Special education student possible discrimination?

[wendys8861]

What is the name of your state? CA

Maybe somebody can shed some light.

My nephew is 17 and has been a "special needs" child throughout his education due to a major hearing deficiency. He has excelled in his special needs classes and has been mainstreamed for several of his "elective" classes.

He continues to excel and achieve straight A's (even in his mainstream classes) except for one class.

In this particular class, he was doing well (a B average and no missed assignments) and all students have been paired up to work with one other partner on their projects. There are enough students in the class for each student to be partnered up. My nephew, however, is one exception. Instead of partnering him up, his teacher has made him work on all projects on his own, and allowing one of the other groups to have 3 people instead of partnering the 3rd pupil with my nephew. Because he is working solely on assignments on his own, he is forced to give up every lunch period and told to stay after school in order to get the projects done in the time allotted. Even when he does work on his lunch or after school, he is often forced to "give up the equipment" because another group of students needs to use it.

The teacher told my nephew and his mother before Christmas that he would make sure he had a partner when they returned from winter break and if he didn't, he would assign someone to him. This has not been done. When my sister approached the teacher about it, he told her "He has to do at least at least one more assignment on his own and then he might think about giving him a partner." When my sister asked why, since there were enough students for each to have a partner. She also questioned why he had to "prove himself" with an additional assignment that other students didn't have to do. The teacher simply said that it was his class and walked away.

My sister was upset and talked to the principal who said he'd talk to the teacher about it, but nothing has been done.

Last week, my nephew was struck with the flu epidemic and was out of school on doctors orders for 4 days. The day he returned, his assignment was due. He spent his lunch hour trying to complete it, but again, the teacher wouldn't let him use the equipment (it's a broadcasting class requiring specific editing equipment), because there were other students that needed to use it. My nephew reminded the teacher that his assignment was also due and since he didn't have a partner, his partner couldn't do it for him and the teacher told him he could stay after school to try to finish it. Unfortunately, this was not an option as the school is over 8 miles from his home and in a rural area, so there would be no transportation for him to get home. The teacher said that wasn't his problem and told him that he was going to fail him if he couldn't complete it.

It sounds to me that this particular teacher is acting in a discriminatory fashion against my nephew because he is a special needs student and may not be as "fast" or excel as quickly as other students. Also, the fact that he is being told he has to do extra work that nobody else has to do, is questionable.

Would you suggest going to the school board and/or superinendent or the CAlifornia board of education to file a complaint? Any other suggestions? Please advise.

Thank you.What is the name of your state?

 

[Perky]

Has your sister spoken to the director of special education at your nephew's school? She should enlist the help of the special ed team to find out why your nephew is treated differently in this class. She can also request a conference with the teacher, principal, and a special ed representative to discuss and resolve the problem.

If all that fails, then she can go to the board/superintendent/state.

I wonder if his hearing loss affects his ability to work with peers. How does he communicate with others? Does he need an aide or interpreter in his mainstreamed classes?

 

[wendys8861]

Has your sister spoken to the director of special education at your nephew's school? She should enlist the help of the special ed team to find out why your nephew is treated differently in this class. She can also request a conference with the teacher, principal, and a special ed representative to discuss and resolve the problem.

If all that fails, then she can go to the board/superintendent/state.

I wonder if his hearing loss affects his ability to work with peers. How does he communicate with others? Does he need an aide or interpreter in his mainstreamed classes?

---

Yes, she has spoken to the director of special education, but nobody seems to think there's a problem. They talk to the teacher who denies his actions and then they make her look like a troublemaker.
My nephew wears hearing aids and in one class uses a special device to assist him with hearing better.

He seems to have alot of friends and communicates well. I think that perhaps some kids don't want to work with him because he wears hearing aids and subsequently has a very, very slight speech impediment, but that's no reason for a teacher to single him out. In fact, when I was in school years ago, there were some kids that were different and pupils may have been reluctant to work with them, but the teacher ALWAYS made sure that they were treated exactly the same and if nobody wanted to work with them, the teacher would assign someone to be their partner.

Because she can't get anywhere with anyone at the school (the administrators she needs to talk to always seem to be in meetings), I suggested that she excercise her right to freedom of speech and make a sign and sit in front of the school (on pulic sidwalks, not on school grounds). I thought this might get the attention of the administrators, but I'm not sure whether the 1st amendment would allow her to do this in a non-public forum such as a school.

I think if she can't get anywhere, she really needs to contact the local school board and see if they can't put some pressure on the principal to find some time to speak with her with the teacher present to resolve this.

Thanks for your info. Much appreciated.

 

[Perky]

Because she can't get anywhere with anyone at the school (the administrators she needs to talk to always seem to be in meetings), I suggested that she excercise her right to freedom of speech and make a sign and sit in front of the school (on pulic sidwalks, not on school grounds). I thought this might get the attention of the administrators, but I'm not sure whether the 1st amendment would allow her to do this in a non-public forum such as a school.

If your sister already feels that she is viewed as a troublemaker, then I absolutely would not suggest the sign!

If she is unable to schedule a meeting with all pertinent parties (including son) then the school board is the next logical step. My experience with school boards is that they will defer to the superintendent, and he/she may defer to the principal, meaning that she may get nowhere with them. But it is worth a try.

