My 15-year-old son with ADHD recently took a programming class at his high school. He had been performing at a B/C level in this class, but was not receiving the accommodations listed in his IEP. Specifically, he was to have a time extension on his assignments, and he could work on these assignments outside of class. He was also supposed to receive an assignment calendar on a regular basis, with weekly notification of missing assignments given to the resource aide and/or parents. When the teacher was called on the carpet by the dean, the school’s special education director, and I for not following the IEP, the teacher took one of three approaches: he began refusing to grade my son’s programs; he would simply grade the unfinished programs found on my son’s school computer, even after notification that the completed assignments were handed in to the resource teacher on time via a CD, or he would grade programs but deduct points for being “late,” when in fact we have written verification from the resource aide that she handed in my son’s programs in on time. When the high school principal insisted that the teacher grade some of these “late” programs, the teacher continued to refuse to grade some of the programs or, on those he did grade, he refused to add in the points earned on these programs into my son’s final grade. He also contacted his union attorney to write us to tell us to stop harassing him! My son ended up receiving a D for both quarter grades and the final grade. In reality, when we add up all of my son’s points on the graded programs as found on the program grade sheets, my son actually earned a C, even without all of the programs graded. After receiving the report card we wrote the principal a letter asking for all programs handed in on time to be graded, and for the points earned (we have the teachers handwriting on grade sheets showing the points my son earned) to be added into the final grade, the principal backed out of his support of our position, and told us to quit using our son’s disability as a way of obtaining a higher grade for our son—he also called our son lazy!
What is the appropriate next step—writing the school board or seeking the assistance of the superintendent? Can we go to due process over a grade? It seems such a waste of tax payer money for the school district to hire their attorney to fight us, when we have in the teacher’s handwriting all of the numbers we need regarding our son’s scores in this class, despite some programs remaining inappropriately ungraded. How stupid can they be? I am toying with the idea of going to our local press to point out how our school district wastes taxpayer money with frivilous fighting of all of the due process hearing requests filed by parents in our school district…what do you think of this idea as well?
Thank you.
How important is this grade to your son’s future? Is it a senior class with a grade that will be on the transcript for college applications? Does he want to take a second course in the same subject and needs at loeast a C as a prerequisite? In his planned program of studies does he need to take another course with the same teacher? Is the D grade lowering his average grades so much that he is being refused entry to programs he wants?
If the answer is yes to any of these, yes, fight it. Do go to the superintendent and then to the state superintendent. Do get publicity.
If the answer is no, it’s just another of those meaningless marks on paper that nobody will ever look at again, save your strength. Do write a formal letter of protest to the superintendent, keeping a copy, and do keep the records; then if any question comes up later you can have proof. But don’t kill yourslef over something that will never matter to anyone again.