Admin threatens my student with suspension if I don’t keep them home after an escalation
Today I had to pick up my student(17yo) early due to an escalation in which she attacked an administrator in ESY. I arrived and my student was in the hallway with a teacher and the admin holding a pad up for protection. de escalated as soon as I got there. The admin suggested to me that I should keep her home the following, day I informed her will see, then she’s threaten to suspend my student if I didn’t keep her home. I proceeded to tell her she would my hearing from my lawyers if she’s choosing to go in that direction and that I was done trying to communicate with her. I’m not really sure how the escalation occurred since I wasn’t even able to ask after she threatened suspension I didn’t want to speak to this admin anymore. We have a bit of history and she is a very dismissive condescending person who tries to belittle your concerns. I need some advice on moving forward. Should I get lawyer involved this has been an ongoing issue with this admin throwing her power around and getting suspended happy instead of trying to resolve issues. The district already has a few lawsuits against the SPED administration on another campus for similar issues.
Now a bit of a back story, this administrator (student parent liaison for sped) is new to the district and I met her almost exactly a year ago similar situation. My student has autism and a BIP, we come a long way but like any other teen during her time of the month her emotional regulation becomes difficult. It is all in part of her BIP since it’s when escalation usually occurs. Last year around ESY she had a major escalation when she attacked staff and I had to pick her up and she was suspended for 2days. I have and always been very understanding and supportive towards the SPED staff because I understand how difficult their job is and I know my student and the difficulties she has. This was a new campus, new staff, with no familiarity and as listed in her IEP new situation can be difficult for her. I was very understanding if the decision and since a trusted staff member who was her behavioral therapist was there I didn’t challenge the decision. She had had other major escalation before and never been suspended before so I honestly didn’t feel any ill intent. Fast forward to the beginning of the school year again as any parent who child had special needs starting school can take some time for adjustment. She was back at her regular campus with her teacher but all new paras. About to weeks in I can tell there is something off with her teacher she seemed more stressed than usual, as I’ve said I’ve always had a good standing with all my students teachers and paras we always communicated any issues and always worked into making a successful school year. I decided to ask her what f everything was ok, she confides in my that this new admin is making very difficult to run her SPED class and that she has voiced multiple time that their is not enough support for the level of high needs students she has. But the only response she got for lack of a better terms was just to “deal with it and make it work”. The following day I get a call that their been an incident and I need to pick up my student. I get there and get my student and proceed to ask what happened that lead up to this incident. I was told she was with a new para and where outside and when my student voiced she wanted to go inside the class room (it was a hot day upper 80s/low 90s) she wasn’t allowed because the classroom was locked due the teacher having to take her prep time. So the SPED student were locked out. My student was upset she couldn’t go to her safe space and was upset after multiple times her prompting her needs. My student threw her iPad and it hit the para. So of course she had to get medical help because she’s an older woman. This upset me because this could have been avoided. Her teacher was not allowed to intervene or notified about what was happening. They told me she was suspended for the following 2 days. I refuse to sign her suspension form because clearly her BIP was not followed. We had an emergency meeting the following day where I was informed that they had offered her another classroom to be in in the time of her request to go inside because of course what person would like to be. Outside in one of the hottest day of the heat wave we were having that week. After a lot of back and forth and the same admin that suspended her previous threatens that well “she can file charges for assault” I told her that’s that was fine the school would be found liable for not following her BIP. Because again this whole situation could have been avoided if the students where allowed to be in their classroom there for putting not only the students but staff at risk. I told them based on the Williams act, they failed the students and staff. After a lot of back and forth the head of SPED department recommended an update BIP since it had been 5yrs since her last one I agree and was notified about the deadline of time they had to do this. I was also informed that the classroom would remain open for all students moving forward and they didn’t know why the teacher had locked it. I talk to her teacher right after the incident since she wasn’t present, she told me she wasn’t even notified about the meeting, which I just assumed she wasn’t there because again they were not properly staffed and needed to be in the classroom. She was very upset about my students being suspended because she was not made aware of the situation or anything. She broke down and told me how it was the school admin that told her the students couldn’t be in their classroom classrooms anymore during her prep time and she had to take her prep without students disrupting. Before she was taking her prep in the classroom with students being present and it was never an issue. Again this a SPED Class not a regular gen ed class. She told me how this new admin was not responding to any questions f her concerns and essentially setting up for failure. And she was very concerned with her students getting enough support. I was not the only parent that had already voiced concerns about how SPED administrator’s decisions that where impacting our kids. They essentially bullied the teacher to take medical leave for the remainder of the school year because the pressure the admin was putting on her. The teacher was always a big advocate for her students and support. Fast forward to the deadline of meeting after new evaluation, we go in by this time I had already been in contact with our local support advocates who was present in the meeting. As soon as the meeting starts my first question was how the new evaluation for her BIP was going because it had already been passed the allotted time they have to complete it. The behavioral therapist looks at me and the admin and ask me what I’m taking about since there was no request to him to preform this new evaluation. I told it was requested by the head of SPED department during our emergency meeting after the suspension and that most off the staff present besides himself and the new SPED teacher where present including the admin that suspended her. The admin tried to say no request as such was made, I told her yes it was and the vice principal confirmed as well that it was.
See I had been in communication with her teacher before she took leave and she told me that she felt they were targeting high need SPED students with BIP plans because another freshman student has been suspended for 3 months because they where having a hard time adjusting and that classroom had a substitute teacher since the beginning of the school year that was not trained in working with SPEd kids and my students teacher had to float between both classes. The previous teacher was also on leave because of the same issues my students teacher was having. She felt that they were being pushed out because this new admin was very condescending and dismissive of the SPED staff. I did my research and this new admin has never had any experience with students in SPED besides her minimal interaction in her previous role in another school district. Basically her job was to come in and see where she could cut cost in the SPED department. Starting with cutting 20 para educators and reducing time for remaining paras in the school district.
Going back to the meeting let’s just say it was pointless because we couldn’t move forward since no evaluation was done therefore there was not much to discuss besides how to prevent any further escalation and how to manage. My students was doing well at this time with minor escalation that were contained and resolved. Because I was very present at school since the teacher that took over I was made aware of issues he’s had in the past. ( made to take leave for being to aggressive) one day she came home with a big bruise on her leg I took a picture of it and asked here para. She told me she didn’t know how that happened but would talk to the teacher. He told me she was hitting her own leg during one of her tough moments (my student hits her head, claps and sometimes hits her leg with her other leg when she’s having a hard time in order to let her frustration out instead of hitting other). The rest of the school year went by pretty smoothly with few escalation.
Again I communicate with her para and teacher and an always available to them whenever they might need me. (I firmly believe that we are a village and I provide and advocate for students and staff all the time)
As soon as ESY started I informed staff and her para since it once again was at a new campus that we were reach that time of month. In her BIP there is special factors. The classroom in which they set them up in is a regular classroom with desk and one big bean bag. Not at all set up for high need SPED students. They set my student up in a separate classroom/office area with just a floor matt. I didn’t say anything because it was the first week. During this time the district took away the access to YouTube from the school iPads. Which is unfortunate because a lot of the students including my own use YouTube, so I have been sending my student with her personal iPad since it’s one thing that helps her stay regulated. This year has been one of the most challenging years dealing with district administrators and I just need some advice.