Ann Arbor students sue Michigan, district over special education

Families in Ann Arbor are suing the Michigan Department of Education and Ann Arbor Public Schools over claims of inadequate special education during the pandemic.

The complaint, filed on Wednesday, calls on a federal judge to certify the lawsuit as a class action lawsuit that would represent all Michigan students receiving special education services under the Disabled Education Act.

Similar complaints have been filed in other states, including New York. The frustration of parents and carers for schoolchildren who provide special educational services guaranteed under state and federal law has grown since the beginning of the pandemic. Families say their children have been ignored or received watered down services and lost an entire year studying.

According to the lawsuit, the four children lost all of their skills to the Ann Arbor Public Schools and went academically back when the schools closed and went online. The complaint alleges that Ann Arbor’s administrators changed the children’s individualized educational programs without notice.

It also accuses the state and school district of misusing federal funds for special schools while falsely assuring the US Department of Education that special education services would be offered.

Last summer, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the MDE published a special education guide for schools recommending that optional “recovery services” be offered to students in special education programs. Skeptics viewed the council as a way to avoid discussions about mandated services.

Spokesmen for the Michigan Department of Education and Ann Arbor Public Schools both wrote that the organizations are not responding to any pending litigation. The lawyer representing the families did not respond to a request for comment.

What the lawsuit claims

All four students, ages 7, 9, 10 and 12, have had similar experiences trying to get special needs education after the classroom school closed in March 2020.

The lawsuit alleges that the students’ IEP plans were changed without written notice or the meaningful involvement of their parents.

Blacked copies of several IEP plans are attached to the complaints. Some of the notes in these documents paint a bleak picture of how the students weathered the pandemic. In one case, documented as a note dated August 2020, a student reportedly struggled with her mental health and harmed herself.

“She refuses to even get to the computer, will run away and hide, will participate, but then turn off the screen and walk away when annoyed or bored,” the IEP document reads.

According to the Law on Education for Persons with Disabilities, pupils with disabilities are guaranteed a so-called free adequate public education. The claim alleges that students did not receive this in the 2019-2020 school year, although federal IDEA funding continued to flow into Michigan public schools.

More: Report: Michigan ranks 28th in the nation for general child welfare

More: Fowler Center, camp for the developmentally disabled, acquired by Methodist Children’s Home Society

But the lawsuit goes beyond that, accusing Michael Rice, the state school principal, the Ann Arbor principal and the head of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District of extortion by accepting federal funds and not providing adequate special school services with that money.

The complaint alleges that Ann Arbor used specialized educational resources instead to purchase personal protective equipment for employees.

The lawsuit asks the judge to order special assessments of students to determine last year’s learning loss and to ensure that students receive all recommended interventions to offset that learning loss.

Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com or follow her on Twitter @LilyAlta.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/ann-arbor-students-sue-michigan-district-over-special-education/