Autistic grandson mistreated on school bus, what do we do ?

Question

I have a Autistic grandson who said the aid was being mean to him. We contacted transportation and they said it was not true. So I put a digital voice recorder in his backpack and you can clearly hear her verbally abusing and threatening my grandson. We have called transportation, superintendent of special education and the dean of students, and no one will return our calls or help with this problem. Anyone have any suggestions. Thank you. S.L. of Taylor, MI.

Answer 1

That is so horrible.  I'm sorry to hear about your grandson's encounter with this person.  

If you don't mind the publicity...I would call the local news station and see if they would do a report on the situation.  If so, I'm sure you would get a phone call back at that point.  

Best of luck to you and your grandson.

Answer 2

Oh...this truly pisses me off!

Yank that aid! Tomorrow!

Demand a new one. Threaten to sue and tell them you have proof! Talk to his teacher call his county principal. Make a BIG ruckus. TOMORROW! DO NOT let your grandson ride the bus (if possible). AND TELL EVERYONE THAT YOU ARE FILING A COMPLAINT W/ THE POLICE!!!!

Show up to the offices of those ppl in charge! Do not let this go. My son has autism & I will beat some a$$!

Answer 3

Phone calls mean nothing to these people, because there is no trail of evidence. You need to put EVERYTHING in writing. WIthout that, you have no proof that you've contacted them and later on they'll say they had no idea.

Start with a letter to the principal, transportation director and the director of special services. Remember to stay neutral in this letter, as if a stranger would read it. those types of letters have more power than an emotional appeal.

Start by stating the facts, dear sir, my grandson  (name) attends x elementary and is serviced under IDEA as an autistic child. We have been concerned for some time about his transportation, as he has reported on the following dates that his assistant was being unkind (list dates)

We have approached you in the past to discuss this issue, and felt that our concerns were not addressed. We did place a taperecorder into (name's) backpack and are quite concerned at the information we recovered.

On (date) (aide's name) said x, y, z. This is not appropriate for any child, much less one with autism. I would like to call an emergency IEP meeting to discuss transportation issues. Until this issue is resolved, we will be providing transportation for our grandson at ¢40 per mile as reasonable reimbursement under IDEA. Please contact us within five school days with possible meeting times. Also, find attached the transcript of what has been said, as well as a copy of the tape itself.

Most sincerely

Legal guardian

(x*x) 555-xxxx

Answer 4

then i would tell them if this matter don't get handle in a good matter then i will be sueing the school, transportation; speritatdent for not doing anything., specail education, and the dean. i would threaten them with until is done about the matter. and if they still don't do anything i would just sue them and get it over with. and take that type recorder to court. on each case that u do to help u win the case

Answer 5

There are a couple of solutions that you might try.

The first, is to make a call the State Department of Education and complain to whoever is responsible for special education.

The second thing to do is to call for a new IEP meeting. They have 10 days to schedule the meeting. If they don't, then you have grounds for a due process hearing, which will be explained in the next paragraph. At the meeting, play the tape and demand that your child either be placed on another bus with a different attendant or that the attendant be replaced. Tell them you will go to a due process hearing because your child is being denied appropriate access to his education.

The third thing you might do is look at your Procedural Safeguards booklet that was given to you at your grandson's IEP meeting. This will give you the procedure for filing for a due process hearing before an administrative judge. This will really get their attention.

Under the Individual With Disabilities Act of 2004,

your child is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education, known as FAPE. Since you have already got a bus attendant on the bus, you can say that the bus attendant is not skilled and is inappropriate under FAPE guidelines. This can be the basis of your due process complaint. Do some more reading on IDEA so that you can narrow your complaint.

When you advocate for your grandson, try to stay as calm and firm as you can. It is OK to be demanding, as long as you keep it cool. Otherwise they will use a volatile attitude as a reason for not talking to you.

Answer 6

I totally agree with the first answer. Go to the local TV station. I bet that within seconds of them contacting the school that you will get the respect and attention that you and your grandson wants. Do what you need. Having a person like that anywhere near children is downright wrong and you can expose this person and the school for what they really are: uncaring and unresponsive idiots.

Good luck to you and let us know what happens.

Answer 7

I am so sorry to hear this. Maybe it will help, if you write registered letter to the superintendent with a copy sent to the dean of students and tell them, how disappointed you are at their behavior and that you are forced to get legal help to resolve this issue and their neglect. Or tell them that you plan to inform the media.

I'm sure they will call you as soon as they receive the letter.

Best of luck!

Answer 8

Missbehavior is right on the mark.  You need to call a new IEP meeting, alert the committee (of which you are a member) to the fact that your grandson is not receiving adequate transportation services, demand that he be provided with this service, and, of course, bring the tape as evidence. You can then use the record of this meeting to nail this assistant, and any coward in the administration who has been protecting her, to the f****** wall!

Someone has obviously gotten a job in special education on the "good ol' boy" system not because she was interested in performing well, let alone qualified, but because no one else is willing to do the job and some administrator's friend needed something to do.  I see this situation all the time and it makes me puke.  I truly hope you can find justice for your grandson. Lowlifes like this assistant have no place in education and are a big part of the problem with public schools in the US.

Answer 9

I think you should take more foreward action because this is a serious situation. If its happening to your grandson, it is quite possible that it is also happening to other children. Instead of phonecalls and emails, I think you should personally go down to school board and speak to who ever is in charge. They will take you more seriously. If that does not work... then I agree, you should make it public, news, radio...let your voice be heard. This is a serious issue and it could and should be stopped.