They Have Broken His Spirit: The Strauss Family, Gering, Nebraska
I have been bullied on
several occasions by the Gering Public School system and have been referred
several times to the County Attorney. My
son has a mental health disorder and on several occasions had medication
changes. He also had surgery for a
broken/injured hand several times. All his excuses were approved by me so I did
not agree with the court documents stating he was truant.
My son is now in high school,
17 years old, on an IEP, medication changes,
and just struggles walking in that
door. His self esteem is zero,
and the lip service the school gives me about working with my child is so old. The threat of turning us into the County Attorney
came up again in our meeting last week.
I hope that this group can
continue their work regarding parental rights and the right of the parent to
decide what is best for their child. I actually had the County Attorney tell me
regarding my son's surgery on his hand that I could have sent him to school. I explained that he was under the influence of
Vicodin; she stated that as long as it was a medication with a prescription
that he should have been attending.
I am considering filing the
paperwork to let my son drop out of school. I simply do not feel that he is
getting an education and being treated fairly by a school system that my tax
dollars support.
The principal informed me
that I cannot take him out of school until he is 18 and that by law he has to
file documents with the County Attorney.
From my research, I’ve discovered that I can sign documents and complete
an exit interview, at which time I present my reasons in front of the school
board for taking him out of this school.
This whole situation is
unfortunate as he is entitled to a free public education. There has simply been
too much history and terrible experiences related to his education and IEP
processes, and of course the school's one-sided documents to support, as they
say, "bending over backwards" to educate my child. It’s simply not true.
Regardless of my situation
and decisions I make, the truancy law as written continues to put undue
pressure on good parents, and leave children frightened about a system that
they do not understand. These are kids
who have normal teenage problems; they are not criminals.
Parents need to be able to
make the best decisions related to their children. There are so many frightened parents that
have to sit and listen to a County Attorney tell them there is no reason at all
for a child to miss school. The County
Attorney also forces the parents to sign an attendance document that states
that they are guilty of truancy even if they have shown documents of why the
child missed.
I asked about this form and why
I needed to sign a document admitting my son was truant, even though he’s not. I presented the County Attorney with
notarized documents and pictures of my son’s surgical repair, as well as dates
of his appointments. She didn’t care
about any of his medical problems and she didn't even want to look at what I
gave her. It was during this meeting
that she informed me that I should have sent him to school even though he was
recovering from surgery and taking the pain killer Vicodin.
I am tired of this. I have had four long years of bullying by the
Gering Public Schools. Four long years
of my son not being educated. Four long
years of this school not honoring his IEP and bullying him to the point of his
mental health becoming worse. He now has
no self worth, and zero confidence. The public school used the truancy law to
bully me further, as they stated they are mandated by law to turn it over to
the county attorney. I know that’s not
true, because the law requires provisions for sick kids, which our school
district isn’t following. I didn't have
to go in front of a judge, but DHHS was called and that is just as frightening.
I have a son with an Axis 1
bipolar disorder. He has had many ups
and downs with his illness, many medication changes and a big target on his
back. He has made some teenage mistakes,
like lots of people do. He has taken
responsibility, and answered for those mistakes. I can't help but think that some of this is
related to the “bad boy” label that the school gave him and they’re using the
truancy law to punish him further, even though he has never skipped
school. They have broken his spirit.
Part of me wants to make the
school honor his IEP and educate him. I
have been threatened once again with being referred to the County Attorney because
my son changed medication after sinking into a deep depression. He is stable
now and has an adjusted school schedule. Simply put, he cannot continue to walk
through those doors five days a week. After all the abuse by the school, and now the
County Attorney, he just experiences too much anxiety and a very real feeling
of spiraling downhill again.
It’s been very hard for him,
and for me.
I am a college graduate and a
social worker. I have 19 years of
experience working with individuals and families in various agencies. The
majority of my career has included working with mental health consumers. I know without a doubt the way my son is being
treated by the school and County Attorney is harming him, not helping him at
all.
I have heard so many stories
related to public schools and violations of IEP's. The truancy law has added
yet another stress for parents and youth, and another way for schools to hurt
kids with special needs, this time with the threat of law enforcement and
DHHS. This is wrong and it needs to be
changed for the sake of our kids.
I have also had my son
express suicidal ideations, the majority of his depression triggered from
school issues.
How many families are out
there who don’t know how to advocate for their child? I am sure there are many. Bless you for your tireless work and being a
voice for parents.
Becky Strauss
Gering Public Schools
January 30, 2014
This is atrocious, how many good children are being adversely effected by this badly written law.
ReplyDeleteI think it's time for a call to the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. All parents who feel as though schools are breaking federal law by violating our denying IEPs should contact the NFF or me (the Family Advocacy Movement), to help organize the communication with Bazelon.
ReplyDeleteEven if the truancy law gets amended, thousands of families and children are already harmed and have been subjected to this outrageous and violative treatment. It must stop.