Well it was my takeaway too! I went thru Hell in public school too, and had parents who could have easily afforded at the very least a decent Catholic school but who didn’t want to make helping me that way a budgetary priority. (Luckily no one ever prescribed me anything because I was a quiet, respectful girl with decent grades. I never fought back because I was small and knew I’d get creamed, so I just had to take it for 12 years. Had I been a boy you bet I would have defended myself!)
Anyway...nothing like passing the buck when your child’s sanity is on the line. Sounds like the only thing wrong with the poor boy was that he was transferred to an environment full of douchebags and no one ever thought to get him out.
That’s my take too. I went through hell in fifth grade but was too terrorized to say anything. It sounds like Jesse’s main problem was his father.