FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Charges
Filed Against Lone Hill Middle School,
“A California Distinguished School” and the
Bonita Unified School District on Allegations of:
1. Discrimination Against Children Identified with Attention Deficit
Disorder,
2. Refusal to Notify the
Divorced Parent of a Special Education Meeting whereby his son’s
Individual Education Program (IEP) was waived with neither the
knowledge, nor consent of that child’s father – even though that
father had full joint legal custody of his student. This IEP had been
written at the child’s previous school district a mere 4 ˝ months
prior to the time Bonita USD nullified that document. The father first
learned of this situation nearly eight months later.
3. An attempt by the
school’s administration to railroad a lesser special education program
without reinstating the previous IEP.
4. Lack of compliance with
Title II of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to
provide an environment in which all children with Attention Deficit
Disorder are able to reap the full benefits available to other children
because of the “open classroom” setting of the school. This harmful
environment is created by the bizarre and aberrant architectural design
of the school that results in excessive noise throughout every
classroom. At a meeting held at the school on Tuesday, October 23, 2001,
a Lone Hill Middle School administrator indicated that, “we don’t
have any quiet places at this school, perhaps (the child) needs to be
placed elsewhere.” The American Society for Ethics in Education (ASEE)
further believes that there may be violations of the Federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that allows the ADD child to be
eligible for protection under that act thereby enabling these children
to receive services covered by an IEP. It is believed that Lone Hill
Middle School and/or Bonita Unified School District are intentionally
trying to prevent children from being fully protected by federal laws by
demanding that parents agree to obtaining special education services
under the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Children who
have been identified with ADD/ADHD are protected by §300.7(c)(9)(i) of
the IDEA under “Other Health Impairment.” This law states
that,
“Other health impairment
means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a
heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited
alertness with respect to the educational environment, that—
(i) Is due to chronic or
acute health problems such as .
. . attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder . . . ; and
(ii) Adversely affects a
child's educational performance. “
Parents need to be aware
that protections afforded under IDEA, in comparison to Section 504,
generally demand more specific details regarding interventions provided
to students with disabilities (such as ADD/ADHD), have stricter
guidelines as to what a school district must do to ensure that student
rights are protected, and provides parents with a stronger safety net to
fully participate in the educational decisions regarding their students.
As noted, two complaints
have already been filed regarding the allegations listed above with the
United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR),
including one filed on behalf of all students identified with ADD/ADHD
at Lone Hill Middle School, “A California Distinguished School.”
Additional complaints are currently being written that will be filed
with California Department of Education, Special Education Division.
ASEE is seeking other parents of students at Lone Hill Middle School
and/or within the Bonita Unified School District, who have faced similar
problems, to join in on the complaints that have been filed with OCR.
Parents should note that, should they decide to do so, their
confidentiality is ABSOLUTELY ASSURED and that is a violation of Federal
Law for OCR to disclose their names to the district.
Parents wishing to protect
their children from further harm should contact Teach4Kids@edethics.org
