Sassenach

Can a school’s safety procedures interfere with a child’s special education rights ? Example, my son made “terroristic threats” on the second day of school. Two warning signs in the BIP were missed before this situation escalated. He has an IQ of 68, developmentally is 6-9 years old. Lots of diagnoses that the school is well aware of. Prior to school starting, I explained in great detail that my son had been unable to take ADHD meds since April due to stabilizing his mental health after 2 inpatient stays, plus he had a major concussion over the summer as well. My son was handcuffed and sent to a diversion center overnight and we had court recently where he has to follow a consent decree, and basically be perfect for six months and not have a disability. It’s so obvious he doesn’t comprehend things like the average 13 year old. In court the SRO that detained him and the AP he threatened, both snickered at my son’s questions and statements. After the six months, all charges are dissolved so long as there aren’t any issues. The MDR found his disabilities were the cause of his behavior but the school still wanted him punished. I questioned admin as to why this was allowed to happened and I was told it was due to the school’s safety procedures. I pushed more for answers. The sped director decided an administrative meeting with immediate supervisors was needed. That is to take place this week.

Yes, I am in the process of drafting a letter to the ACLU. He was represented by the juvenile court appointed attorney. We signed a consent decree which basically gave him six months of probation in a sense. The other option of pleading not guilty was going to involve him being evaluated by a marriage and family counselor that did not have extensive experience with pediatric mental health. We had heard this particular therapist often sided with the DA and the courts, so we didn’t want to go that route and subject him to further extensive punishment. The DA had no interest in looking at the manifestation determination review or the nine page threat assessment. If he follows all of the rules after six months, all of the charges will be dropped and he will have a clear record. I don’t trust the school will do what’s required to help him stay on a good path. At home, he will have no trouble following the rules because we typically don’t have a lot of big behaviors at home. We are able to redirect him and help him calm down. I am currently looking for a special education attorney and also chatting with our state advocacy group to see how to best meet his needs.

He has not been in the school since the second day of school (early Aug) I was able to call the state dept and got clarification I needed. We are planning to meet soon to make adjustments to the IEP. I have been asking for extra supports for years only to be ignored or brushed off. Now my son is paying the price - he was “arrested” by the SRO and spent the night in a juvenile diversion center with kids in gangs and others accused of assault, etc. My child watches Disney movies and Barbie. He has a ID and a host of other disabilities. This entire situation is maddening but at this point homebound is his safest option while he’s under supervised “probation” of sorts for 6 months. I do not trust the school will keep him from being sent back to court or the diversion center.

Each teacher is covering specific subjects. Good idea about calling the state dept. I’ve asked a few sped teachers I know in our state and I got varying answers.

Our child is receiving homebound services due to a suspension that resulted in juvenile probation. We mostly wish to keep our child out of trouble until the probation period is over. We will meet to extend homebound services but for now services will continue until next month. My question is - does the teacher providing the services have to be a certified teacher ? Our child has two teachers - one is a certified sped teacher. The other is not. Is there some sort of loophole the school is using ?

We do have an advocacy center that has been helpful. I have called them several times. The school cancelled the DP since the MD clearly showed his disabilities caused his behavior. The school is not willing to drop the charges and the DA wouldn’t look at the 9 page threat assessment done by the LPC the school uses (and is now my son’s new LPC). The DA also refused to look at the medical information from seven medical professionals.

Yes! This is exactly what happened. Thankfully the IEP team agreed his behaviors were a manifestation of his disability. He will be homebound for a few months until we get find an appropriate ADHD medication and the pending court case is held. We will also amend his IEP and he’ll get a paraprofessional - finally! I’ve been asking for years. I am also pushing to get his case dismissed but no one seems to know how to do that. I will keep texting and calling. For now, I’m pleased with how things went. I’m beyond frustrated it took my son being arrested and sent to juvenile jail for him to get the help he needs though.

We did receive a letter that states the hearing is due to breach of code or conduct and he’s been suspended - threatening others and staff, disrupting school environment. I’m assuming depending on what happens at the MDH will determine what happens with the DPH - expulsion, further suspension (he’s not been in school for 11 days already due to the meetings being pushed back twice), alternative school

My child has an intellectual disability (iq is 70), anxiety/depression, ADHD, developmental trauma, DMDD, recent TBI, possible FASD (he’s adopted so we have no info on bio family). He’s had an IEP since 3rd grade, BIP since 6th and is currently in 8th grade. He’s always had behavior concerns and medication has been helpful. Unfortunately he’s unable to take ADHD meds at the time due to stabilizing his emotions and mental health. He’s done two inpatient treatments in the past four month for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. He had a major concussion and had to be life flighted to a level one trauma center due to an accident two months ago and his behaviors have become worse. The school is aware of the accident and inpatient treatments and his inability to take ADHD medication at the time. I always email to keep them aware of his behaviors, med changes, appointments etc. He sees a psychiatrist, psychologist, a counselor and I brought him a neurodevelopment exposure clinic to see a group of specialists. He’s had two rounds of genetic testing and he’s seen a pediatric neurologist who ordered an MRI of his brain (prior to the concussion). His psychologist and the specialists we saw at the neurodevelopment clinic all reported he’s easily triggered by school work that’s too difficult for him to complete. He shuts down. He elopes. He is also the kid that others pick on and agitate bc they think it’s funny for him to get mad, use profanity, break his glasses, etc. He blows up and shuts down or leaves the room. His fight/flight response is definitely there. He’s commented he is the one that gets in trouble at school but other kids get away the things they do to him. Due to his cognitive disability, impulsiveness and DMDD, he is unable to draw on the appropriate response or coping skills in the moment. He can later see what he did wasn’t appropriate and he can tell us what he should’ve done instead but in the moment, he is not able. The school is aware of this as well. On the second day of school there was an incident at school where he became very angry at another student that had put his hands on my son. He made inappropriate threats against the other student and once he got called into the office, he continued threatening others, tearing up the principal’s office. He’s never done this before. The SRO placed him in handcuffs and he was sent to juvenile court, and then sent to the diversion center (aka juvenile jail) overnight. He was released back to us the following day and we have a court date next month. The school has scheduled a manifestation determination hearing next week and a due process hearing that will depend on what is found at the MDH. I’m confused about what to expect at the DPH since we did not request it. I have tons of evidence from every medical professional he’s seen, emails to staff and admin, attorney’s letter from when the school was in non-compliance of his IEP two years ago, his BIP which outlines warning behaviors that he displayed that day and were missed, letters where I’ve requested a paraprofessional several times, letters where I’ve asked to change his exceptionality from SLD to ID, etc. This whole ordeal has been beyond traumatizing for a child that has already experienced developmental trauma, a child who’s intellectual disability and emotional age have him functioning around age 7-8, actual age is 13. For reference, we don’t see a lot of these behaviors at home bc we can easily deescalate him, we guide him as best we can when he’s frustrated, and we don’t do things to intentionally agitate him. When the school calls a due process hearing due to placements (expelled, suspended ?) what should I expect? I realize most of it is hinged on what is decided at the MDH.