Miss-Delectable
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Parents of a deaf student plan to sue SAU 16 for not providing an adequate education | SeacoastOnline.com
Beth Petit made a desperate plea to the Cooperative School Board Tuesday night.
After months of negotiations with the school district regarding her deaf son Hunter's individualized education plan — a document outlining a disabled student's educational status and objectives — the mother of three decided to share her struggle to define the way he communicates with educators and peers.
The chosen mode, either strictly aural or a combination of aural and sign language, could determine whether Hunter completes his final year at the Cooperative Middle School or at another facility at the district's expense.
Petit hopes her son will attend the Clarke School for Hearing and Speech, a costly but intense and highly specialized residential program in Northampton, Mass.
"What I'm asking tonight is to have special education administrators ignore the (school district) attorney's opinion and allow and support (Hunter's) chosen mode of communication," Petit said.
"Your advocacy for your child is very impressive, but I'm not sure the board has the expertise and background information to form an opinion," School Board Chairman Townley Chisholm told Petit after SAU16 Superintendent Michael Morgan advised the board not to discuss the matter during a public meeting.
Morgan informed Petit on Wednesday of the board's decision not to act on her request, which was addressed during a non-public session Tuesday night.
What Petit brought up during the public comment portion of Tuesday night's School Board meeting, just cracked the surface of a controversy dating back to the early 2000s.
In 2003, after a lengthy court battle with the district, a federal judge awarded Petit and her family legal fees and approximately $1,800 in travel expenses and other costs associated with the programming of her son's cochlear implant — a surgically implanted device that sends auditory signals to the brain providing a sense of sound to the profoundly deaf.
Hunter was 6 at the time and a student at Stratham Memorial School. Now, at 13, he is entering eighth grade at Cooperative Middle School where his mother said he is slipping behind — functioning at a third-grade reading level and struggling to communicate.
When Petit decided to give her son a cochlear implant at age 2, it was her hope that he would be able to function in an auditory society. The Petit family never learned sign language.
Petit alleges that members of the district's special education program admitted during IEP meetings that CMS cannot provide an adequate education utilizing a strictly auditory mode. The district's solution, she alleges, is to incorporate sign language into Hunter's educational goals and continue teaching him at CMS.
"They're saying because they can't teach him aurally they want to add sign language," she said. "That's like saying 'if your son isn't learning English I'm going teach him Latin. Does anybody else in the community speak Latin? It isn't going to help him communicate with his peers."
Petit began researching alternatives when she realized how far behind her son had fallen. After she and the district explored a number of schools with programs for deaf children, Petit settled on the Clarke School, which would cost the district around $100,000 per year.
This summer, the district sent Hunter to a two-week residential program at the Clarke School, which cost about $1,300. According to Petit, the program was more rigorous than what her son has experienced at CMS.
"He has a crutch at Stratham. He hasn't learned to be independent," she said. "He's so behind that he needs an intense program with people trained in deaf education."
Petit wants Hunter to attend the Clarke School for one year, where she said he might catch up enough to attend Exeter High School.
According to Petit, the district has other plans.
"It all comes down to money. They don't want to pay," she said.
Petit said if she can prove to the court that Hunter can't receive an adequate education from CMS and the Clarke School is the only place he can; the district may have no choice in the matter.
An argument over the difference between a child's mode of communication and the methods used to teach him has already taken center stage in the debate.
The 2002 Hunter P. vs. the Stratham School District ruling states that the parents of a deaf child, not the school district, make decisions respecting the mode of communication their child will use. Petit said her correspondence with the district's lawyer suggests the district plans to dispute whether the hearing officer's ruling in the original case applies today.
Wednesday morning, Petit learned of the School Board's decision to take no action on her request. By Wednesday evening, she had already rounded up boxes of documents and taped meetings with administrators — preparing for what could be another long round of legal battles.
"I'm dumbfounded," she said of the district's willingness to engage in another court case. "They already wasted over $100,000 the first time."
Morgan, who spoke as the district's spokesman regarding Hunter, said he is not allowed to comment publicly on the specifics regarding any child's education.
"We treat the matters of student confidentiality very seriously," he said. "The board took no action because when you're not happy with a special education procedure there is a process you can follow and the idea of circumventing the process is in nobody's best interest."
Petit said she refrained from filing a lawsuit until now because she hoped to settle the matter outside of court before school started.
"They dragged their feet. I was hoping he'd be going to Clarke but they're working against that. I can see that more and more now," she said.
Once she compiles the necessary paperwork, Petit plans to officially file suit against the district.
Hunter will attend CMS when classes start next week.
"I'm afraid that we might miss our opportunity to send him (to Clarke School)," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I can't wait any longer."
Wow, the school district believed that sign language would help Hunter. But the parents are rather foolish to believe that Clarke will benefit Hunter especially when he's struggling academically in the setting he is in now, and is having trouble communicating. I believe this family's just too lazy to learn ASL, and is still in denial to accept that Hunter won't be a oral success child.
