Often I think the conflicts between teachers and parents is the result of administration trying to play each side against the other…
From Wright’s Law:
ALERT: JURY AWARDS ONE MILLION TO FIRED SPECIAL ED TEACHER
In September 1998, Pamella Settlegoode accepted a job as special education teacher with the Portland Public School District. Because she had a doctorate in education, her students called her Dr. S.
DISCRIMINATION
Soon after she began work as an adaptive PE teacher, Dr. Settlegoode was struck by inequities in access and services. She found that students with disabilities were treated like “second class citizens.”
Her students were not allowed to participate in activities that were freely available to non-disabled students. For example:
* Non-disabled students had PE five days a week
* Many of Dr. S’s students had adaptive PE one day a week
* Many students with disabilities were bussed to a different school forweight training
* Non-disabled students participated in sports like tennis and track
* Many students with disabilities were not allowed to participate in sports
After Dr. S. taught a child who was born without arms to play tennis by using straps, her supervisor terminated tennis instruction.
Dr. S. discovered that the high school was not accessible for people in wheelchairs - no accessible sidewalks, no elevators, no ramps.
* Non-disabled students and teachers used a sidewalk to move safely outside the building
* Disabled students in wheelchairs and students who were deaf had to use the street and parking lot
The wrestling coach was superb coach - and a quadriplegic. He wanted his students to learn about independence and the value of hard work and perseverance. The high school did not have ramps or elevators for students or staff. When the coach had to move from one floor to the next, his students had to carry him up the stairs, deposit him on the floor, and retrieve his chair.
Dr. Settlegoode wrote letters about these violations, including the need for ramps and crosswalks at the high school (e.g. no access to tennis courts; kids in wheelchairs using parking lots/streets to get to fields; crossing the street is dangerous for wheelchair/ walker /deaf students.)
She complained that the district altered IEPs and failed to provide services listed in IEPs, violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. How did her supervisor deal with these issues? Her supervisor directed her to discontinue her practice of communicating through letters!
Although she met with a member of the school board, the problems did not improve.
RETALIATION
Dr. Settlegoode contacted Robert Crebo, special education director, to express her concerns about discrimination and retaliation. How did Crebo respond? He directed her to discontinue letter writing! After she contacted Crebo, the district renewed its retaliation against her.