Posted on 04/23/2003 7:28:37 AM PDT by pray4liberty
Parent Group Blows the Whistle on Delaware School District
Parents allege discrimination of special education, minority and low-income white students
Members of a parent watchdog group, Parents Advisory Council Team (P.A.C.T.) has reported the Appoquininink School District of Odessa, Delaware to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, alleging noncompliance with special education IEPs, racial discrimination, and misuse of zero tolerance to target and expel low-income white students and minority students that school administrators do not like.
The parents and children span racial, cultural, socioeconomic and political lines.
The parents claim the school district is abusing their power and authority and betraying the trust of parents and taxpayers. They allege the District is taking an active role in destroying the future of their children by harsh and discriminatory discipline practices. Some of the children were on the honor roll and participants in the JROTC program.
"These are good kids and they are trying to ruin them," says Marie Wagenaar, mother of one of the JROTC students who was expelled. "They are trying to close the door on a military career for some of these kids whose parents don't have the money to send them to college."
Nonetheless, high school and middle school students have been suspended and eventually expelled for minor and non-violent offenses. Disturbingly, school officials have the authority to turn over unsworn witness statements to the New Castle County police and Family Court for criminal prosecution. The parents say their children are never read their rights when arraigned and are further traumatized by being stripped of their coats and shoes and handcuffed to a wall, in an unheated, locked cell, at the New Castle County Police Station in Middletown.
They allege the school district is taking an active role in creating a community of high school dropouts, some as young as 14, with police records that are undeserved.
We have been told by Kittie Rehrig, Supervisor of Student Services, that as far as she was concerned, "expulsion is not good enough," say two of the mothers. "Is this what she means?"
Several parents have turned to homeschooling rather than have their children forced to attend the alternative education program at the New Beginnings school in Wilmington.
The parents allege violations of the children's civil and Constitutional rights to due process and the right to a free public education specified in State law.
P.A.C.T.'s website is http://totallyunjust.hypermart.net
Appoquinimink School District website is: http://www.apposchooldistrict.com
Office of Civil Rights: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/index.html
I EXPECT PREFERENCE
As often as not, these kids refuse to do any work because the system says they don't have to.
Obviously, she was in a no-win situation. They tried to accuse her of lighting and throwing it and couldn't prove it, but they expelled her anyway. The girl is bi-racial and the daughter of a Vietnam veteran.
Here is an excerpt from the Hearing Officer's report. Get ready to laugh, it's ludicrous.
"she picked up a smoking firecracker and threw it in the cafeteria. In so doing she put other students at risk of injury. (??) If she did not light the firecracker, the prudent act would have been to move away from it and encourage others to do the same. Her action was a Level IV violation of the District Discipline Code."
The point is, she eliminated the "risk" by getting it away from herself and other students, but obviously that didn't count! The "risk" was there whether she did anything about it or not. These people will go to any length to expel, even to the point of breaking the law, and parents are finding this out.
They've been targeting other Honor Roll JROTC students too. These kids are not trouble. Makes you wonder.
The bad part is that these good students are getting police records for disorderly conduct and all sorts of nonsense on these trumped-up charges. The Middletown High School has a cop that is absolutely out of control, to the point of abusing some of the children. They have things so locked up in this State that no one is held accountable even if you do complain.
God willing, OCR will do something. Somebody has to.
Part of it is the DSTP, and part of it is the "No Child Left Behind" Act which rewards schools with more money for high performance. Of course, this works in the opposite way in which it was intended, as the No Child Left Behind act didn't figure in human nature and the law of unintended consequences.
They could be throwing out the good students so that the alternative programs will get high ratings, too.
It's a scam.
You can do it here!
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/complaintintro.html
It doesn't take much for a kid to become a special education student with the need for an IEP. Kids get injured and disabled every day, bike and car accidents, for example. People don't ask to become disabled. People don't ask to be born disabled. Have a heart.
IEPs are also doled out by the boatload for behavioral issues.
I've been in the classroom and I've watched it. I know it, so I don't argue it. It's asking me to deny what I've seen with my own two eyes.
If you have any suggestions on how to deal with bullying principals and stonewalling supervisors, it would be welcome.
Then you have a more accountable, closer to home local board of education. You can even replace old administrators.
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