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[quote=Anonymous]Long post, sorry, but I need advice.

My 8th grade DD is gifted, but has a learning disability that makes it difficult for her to follow directions at times. She works extremely hard to keep up with her peers academically, is very shy, is socially way behind her peers, and gets very anxious in stressful situations like tests. She has no IEP, has never needed or received any learning assistance. Her teachers know she has a learning disability, but because she's very bright, they do not make any accommodations for it. She looks and acts like a kid who is fairly typical but socially awkward.

When she was in 6th grade, DD misunderstood instructions on a test where she was allowed to use her notes but not her book. Her teacher noticed her looking in her book, she was given a detention and her grade was lowered.

This year, DD again misunderstood instructions on a test. She was told she could bring a certain type of calculator into a test. She couldn't find her calculator on the morning of the test, so brought one that had more functions than were allowed. She, in her SN logic, thought that if she didn't use the functions, there wouldn't be a problem. After the test, she showed the calculator to her teacher and told her she hadn't used any of the functions that were not allowed. She made mistakes on the test that could easily have been corrected had she used the calculator.

DD's school has a zero tolerance policy regarding cheating. Her teacher lowered DD's grade, which I felt was appropriate because DD had not followed directions. However, because DD had a "prior" she was reported to the principal, who said DD had cheated (even though she had made no attempt to hide the calculator, and clearly had not used all its functions). Because it was DD's second offense, the principal said DD will have to go before a peer review panel who will decide whether or not DD will be suspended from school for a week, which is the school's standard punishment for cheating.

I met with the principal, explained DD's issues (he knew nothing about them) and asked that she not be subjected to the peer review panel, which I feel would be devastating to her fragile self-esteem. She's very self-conscious, is acutely aware she is "different" from other kids and would suffer extreme humiliation and embarrassment if her learning disability/anxiety issues were exposed to a panel of her peers.

I told principal that DD was not trying to cheat, but that her learning disability and anxiety contributed to her thinking it would be OK to bring the incorrect calculator to the test but not use all its functions.

The principal is adamant that DD's actions constitute cheating, therefore she must go before this peer review panel. He says the peers on the panel are chosen carefully for their maturity and are sworn to confidentiality.

DD is very upset about this, understandably, says she was not trying to cheat, understands she made a mistake, and accepts that there are consequences for making that mistake. She is terrified of going before this panel, and would rather be suspended, even though she'd get an F on all her work for that week she is suspended.

I have decided I will not allow her to be put before this panel. I think DD would be severely damaged psychologically, so much so that I doubt she would be able to return to school afterward. I told this to the principal, who said he can make no exception for DD's disability/anxiety issues.

I think it would be more appropriate to require that DD meet with her teacher and/or a counselor to help her clarify what she did wrong, and learn how prevent this from happening again. The principal actually agreed with this, but said it is for the peer review panel to decide whether or not to suspend her.

What are DD's (and my) legal rights here? How do I go about preventing DD from going before this peer review panel without getting DD kicked out of school?

How do I protect DD's privacy? Her diagnosis makes her legally disabled even though she has no IEP. I believe she has a right to privacy regarding her medical/psychological issues, but I’m not clear what her rights are. Her only actual diagnosis is LD, although her teachers know she is very anxious.

Where do I go for help?

Advice most welcome. Thanks. [/quote]

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