kids and getting harassed every day?Thank you for reading and i hope someone can help
Your best option is to put a lawyer (who would be VERY expensive) on the back-burner. Make an appointment with the principal or superintendent, and go in an intelligently plead your case. Tell them about your medical problems, ask what your options are. Fill out paperwork, make a plea to be returned to your original school. Offer to do afterschool or computer tutorials, or whatever it takes. The administration will listen to reason, but your only alternative may be the alternative school. If you WONT go there, then look into GED programs or a different alternative school for students who need to catch up, but aren't discipline problems.

You seem bright enough - usually posts in this forum from students are full of typos and grammar problems. Plead your case to them, they may listen. But don't pull a race card - that will only make them (and me) mad. I work with a 99% Hispanic population, and they are all capable of doing wonderful things.
 

funnystory

Junior Member
When i was about to get tested for the special ed was around the same time i dropped out. Why?Simply because I was getting sick and tired of going to school and having to put up with harassment and staff ignoring my problems. I have various psychiatric reports so why cant i just present them to the school to get the help I need? I honestly feel like the school is using this as an excuse to kick me out, and although you guys probably don't/won't want to believe me the school staff kept a close eye on me all year last year because they assumed i was going to start fights when i got in 0 fights my freshmen year. With that being said learning starts getting difficult when you have the staff constantly accusing you of stuff you didn't do and having to go to the principals office just because the school thinks theres going to be a fight and they assume you're behind it all the time. Also the medicine i was taking i was prescribed to and like i said previously it made me extremely tired in class. Another point i wanted to make is that there are no kids with disability at the alternative school. Im no legal expert obviously but I would assume if they just threw all the kids with disabilities into one school they would be getting discriminated against and I feel like I too am getting discriminated by getting sent to the alternative school.I know it doesn't completely justify it but having disabilities certainly has an effect on your grades whether the school likes to admit it or not. Anyways I know you guys said not to do it but why would the race card not be a good idea?Thanks again for all the replys guys I really appreciate the help!
 

Humusluvr

Senior Member
When i was about to get tested for the special ed was around the same time i dropped out. Why?Simply because I was getting sick and tired of going to school and having to put up with harassment and staff ignoring my problems.
You can't hold the school responsible for solving a problem they didn't even know about.

Specifically, did you tell the school about the medications you were taking? Did you have any forms on file with the school?

I have various psychiatric reports so why cant i just present them to the school to get the help I need?
You have to go through the proper channels. In order for the school to help you, there will have to be various counselors, special education staff, teachers, and resources that are put in place. That takes money. In order for the school to get the money, they have to fill out the paperwork, which includes paperwork from you and your psychiatrist or doctor. It may seem slow, but it's necessary. You can't just say, "I have an issue that makes me fall asleep," and they say, "OK, that explains it, let's shell out $30,000 for a resource/inclusion teacher and to remediate you." Its impossible, so you have to follow the steps.

I honestly feel like the school is using this as an excuse to kick me out, and although you guys probably don't/won't want to believe me the school staff kept a close eye on me all year last year because they assumed i was going to start fights when i got in 0 fights my freshmen year.
What made them think you were going to fight?

With that being said learning starts getting difficult when you have the staff constantly accusing you of stuff you didn't do and having to go to the principals office just because the school thinks theres going to be a fight and they assume you're behind it all the time.
What made them think that?

Also the medicine i was taking i was prescribed to and like i said previously it made me extremely tired in class. Another point i wanted to make is that there are no kids with disability at the alternative school.
With those students, they have what's called an IEP. An "Individualized Education Plan." Until you have one of those, the school has to put you in the alternative school to make up the large amount of missing credits.


Im no legal expert obviously but I would assume if they just threw all the kids with disabilities into one school they would be getting discriminated against and I feel like I too am getting discriminated by getting sent to the alternative school.
You haven't been given "disability status" with the school yet, because you haven't followed the rules and done your paperwork. Again, you can't hold the school responsible for something they have absolutely no knowledge of. Unless you can prove they knew and are discriminating against you. You haven't shown that the school knew about your disability and discriminated against you.

