Legal options for addressing a disruptive child

[Anonymous]

Is anyone close enough with the parents to discuss this with them before involving the police or other legal action? It is possible that they aren't aware of what is going on? At our elementary school, the school counselor and principal generally do not call the parents regarding complaints made against their child. I know of one family who heard at the end of the school year that other kids had been complaining all year about their child disrupting class, etc. The family was very upset that they weren't notified earlier. As other pp's said, the teachers, counselors and administrators are not going to discuss a particular student's situation with you or other parents who complain. Also, when you do talk to the school, you need to frame it as "my dc can't concentrate in class, or my dc feels threatened." If you just go in with a list of all of this child's faults, you won't get anywhere. A final option would be to go above the principal to the community superintendent (I believe each area has one). Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Obviously this disruptive child's needs are not being met by the school. A child who is properly supported would not be acting this way. Why not call the school and ask them to get special education involved and properly support this child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously this disruptive child's needs are not being met by the school. A child who is properly supported would not be acting this way. Why not call the school and ask them to get special education involved and properly support this child?

My child was a disruptive force.
We had outside evaluations done and he needed special ed services. Local school was not inclined to support until higher / central level became involved. What a difference it has made. I offer this to say, this child (and family) may need help. And helping the child will in turn help all the classmates who are suffering the daily disruptions etc right now. Reach out to the family and support them in having their child assessed (functional behavior asssessment at a min.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only children in the class who have a right to a free and appropriate public education are students with disabilities. If the class had a teacher who showed movies or let kids have free time every day all day, a parent could complain but wouldn't be entitled to anything unless their child had an IEP. The student with an IEP could sue and could get compensated if there was proof the student did not make progress. If several parents are upset about the disruptive kid, the parent who will be taken seriously will be the one whose kid has an IEP. That parent could call an IEP meeting and complain their child's progress is being affected by the disruptions.

You're so right, we parents of children with disabilities are really on top of the world. We have it all. We enjoy the best of both worlds, a child with severe problems and a right to complain, and do nothing whatsoever. We really are just sitting back and sitting pretty. Laughing it up. It's a blast. Really, we are the envy of all, aren't we.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously this disruptive child's needs are not being met by the school. A child who is properly supported would not be acting this way. Why not call the school and ask them to get special education involved and properly support this child?

My child was a disruptive force.
We had outside evaluations done and he needed special ed services. Local school was not inclined to support until higher / central level became involved. What a difference it has made. I offer this to say, this child (and family) may need help. And helping the child will in turn help all the classmates who are suffering the daily disruptions etc right now. Reach out to the family and support them in having their child assessed (functional behavior asssessment at a min.)

What kind of evaluations did you have done? I'm asking because our son, who is in first grade, is having problems with behavior in school and as much as we've tried to work with the school and try to find ways to stop the behaviors, they continue. We don't know what to do, but the school isn't acting like it's a major deal. I had a meeting with the principal, teacher and counselor and they all seemed to think it was typical 6 year old behavior. I've worked in the school system and know that his behaviors are not "typical." We just don't know where to take him to get evaluated and don't know what to get him evaluated for.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend you get a developmental pediatrician assessment and/or a neuropysch evaluation. Does your child have any other signs of developmental issues?

[Anonymous]

I'm 14:09--for 17:33. Quite frankly, schools downplay behavioral issues because they eligibility process for an IEP is very difficult here. If in your gut, you feel there is a problem, continue to pursue evaluations.

[Anonymous]

OMG, the whiplash.

The thread started off asking what the rest of the parents (aka, 'the overwhelming majority') could do to ensure their children got an adequate education. They were not receiving one due to the antics of a child who may be SN.

In record time, the thread gets co-opted by the SN crowd and the New, Improved Theme is, how can the one SN child receive an adequate education? What more can we do for HIM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously this disruptive child's needs are not being met by the school. A child who is properly supported would not be acting this way. Why not call the school and ask them to get special education involved and properly support this child?

