Can i sue my son's school for distress and lying to me?

Question

My son is diagnosed with c/p and is currently enrolled in a public school. He is assigned a paraprofessional (aide) to be with him all day, due to his disabilities. At the beginning of the school year was informed that when aide was not there I needed to keep my son home. On top of the days he's out for his own reasons, my son's out for his aides days too. I sent him to school a couple of times not knowing aide wouldn't be there, and was suprised to find out that students were the ones pushing my son around from class to class. Other times my son was told that there was no one to help him if he needed to use the restroom, making him hold on till he got home to use the restroom. The last straw was recently when I was informed aide was not at school but was assured that an assistant would be for my son, but when I showed up to school it was all lies. On top of that my son was up on the 3 rd floor with only his teacher there and she was unable to bring him down stairs..Help what can I do?

Answer 1

I have to agree with what others have said, also.   This situation sounds awful, and could be putting your son at risk,  A school can't tell you not to bring your child to school, ever.  If he's unable to be educated because staff isn't present, you can ask the special education department to make it up to you (compensatory education).  There was a time in my district when we had a severe Speech Therapist shortage.  So all those kids who didn't get therapy during they year, the service had to be made up.  When you write your letter as suggested above, be sure to ask for compensatory services (and include all the related services he may have missed).  

I don't always recommend this, but you do need to check out wrightslaw.com.  They can instruct you in removing your feelings from the situation (but boy, do I understand!) and making sure your son doesn't have to suffer anylonger, which is what you really want.  And you also don't want any other parents to go through this, either.  Wrightslaw can be difficult to navigate, but look for 'Letter to a stranger'.  This is a start to help you figure out how to lay out your concerns.  

I think if you went to due process in your state, you would win.  Go to your state's department of education website to find out how to file a complaint within the office of special education so that this can be investigated.

Answer 2

1st of all you want your son's needs met, and from what you discribe, it needs to be done right now. He has the right to go to school irregardless of the aid's absence!

I don't know who you have communicated with, the teacher, the principal, the head of special ed, the district office??

You should have a copy of your parental rights, which you should recieve at each IEP. They outline the process of addressing this, severe problem, at the district and higher, level. There should be phone numbers to start your calls.

Answer 3

Well, in the US anyone can file a suit against anyone for just about anything.  The real Q is would you WIN such a suit.

no

But why is it that everyone's remedy is to sue when things go wrong?  There has been no monetary loss, and no injury, so really there is no basis to win a lawsuit.  And even if you did, getting money is not a remedy to your situation.  What you need is a remedy.

First step, talking to the principal in his/her office and laying out your concerns and the issues that have come up.  If you are getting nowhere, then the next stop is the school board.  Go to the next meeting, or find out who the area director for your school is.  At this point you will probably have to file a written, detailed complaint.  If that gets no solution, your next stop is the state's department of education.  Keep escallating until you get results.

THEN

If y ou are still unable to get any results after exhausting those avenues - THAT is when its time to involve the legal system.  Your son absolutely has a right to a quality education.  And if you are in public schools, it is absolutely their duty to provide that.  But try the other avenues before getting involved in a legal dispute.

Answer 4

There is no sense in you, personally, suing the school.  What needs to happen is that your son's educational rights need to be protected.  You need to call a case conference and you should contact a parent advocate to come with you.  The school cannot tell you that your son must stay home when his para is not there...we do notify some of our parents when their child's para is not going to be there to give the parents the option of keeping their child at home, but this is done in cases where the child does not do well with someone other than the para they are accustomed to.  If it is written into your son's IEP that he will be provided a para for the entire school day, then that is what MUST happen.  I know from a teacher's point of view that this can sometimes be a nightmare, but there needs to be a plan in place.  Our last resort was typically to get a sub for one of the teachers and the teacher would be the para for the day.  This is not, however, your responsibility...it is the school's problem.  As far as the restroom issue, that is also something the school needs to figure out.  Again, I know how difficult it is when you have several paras out to find people that are capable of covering the restroom visits, but there must be a back-up plan.  Our administrators were asked to step in when we did not have the manpower to get it done.  In any case, these are all the school's problems to sort out.  Call a conference, get an advocate, and get back-up plans written into the IEP...this will get you what you want, suing will not.

Answer 5

i would say so, that is mean and just wrong to do that.

