Posted on 02/20/2005 3:04:50 PM PST by Graybeard58
MANITO - Tracey Peak thought Friday morning finally would be the day her two boys could ride the school bus properly supervised and without discrimination.
The 7- and 11-year-old rural Manito boys waited as their mom approached the bus first, only to be greeted by a box of latex mitts and a gloved bus monitor. Peak fought for two years to get Midwest Central School District to place a monitor on the bus, but the gloves had to go, she said.
"They are embarrassing to my children," Peak said. "I know this isn't right. I'm adamant about not putting them back on that bus."
Dakota, the youngest, has mild to moderate Down syndrome, Peak said. He wears a harness on the bus, often takes off his shoes and likes to bite his fingernails. The monitor allegedly told other children on the bus who questioned why she wore the gloves
- which prior to Friday were royal blue - that she needed to wear them for protection because the disabled boy "goobers and has germs," according to Peak.
Dakota is the only disabled student on the bus.
District Superintendent Jerry Meyer said he knew nothing of Peak's two-year plight to secure a monitor on the bus, during which time the school suggested the older child sit with his brother to prevent problems.
"We try to deal with the situation in the least restrictive environment," Meyer said, adding that's what the district's special education coordinator, Martha Willard, was doing. "We try to take measured steps."
Peak, however, said her older son should never have been pushed into such responsibility, which ultimately led to harassment by the other children on the bus who teased that he had to sit with his " 'tarded" brother.
"I just feel this is discrimination against the disabled," a frustrated Peak said. "They treat him like he's some diseased little kid. ... I think I'm right. I want it stopped. I want it stopped yesterday."
Anita Crumb, a supervisor at First Student Transportation, said she knew Peak had numerous times requested a monitor, but she believed the district's tight budget prevented the hiring.
And as far as the gloves go: "The employee has to protect herself in the environment that she is working. And the gloves are just normal-length gloves," Meyer told the Journal Star. When asked what the monitor had to protect herself from, Meyer said he couldn't answer the question without revealing information about the student's disability.
Crumb, however, said gloves are available on all the buses for any employee who wants to use them, especially in the case of cleaning up blood, vomit or a dirty tissue.
Jamie Van Buskirk, of the Heart of Illinois Down Syndrome Association and the mother of a son with the genetic disorder, said there's nothing about Down syndrome that could make the child any more germ-prone than anyone else.
"Down syndrome is not contagious," Van Buskirk said.
"My son rode the bus for a year or two, and that was not the norm," she said of gloved monitors. "There is no health reason why someone should wear gloves. Those children have the same types of colds and flus just like every other kid on the bus. I would be very offended."
Mary Tucker is the president of the group and said it is the monitor's prerogative to wear the gloves if she's protecting herself from colds and germs of all children, and if she's always worn them on any bus that she's served.
"If she's wearing the gloves to single Dakota out, I think that's very harmful," Tucker said, adding that the mother's expectations are reasonable in wanting the school and its support staff to show respect for her children.
"If she's never worn them on any other bus, that's when it looks malicious. Whether it is or isn't, it looks that way."
Peak said the boy's teachers and classmates spend the entire day by his side and even eat lunch with him, and they don't feel the need to wear gloves. The mother said she even offered to buy hand sanitizer for the monitor if it would keep her from wearing the gloves. She's also asked for the monitor to be replaced.
"Our school district will follow the special education laws and transportation laws and try to protect our employee," Meyer said about balancing the needs of a student with the safety of his staff. "It's an individual issue that we are dealing with as best we can."
If the Peak children are being harassed by other children, Meyer said the offenders will be told to stop.
Still, the superintendent said the responsibility rested with Peak to contact the bus barn and the transportation manager and take the issue up with her.
Peak and her husband, Michael, however, believe that responsibility belonged to the school district and the special education coordinator. After a discussion with school officials Thursday night, spurred by a call from the Journal Star, the Peaks thought what they deemed as "harassment" would be stopped.
The embarrassing gloves would disappear, as would, they hoped, the taunting by other students.
The "Tidy Bowl" gloves were gone Friday, Peak said, but white gloves replaced them. She loaded the boys in her vehicle and again transported them to school.
This time Peak approached Meyer about the situation. Again, Peak said she was told to contact the bus barn. Crumb contacted the mother and said, from now on, the monitor would only "wear the gloves when necessary."
Crumb said not all monitors feel the need to wear the gloves, and she understood how wearing the gloves all the time could look discriminatory.
"It was not our intent," Crumb said. "But we could understand where she was coming from."
Peak said she understands the school is underfunded and understaffed, but the problems should never have gone this far.
"I fought for two years to get this (monitor). Two years is a long time for no supervision on a bus," she said. "I have a headache and over a bus and latex gloves."
Willard could not be reached for comment Friday. Meyer said the lines of communication remain open and the district still is willing to work with the Peaks, who will try again to put the boys on the bus Tuesday.
All children get teased, except for the mean ones.
I would have gotten a lot uglier a lot faster with the district and the bus company.
The monitor needs fired. What an ignorant and cruel person she must be.
No respect for the driver either if they haven't got the human decency to prevent teasing and harassment on the bus.
There's a monitor on board. That's her job. I want the driver to concentrate on driving the bus.
It is terrible that they had to fight 2 years for a monitor on the bus and I'm glad they got one.
The big deal about the gloves is silly IMO. Her little guy probably doesn't even notice them.
Probably not but the other kids do and so does his sibling which is the problem.
I've dealt with a child being bullied on a bus and I got very little satisfaction. It was physical abuse too. I finally went to the Bd of Ed and sat in their office until I got their attention.
Did you miss the part where she told every other kid on the bus why she wore them?
I'm sure the other kids realize he's different already based on him having to wear a harness and removing his shoes on the bus.
The monitor seems to be acting petty but I don't know her reasons for wearing the gloves. As a mother, after finally getting a monitor, I would not make a big deal out of the gloves.
The woman apparently talked about the little boy to the other children as if he wasn't even there. I've seen this happen too frequently with disabled children. Teasing from stupid kids is bad enough, but when adults act like the child has no feelings and no awareness because they are disabled, it's far, far worse.
"No respect for the driver either if they haven't got the human decency to prevent teasing and harassment on the bus"
Have you ever tried to stop kids from teasing, it's immpossible.
She "allegedly" said this.
All these parents had to do is get a Lawyer (or County /city legal aid) to write a "Strong Worded" letter and Have them Invoke the STATE/FEDERAL Americans w/Disabilities Act, and "funding" or not, the problem would have been taken care of in a week.
The schools Sp.Ed. Dept. will receive emergency funds to cover the costs.
Mean time, the parents need to get off their duff and Take there Kids TO & FROM school. Especially if it is as "Traumatic" as they make it out to be (which I doubt).
It really makes you wonder, Just what else are they waiting for "Someone To Do For Them" ??? HERE IS the ONLY break I'll give them- Down Syndrome is usually harder (emotionally) on the parent than the kid-..... IMHO.
Regardless, you don't wait 2 years to make it happen.
I disagree, all it takes is some 'nads and the willingness to act instead of pretending not to see.
I've had some pathetic bus drivers and some that had military style control over their charges. I much prefer the tough guys.
After seeing the total lack of grace demonstrated by the so called monitor it's pretty obvious why there was a problem on the bus.
Children are only nasty if the adults around them allow it.
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