You're an idiot.

Schools are not substitutes for parents and a supportive home life. There's only so much that an be done for children who come in hungry, abused, neglected, you name it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously this disruptive child's needs are not being met by the school. A child who is properly supported would not be acting this way. Why not call the school and ask them to get special education involved and properly support this child?

You're an idiot.

Schools are not substitutes for parents and a supportive home life. There's only so much that an be done for children who come in hungry, abused, neglected, you name it.

Not the PP, but I think you are mis-reading the statement. When the PP mentioned "support," I believe he/she means IEP type support in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, the whiplash.

The thread started off asking what the rest of the parents (aka, 'the overwhelming majority') could do to ensure their children got an adequate education. They were not receiving one due to the antics of a child who may be SN.

In record time, the thread gets co-opted by the SN crowd and the New, Improved Theme is, how can the one SN child receive an adequate education? What more can we do for HIM?

The SN crowd? Really? I pray that your child never has any sort of problems of any kind, because your statement is pure ignorance.

Anyways, the IEP designation would not only help him, it would help the entire class. It would give the teachers a legally approved protocol to deal with him. It may even lead to the school making accomodations for him outside of the class with the other kids.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the prior pp. The kinds of accommodations a special needs child can get in an IEP do help the entire class. If a child needs more help in math and is keeping the rest of the class from progressing, he/she can be pulled out and have math with the resource teacher. If the child at issue talks during tests and distracts other kids from doing their best, the IEP can stipulate that this child take his tests alone in a room with a para. There are more but I think you get the drift. Without an IEP -- a legal document -- none of these types of accommodations can be implemented and both the special needs child and the rest of the kids in his/her class are adversely affected. And please don't refer to us as the SN crowd. We understand where you are coming from and we don't want our child's situation and difficulties to affect your child. Please think what you would want if it was your child who wasn't a typical learner or who has no social skills or whatever. I think that you would want compassion from other parents while you figured out what to do and set up a plan with the school. I am a prior pp who said to discuss this with the principal how this child affects your child's ability to learn. That will help the ball rolling faster on getting this kid the accommodations he/she needs and a better learning environment for everyone.

[Anonymous]

The SN crowd? Really? I pray that your child never has any sort of problems of any kind, because your statement is pure ignorance.

No, it's not. My statement is spoken from the POV of having a child with some special needs who happens to be in a private school.

And you and I both know that the "accommodations" actually be discussed obliquely here in Page 2 of this thread are 100% designed to make the one child's life better for that child. Sure, it's nice if there's some spillover effect and the other 27 kids benefit somehow. But you don't go to an IEP meeting with the objective of improving the life of the other 27 kids.

The OP is asking what the other 27 kids can do to improve their educational experience. Ideas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The SN crowd? Really? I pray that your child never has any sort of problems of any kind, because your statement is pure ignorance.

No, it's not. My statement is spoken from the POV of having a child with some special needs who happens to be in a private school.

And you and I both know that the "accommodations" actually be discussed obliquely here in Page 2 of this thread are 100% designed to make the one child's life better for that child. Sure, it's nice if there's some spillover effect and the other 27 kids benefit somehow. But you don't go to an IEP meeting with the objective of improving the life of the other 27 kids.

The OP is asking what the other 27 kids can do to improve their educational experience. Ideas?

Yes.
Help the 1.
It will in turn help the other 27, who are impacted by the 1.

Follow?

[Anonymous]

No, it doesn't always help the others very much.

There's a kid in my son's class who is quite medicated, has multiple therapists, and still manages to disrupt DC's class room every single day in every single subject. Every day. Every single day. The school and the parents have done all they can for him, at this time, in light of the fact that the parents insist that the best place for him is in a mainstream classroom. So he gets to stay, since his parents deem this best for him. His mom at least (she's the one I speak with) is thrilled.