I know it doesn't completely justify it but having disabilities certainly has an effect on your grades whether the school likes to admit it or not.
I absolutely know that - that is why schools have programs for students with learning disabilities. You haven't shown the school that you are eligible for that program yet.

Anyways I know you guys said not to do it but why would the race card not be a good idea?Thanks again for all the replys guys I really appreciate the help!
Put yourself in the shoes of the administrators - here's how they probably see it, based on the situation you described

PRINCIPAL - There's this student who slept through his freshman year. He got all cranky with his teachers and the staff when we asked him to do his work. He failed everything. We don't know what's wrong with him. He seems like a bad kid. Since he failed everything and needs to make up all those credits, we can't help him here anymore, and placed him in the alternative school. Now he walks in an says we discriminated against him because he's Hispanic? No one EVER said anything about him being Hispanic. Well, if he's going to pull the race card - he can get a lawyer and deal with our lawyers. I'm not going to talk to this kid without a lawyer present.

And then do you see how that COMPLETELY screws you? If you put the school on the defensive, they will lawyer up, which will necessitate YOU getting a lawyer. You just made the process a lot longer, and could possibly cost yourself and your family tens of thousands of dollars in lawyer fees. All for what you could have done on your own, with some intelligent conversation and rational talk.

I have been the principal in these types of dealings with students. If you came in crying discrimination, I would no longer talk to you - my lawyer would. Then, you couldn't work out any deal with the school, because you would have to follow the alternative school plan no matter what. Bad for you.
 

funnystory

Junior Member
Humusluvr, As you seem to know alot about the situation what approach would you take if you were in my shoes. What do you think should be my first step? Thanks for the help
 

Humusluvr

Senior Member
Probably because she's AN EDUCATOR... a real life, breathing teacher. A college professor even.

however, you haven't answered her questions.
I am, I have been a teacher, an administrator, a college professor, and someone who teaches teachers to teach (how's that for a tongue twister?).

CC is right, I would have to know the answers to those questions, and then I can help you formulate a plan.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
ok, you messed up freshman year. You dropped out of the alt ed school. The school has no duty to attempt to educate a person that has dropped out. You can legally quite school at 16 in MI and they have accepted that you have done so.

If you have a valid medical issue, I suggest you work to have that diagnosed and be treated for it. After you have done that, if you believe you can actually succeed in school, I suggest you and your parents set down with the school admin and explain the problems you experienced and the remedies you are now employing to be able to bring yourself to a normal condition. You better bring medical support of the claims. You need to express a willingness to accept a somewhat rigid plan of accomplishments to be able to gauge your progress and definite actions for failure of any level up to and including expulsion.

If you are rebuffed, I suggest addressing the school board with a similar action.

Bottom line: you are going to have to prove you are not the person that slept through freshman year and quit alt ed school. You will have to admit it was not the school that failed you but you who failed yourself and are willing to prove you are not that person any longer.
 

funnystory

Junior Member
Okay my mistake here are the questions and let me answer them also I forgot to add that i am not officially dropped out since last week Im just at home i re enrolled at the alternative school and they gave me the option to do my classes online and then come back to school in january problem is i dont want to go to that school so im considering the whole ged and community college option.Anyways here are the questions HumusLuvr asked and the answers to them.
What made them think you were going to fight? I asked them why they thought i was going to fight and they said that it was because I had gotten into fights in middle school and I had bad grades and looked suspicious. Just for the record i was passing my classes in middle school, but im not sure if thats of any relevance to this issue
What made them think that? They thought i was behind it because again the school i went to didnt have alot of kids with fighting problems but i had a record from middle school
Again i was in the middle of special ed testing before i dropped out.
Wat the school nurse or principal aware of your medical condition? Did you have forms on file with the school? Was the medication prescribed by a doctor? Did it cause you to have any discipline referrals, due to the sleeping in school or mood alterations?They were aware because my parents told them but they still needed to test me and my parents sent in a letter requesting special ed help in may but they didnt want to do anything then so my parents had to wait until the next year.They didnt have it on file and yes the medicine was prescribed by a doctor. And no i never got suspended for sleeping and mood alterations not in middle school if i felt i was getting moody i would call my mom to avoid getting into trouble. Was your diagnosis before or after the drop out? Did the school have an IEP for you? If they didn't know about your disabilities, or if they weren't aware of their severity, they couldn't do anything to help you. The diagnosis was before but since the school didnt do the testing they didnt care.No i did not have an IEP.
Hope I answered most of your questions. Thank you for taking the time to read what i have to say and taking the time to respond. It is highly appreciated
 

