Jasper schools mistreat disabled students, advocacy group says
The Jasper County School District has mistreated and discriminated against students with disabilities, according to a legal advocacy group.
The S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center filed a complaint Tuesday with the state Department of Education alleging the district denied special-education services to disabled students -- violating the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act -- and subjected them to repeated suspensions and unnecessarily harsh discipline.
This complaint comes almost three years after the center filed a similar complaint against the Beaufort County School District -- one that resulted in an investigation and corrective plan imposed by the state department.
Appleseed attorney Amanda Adler, who also worked on the Beaufort County case, said she hopes the current case has a similar outcome.
"There are specific legal violations that we've laid out, where they flat out did not follow the law," Adler said Wednesday. "But the bigger picture is that when students are not getting the services they are entitled to under the law, that indicates a larger systemic practice that they are not doing the right thing by kids."
In an emailed statement, district spokeswoman Shellie Murdaugh said officials are reviewing the complaint and will have no further response since it is "district policy not to comment on pending legal matters."
She did say the district "strives to ensure that each special education student is provided services consistent with the IDEA requirements and other pertinent Federal and State laws and regulations."
Appleseed began looking into the district about 15 months ago, Adler said, when a parent came to them after seeing the complaint against Beaufort County schools.
The Jasper County complaint focuses on three students, though more than 10 others could be included, Adler said.
Each of the individual cases show that there were "critical times in each of these students' education that the school could either have offered more services and support to them or just kick them out," Adler said, "and this district chose to kick them out."
Adler said what made Jasper County particularly concerning was its use of law enforcement in dealing with many situations involving students with disabilities.
Karen Patterson said her son, who is one of the three in the complaint, is an example of that.
Both a private and state psychiatrist have diagnosed him with a handful of mental disabilities -- ones the school never evaluated him on despite documenting changes in his behavior, she said.
On one accasion at school, he was found with marijuana and a small pocket knife and was not only expelled but arrested, she said.
Patterson said she admits her son has had disciplinary problems, but said the district never evaluated him or provided services to help him.
"If you see a child acting out or changing their behavior, it is the district's responsibility to do something to help that child and not just kick them out because it is easier," she said. "A disservice is being done to disabled children, and hopefully the state will step in to resolve the matter and make the district do their job."
Federal law requires school districts to consider a child's disability when determining the appropriate disciplinary action. Districts are also required to develop individualized education plans for disable students in order to meeting their specific needs.
The district will have the opportunity to respond to the complaint.
It is unclear if the state Department of Education will choose to investigate. State officials did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
Follow reporter Sarah Bowman on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Sarah.
Related content:
- County schools improve procedures for disabled students, but more work needed, state says, August 11, 2013
- Advocacy groups allege Beaufort schools mistreated disabled students, June 12, 2012
This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Jasper schools mistreat disabled students, advocacy group says."