Your sister could also visit the classroom to see what's happening, although her son may object.

As a last resort, she could contact a lawyer who specializes in violations of the IDEA. Although your description of events sounds discriminatory, I don't think it's possible to say without knowing more about the specifics of your nephew's IEP, the class assignments, etc. A lawyer may be able to sort that out for her, and it would certainly get the district's attention in a major way!

 

[las365]

I suggested that she excercise her right to freedom of speech and make a sign and sit in front of the school

That sounds like a good way to make her kid feel humiliated.

There is always more than one side to a story, and it seems strange that the parent/student's account is so at odds with the teacher's and the school doesn't seem interested in investigating to find out what is really going on.

Instead of partnering him up, his teacher has made him work on all projects on his own, and allowing one of the other groups to have 3 people instead of partnering the 3rd pupil with my nephew...
The teacher told my nephew and his mother before Christmas that he would make sure he had a partner when they returned from winter break and if he didn't, he would assign someone to him.

These two things don't make sense together. I can't help thinking there is something going on that your sister isn't aware of.

 

[notsmartmark]

OCR complaint

If the boy's mother feels her son's accounts are correct, she should file an OCR (Office for Civil Rights) complaint.

"OCR's authority to resolve complaints extends to allegations of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in public and private programs that receive Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education. These include most schools and colleges and some other entities such as vocational rehabilitation agencies and libraries."

This is the appropriate resolve, and it will get everyone's attention. His mother could, and possibly should, inform the Principal and Director of Special Services that she will file an OCR complaint if it isn't resolved, including reviewing posted grades that were discriminatory.

The above quote was pulled from OCR's website. The following website will bring you to the complaint form.
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html

 

[GaAtty]

GaAtty

This child should either have what is called a Section 504 plan, or an IEP. A Section 504 plan is created at a meeting which is called a Student Support Team meeting. The meeting, which is between the parent and any necessary school staff, such as the teacher involved, or the principal, figure out what accommodations the child needs in order not to be discriminated against because of his disability. It is called a "Section 504 plan" because it comes from the Rehabilitation Act, Section 504. The Rehabilitation Act is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against anyone in a program receiving federal funding. In this case, one of fhe things that should be put on there is that he get longer time on projects. It might also be longer time on tests. It could be longer time to make up things he has missed if he is out of school, or being able to sit closer to the teacher if hearing is a problem.

The other thing he could have is an IEP, which is developed at a meeting with the parent and certain required school staff members. An IEP means "Individualized Education Plan", and it is developed according the federal law called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and this law applies to children with disabilities who have not graduated from high school or are under age 22. An IEP is used if the student needs more than the 504 plan can provide. Usually this means the student needs forthe information to be presented with more modifications that a 504 permits.

It makes no sense that you say this child "has always been a special needs child", and yet he does not have either a "504 plan" or and "IEP". If he is "special needs", then he has one or the other. The place to call attentiion to his need for more time is one of these meetings. The parent can all one of these meetings any time the student is having problems. So, right now seems to be the time. If for some reason, this "special needs" student does not have an IEP or 504 plan, then it is time for the parent to call one by contacting the principal or the special ed director and telling them what kind of meeting she wants to call.

The school board does not deal with these things, and would just send her back to the special ed department or the school. This is standard and routine stuff for a 504 team or IEP meeting. I really don't understand why this parent is not familiar with all of that, but the proper place to address these concerns is in such a meeting. Then if she doesn't get what is needed, she does an appeal.

She should put her request for a meeting in writing, and stop trying to call these people. She should have some way of proving the date she requested the meeting, because the school is required by law to have a meeting within a certain number of days of her request.

 

[GaAtty]

GaAtty

This child should either have what is called a Section 504 plan, or an IEP. A Section 504 plan is created at a meeting which is called a Student Support Team meeting. The meeting, which is between the parent and any necessary school staff, such as the teacher involved, or the principal, figure out what accommodations the child needs in order not to be discriminated against because of his disability. It comes from the Rehabilitation Act, Section 504. In this case, one of fhe things that should be put on there is that he get longer time on projects. It might also be longer time on tests. It could be longer time to make up things he has missed if he is out of school, or being able to sit closer to the teacher if hearing is a problem.

The other thing he could have is an IEP, which is developed at a meeting with the parent and certain required school staff members. An IEP is used if the student needs more than the 504 plan can provide. It comes from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is also called IDEA. Usually this means the student needs for the information to be presented with more modifications that a 504 permits.

It makes no sense that you say this child "has always been a special needs child", and yet he does not have either a "504 plan" or and "IEP". If he is "special needs", then he has one or the other. The place to call attentiion to his need for more time is one of these meetings. The parent can all one of these meetings any time the student is having problems. So, right now seems to be the time. If for some reason, this "special needs" student does not have an IEP or 504 plan, then it is time for the parent to call one.

The school has a limited period of time in which to respond to the parent's request for a meeting. If the people she wants to see are always in meetings, it makes no sense that she hasn't requested this in writing. She needs to do this request in writing, and document the day she delivered it or mailed it to the school. If she doesn't get what she wants in the meeting, then she can appeal.

Forget the school board. The 504 plan and IEP plan are designed to deal exactly with this. The school board is not.