CourtClerk

Senior Member
So in other words, they had no official notice of your medical condition. Your mommy telling them is insufficient.
 

Humusluvr

Senior Member
Okay my mistake here are the questions and let me answer them also I forgot to add that i am not officially dropped out since last week Im just at home i re enrolled at the alternative school and they gave me the option to do my classes online and then come back to school in january problem is i dont want to go to that school so im considering the whole ged and community college option.Anyways here are the questions HumusLuvr asked and the answers to them.
What made them think you were going to fight? I asked them why they thought i was going to fight and they said that it was because I had gotten into fights in middle school and I had bad grades and looked suspicious. Just for the record i was passing my classes in middle school, but im not sure if thats of any relevance to this issue
What made them think that? They thought i was behind it because again the school i went to didnt have alot of kids with fighting problems but i had a record from middle school
Again i was in the middle of special ed testing before i dropped out.
Wat the school nurse or principal aware of your medical condition? Did you have forms on file with the school? Was the medication prescribed by a doctor? Did it cause you to have any discipline referrals, due to the sleeping in school or mood alterations?They were aware because my parents told them but they still needed to test me and my parents sent in a letter requesting special ed help in may but they didnt want to do anything then so my parents had to wait until the next year.They didnt have it on file and yes the medicine was prescribed by a doctor. And no i never got suspended for sleeping and mood alterations not in middle school if i felt i was getting moody i would call my mom to avoid getting into trouble. Was your diagnosis before or after the drop out? Did the school have an IEP for you? If they didn't know about your disabilities, or if they weren't aware of their severity, they couldn't do anything to help you. The diagnosis was before but since the school didnt do the testing they didnt care.No i did not have an IEP.
Hope I answered most of your questions. Thank you for taking the time to read what i have to say and taking the time to respond. It is highly appreciated
OK, so, how old are you at this point?

How long have you been out of school?

If you were to bust your behind and do the computer classes to catch up on your credits could you do it by January? Would you be able to finish the credits to become a sophomore, and then re-enroll in your original school?

If so, I would encourage you to approach the principal, with your parents in tow, and tell them something like this -

"I know that I screwed up my freshman year. I was having a lot of problems getting adjusted to being on medication for my disorder, but I feel much better now. Through this whole experience, it has made me appreciate this school, and I know what a great education I can get here. I want to come back so bad, I will make a pledge to you. If you let me come back, I will stay up to date on my credits, stay out of trouble, and stay on my medications. I will do any testing to get my services for my disorder, and I will stick with the plan. I will graduate, and you will be proud of me. Will you give me a chance?"

And they either will or they can't. It will be in how convincing you are, and how much you want it. You have to approach this as "you guys were right, I know this school is best, and I'll play by the rules." Even if you don't mean every word you say, that's the best way to get what you want, and you would have to follow that logic.
 

funnystory

Junior Member
They have a letter written from my psychiatrist


OK, so, how old are you at this point? I am 16 years old

How long have you been out of school?ive been out of school about a month and a half

If you were to bust your behind and do the computer classes to catch up on your credits could you do it by January? Would you be able to finish the credits to become a sophomore, and then re-enroll in your original school?
Yes theoretically i can catch up my credits by January.Yes If I caught them up then i would be back on track and Im not sure if i could re enroll in my original one because i went there as school of choice I might have to go to the one im districted to.
 
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