Beth Petit made a desperate plea to the Cooperative School Board Tuesday night.
After months of negotiations with the school district regarding her deaf son Hunter's individualized education plan — a document outlining a disabled student's educational status and objectives — the mother of three decided to share her struggle to define the way he communicates with educators and peers.
The chosen mode, either strictly aural or a combination of aural and sign language, could determine whether Hunter completes his final year at the Cooperative Middle School or at another facility at the district's expense.
Petit hopes her son will attend the Clarke School for Hearing and Speech, a costly but intense and highly specialized residential program in Northampton, Mass.
"What I'm asking tonight is to have special education administrators ignore the (school district) attorney's opinion and allow and support (Hunter's) chosen mode of communication," Petit said.
"Your advocacy for your child is very impressive, but I'm not sure the board has the expertise and background information to form an opinion," School Board Chairman Townley Chisholm told Petit after SAU16 Superintendent Michael Morgan advised the board not to discuss the matter during a public meeting.
Morgan informed Petit on Wednesday of the board's decision not to act on her request, which was addressed during a non-public session Tuesday night.
What Petit brought up during the public comment portion of Tuesday night's School Board meeting, just cracked the surface of a controversy dating back to the early 2000s.
In 2003, after a lengthy court battle with the district, a federal judge awarded Petit and her family legal fees and approximately $1,800 in travel expenses and other costs associated with the programming of her son's cochlear implant — a surgically implanted device that sends auditory signals to the brain providing a sense of sound to the profoundly deaf.
Hunter was 6 at the time and a student at Stratham Memorial School. Now, at 13, he is entering eighth grade at Cooperative Middle School where his mother said he is slipping behind — functioning at a third-grade reading level and struggling to communicate.
When Petit decided to give her son a cochlear implant at age 2, it was her hope that he would be able to function in an auditory society. The Petit family never learned sign language.
Petit alleges that members of the district's special education program admitted during IEP meetings that CMS cannot provide an adequate education utilizing a strictly auditory mode. The district's solution, she alleges, is to incorporate sign language into Hunter's educational goals and continue teaching him at CMS.
"They're saying because they can't teach him aurally they want to add sign language," she said. "That's like saying 'if your son isn't learning English I'm going teach him Latin. Does anybody else in the community speak Latin? It isn't going to help him communicate with his peers."
Petit began researching alternatives when she realized how far behind her son had fallen. After she and the district explored a number of schools with programs for deaf children, Petit settled on the Clarke School, which would cost the district around $100,000 per year.
This summer, the district sent Hunter to a two-week residential program at the Clarke School, which cost about $1,300. According to Petit, the program was more rigorous than what her son has experienced at CMS.
"He has a crutch at Stratham. He hasn't learned to be independent," she said. "He's so behind that he needs an intense program with people trained in deaf education."
Petit wants Hunter to attend the Clarke School for one year, where she said he might catch up enough to attend Exeter High School.
According to Petit, the district has other plans.
"It all comes down to money. They don't want to pay," she said.
Petit said if she can prove to the court that Hunter can't receive an adequate education from CMS and the Clarke School is the only place he can; the district may have no choice in the matter.
An argument over the difference between a child's mode of communication and the methods used to teach him has already taken center stage in the debate.
The 2002 Hunter P. vs. the Stratham School District ruling states that the parents of a deaf child, not the school district, make decisions respecting the mode of communication their child will use. Petit said her correspondence with the district's lawyer suggests the district plans to dispute whether the hearing officer's ruling in the original case applies today.
Wednesday morning, Petit learned of the School Board's decision to take no action on her request. By Wednesday evening, she had already rounded up boxes of documents and taped meetings with administrators — preparing for what could be another long round of legal battles.
"I'm dumbfounded," she said of the district's willingness to engage in another court case. "They already wasted over $100,000 the first time."
Morgan, who spoke as the district's spokesman regarding Hunter, said he is not allowed to comment publicly on the specifics regarding any child's education.
"We treat the matters of student confidentiality very seriously," he said. "The board took no action because when you're not happy with a special education procedure there is a process you can follow and the idea of circumventing the process is in nobody's best interest."
Petit said she refrained from filing a lawsuit until now because she hoped to settle the matter outside of court before school started.
"They dragged their feet. I was hoping he'd be going to Clarke but they're working against that. I can see that more and more now," she said.
Once she compiles the necessary paperwork, Petit plans to officially file suit against the district.
Hunter will attend CMS when classes start next week.
"I'm afraid that we might miss our opportunity to send him (to Clarke School)," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I can't wait any longer."
Wow, the school district believed that sign language would help Hunter. But the parents are rather foolish to believe that Clarke will benefit Hunter especially when he's struggling academically in the setting he is in now, and is having trouble communicating. I believe this family's just too lazy to learn ASL, and is still in denial to accept that Hunter won't be a oral success child.
