Charter School Sued Over Denying Special Ed Students Services

Sorry for the heavy NY focus today, but lots of news. Happy Friday.

Special education students at a Brooklyn charter school did not get mandated services and were punished for behavior that arose from their disabilities, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday. The suit, filed on behalf of five students at Achievement First Crown Heights, described a “systemic failure to provide them a free appropriate public education, in violation of their rights."

Dottie Morris is among the parents
suiding the charter school.

It said that students did not get physical therapy and other services for weeks at a time, and that a student with autism was disciplined for not looking in the direction a teacher instructed or for hiding under his desk.

Former Teacher's Aide Claims Special Ed Principal Abused Students

HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — A former teacher's aide denied tenure by Rockland BOCES is suing his former employers, claiming the principal of a special-education program physically and verbally abused students and later fired the aide for reporting the conduct.

Kenneth Egan

Kenneth Egan said he recorded Principal Kimberly Taylor at the Hilltop School special-education program in June 2011 as she allegedly berated students, cursed and called one of them the R-word during a graduation rehearsal with 250 students present.

Parents to Sue Connecticut School in Autism Case

CHESHIRE, Conn. -- The parents of an autistic child are planning to sue the town, its school system and several of its employees, charging that district officials during each of the last two years caused their son’s condition to regress.
Norwalk attorney Anne Treimanis filed notice with the town on July 26 that a town family is planning to file suit.
Treimanis’ letter claims that several incidents at Highland Elementary School in Cheshire over the past two school years “caused significant injuries and damages” to the boy, who is now 9 years old.

Families of Children With Autism Sue Over Therapy Cut

LOS ANGELES -- Families of autistic children in eastern Los Angeles County filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday against the nonprofit agency that provides them with state-funded services, alleging that it had illegally discontinued their therapy for the disorder.
The agency, the Eastern Los Angeles County Regional Center, informed more than 100 families late last summer that the therapy — known as the DIR model, or “developmental, individual difference, relationship-based” — was being eliminated for their children because of state budget cuts.
The therapy is the basis for a popular treatment known as Floortime, in which a therapist follows a child’s lead during play activities to build communication and social interaction skills.

Student With Autism and Service Dog to Attend New School

An autistic boy who won a temporary court order to bring his service dog to class in his hometown school district Monday will instead be starting at a new school Wednesday nearly a half hour away.
Carter Kalbfleisch, 5, and his service dog, Corbin, will begin classes at the Illinois Center for Autism in Fairview Heights instead of his former pre-kindergarten special education class in the Columbia School District, said his father, Chris Kalbfleisch.
The remedy adds thousands of dollars to the cost of Carter’s education, with the district and the state picking up the tab. But while the district said it will pay for Carter’s transportation, it will not pay for the service dog to travel to the new school. The parents will instead have to drive the two to and from school.