Answer 6

Does your son have an IEP? First, get an educational advocate. Figure out exactly what your son needs within the school setting. I would recommend putting in the IEP a plan of action for when the parapro isn't there (who will provide the services he needs to get him around school, to the bathroom, etc.)

If its in writing, they are supposed to do it by law. If they're not doing it, you can report them to the state board of education. That's why the advocate is important. Schools are afraid of them because they know the law & schools can't pull one over on them. (I'm not saying all districts are like that, but they're concerned about the budget, while you only care about your son's care.)

Call a team meeting & get that contingency plan in place for when the parapro is absent.

Answer 7

Not for distress or lying, but you could look in to Due Process for not providing an appropriate educational environment for your son. In addition, if the aide is in his IEP, they are out of compliance with federal law and that should be addressed.

The IEP should not only have that he has his own aide that will not be helping anyone else, but also contain a fire escape contingency ESP since he's on the third floor. Our school only had one floor and each child with CP had an assigned person (not the teacher) to help them in case of emergencies. Their sole job was find that child and get them out.

I would write a letter to the teacher, principal and the director of special services. I would explain rationally the events that you've shared. I would point out which parts of his IEP that they are out of compliance with, and ask them how they are going to fix this NOW. Begin the letter with

"I am writing about my son, First name Last name, at Blank School. He has an IEP providing these services, and the school is out of compliance with federal IDEA laws.

I appreciate that finding assistance is difficult, but at this point, my son's right to a free and appropriate education is being denied. He has been sent home from school because of the lack of assistance, and he has been forced to hold urine and f***s because he did not have an adult to help him in the restroom. He is relying on underage youth to transport him from class to class, which is a safety issue. Please contact me immediately to resolve these issues. Thank you very much for your time."

PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING. If it comes down to due process, parents are not allowed to testify, only their advocates, and you'll need these letters as well as letters from the school to prove your case. If they try to tell you verbally that they'll fix it, ask them for it in writing. If they tell you that they can't fix it, ask them for that in writing. If they tell you they don't have to provide services, ask them for it in writing. And look at www.wrightslaw.com.

It's ridiculous, they know better but they are s******g around because you let them. Every parent of a disabled child in public school MUST fight for services. We faced the same issue with our autistic kids.

Answer 8

you can't sue because there was no harm or suffering.  Meaning how would you put a price tag on that.  Judge would throw it out instantly.  You should go to the board of ed to figure out and make sure people who aren't communicating with you get their acts together.

Answer 9

I would discuss this with a lawyer. A lot of them have free consultations.   I'm sorry I don't know much about this, but this would really make me upset, as well.

I wish you and your son the best of luck.

Regardless of the legal side, something desparately needs to change.

Answer 10

I agree with most of the other suggestions.  Seek a lawyer who is trained in this area.  Write down everything you can remember.  Even them telling you to keep him at home on certain days is a violation against law and you are entitled to compensatory education.  This means a special education teacher will come to your home during the summers to work on the skills he may have missed developing during the school year. If he missed physical therapy, etc during those days, have those services made up, too.  If they can't prove when treatment was given, they have no record of it and can't prove it in court!

If you can not find or afford a lawyer, I'd contact the special education director by phone, email and letter detailing what you have just said.  Copy it to the principal and the superintendent and formally ask for the compensatory services and how the problems will be handled in the future. Go loud on this one. It's just plain wrong for him to be mistreated like that.

Answer 11

This is normal for schools to do this c**p, believe me.

By pass the letter writing and get straight to business --

Before you sue, by law you have to do the following. Any lawyer will tell you that you have to follow the special ed law process BEFORE they will take  your case --

1. find out how many days your child has been absent because school did not have aid.

2. Write a letter to the district special ed director requesting 'prior written notice' for the following'

a. Making your child stay out of school when school did not provide an aide

b. Refusing to provide an aid as specified by childs IEP plan.

c. Refusing to follow the IEP plan

2. Also in this letter state taht you are requestion 'compensation' for his time lost in school. ( #1 above)   IDEA law mandates this.

All these things are VERY important to do. THey have to have LEGAL reasons for doing and not doing these things. And NONE of these things are LEGAL.

So requesting the prior written notice should straighten them up (I hope)

Also go to your states department of education, under the special education section. Look for 'formal state complaint'.

There is a form you can download and print out to file the complaint.

File the complaint for these things above -- a,b, c

Do these things as soon as possible. You will throw them on their a$$es and they should straighten up in a hurry,

THE IDIOTS