Tuesday, August 08, 2000
Mother wins Kenton Co. lawsuit
District would not pay for home schooling
By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — An Independence mother has triumphed over Kenton County Schools in a long-standing court battle to have the district pay for her autistic child's home schooling.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy E. Patterson, of Pikeville, issued a decision Thursday that also ordered Kenton County Schools to reimburse Sharon Reffitt for having her son Derek, now 7, tested for autism in 1995 by a physician independent of the school district, and for the attorney fees and expenses she accrued pursuing her lawsuit since 1998.
In a 100-page plus order, Judge Patterson said the school district failed to follow the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act , which is a 1975 civil rights law intended to guarantee every student access to education.
Derek's home schooling began three years ago, but the school system would not pay for it. Judge Patterson said the system mishandled Derek's “individualized education program,” which is supposed to be an agreement between school administrators and parents of disabled children about the services the child will receive, his educational levels and his educational goals.
The school district was not thorough enough in its evalua tion of Derek and did not seek enough input from Mrs. Reffitt, the judge said.
Her order did not specify the amount in damages that Mrs. Reffitt will receive. The judge wants her to submit a list itemizing her fees and expenses.
But the school system disagrees with the order, said Rick Meyer, who has been representing the school district. He and school board
attorney Jed Deters said Judge Patterson's decision goes against the present trend, which is to have students with developmental disabilities in the same buildings and classrooms as their peers.
They want to talk to school board officials before deciding whether to appeal Judge Patterson's ruling.
Kenton County Schools Superintendent Susan Cook and Mrs. Reffitt could not be reached for comment Monday. Meanwhile, Mrs. Reffitt's attorney, Bernard Blau, of Cold Spring, was ecstatic.
“Am I allowed to dance in the street yet?” Mr. Blau said.
“Of all my cases, I'm probably more excited (about this one) than any other case I've ever had. This decision means that this child will have a chance in life.”
He said the case was about money and Kenton County Schools not wanting to use federal funds for a home-schooling effort.
Public schools receive federal funds to educate the developmentally disabled but, Mr. Blau noted, those funds can be stretched too thin. A normal classroom of 24 students would require only one teacher, for instance, but a classroom of six autistic students would demand a teacher and four aides, he said.
In her order, the judge cited an old case law that said, “there is no doubt that Congress has imposed a significant financial burden on states and school districts that participate in IDEA. Yet public educational authorities who want to avoid reimbursing parents for the private education of a disabled child can do one of two things: Give the child a free appropriate public education in a public setting or place the child in an appropriate private setting of the state's choice.
“This is IDEA's mandate, and school officials who conform to it need not worry about reimbursement claims.”
Mrs. Reffitt has converted her basement into a classroom. Aides help her educate Derek. She sought a doctor's independent evaluation of Derek, she said, because she was dissatisfied with Kenton County Schools' evaluation.
According to court documents, many school forms said Derek had been “unable to test” because of his disruptive behavior, and that he was “developmentally delayed” and not yet autistic.
Teachers seemed unable to handle Derek when he was in the classroom, Mrs. Reffitt said in court documents.
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