Superintendent of Schools Stephen V. Falcone announced that Dr. Deirdre Osypuk, director of special education for Darien Public Schools, on administrative leave as the district and state look into violations of special education law.
In a letter to staff released to news organizations, Falcone announced that Osypuk's leave is "effective immediately" but "is without prejudice and should not be interpreted as a finding of any inappropriate action on the part of Dr. Osypuk or any other person."
Falcone said assistant directors of special education will report directly to him during Osypuk's leave.
This is the text of Falcone's email:
Effectively immediately, Dr. Osypuk will be on administrative leave while we investigate allegations that IEP documents were unilaterally modified in a substantive way by school personnel following planning and placement team meetings.
This administrative leave is without prejudice and should not be interpreted as a finding of any inappropriate action on the part of Dr. Osypuk or any other person. Rather, given Dr. Osypuk’s responsibility for the PPT/IEP process, we have determined that investigation independent of Dr. Osypuk is advisable.
In the interim, the assistant special education directors shall have responsibility for their respective areas under my overall supervision, namely Laura Straiton will be responsible for preschool education, Liz Wesolowski will be responsible for special education issues, grades K-5, and Carleen Wood will be responsible for special education issues, grades 7-12.We will be working to complete our review promptly, and we are confident that we will be able to continue to address the needs of special education students and staff without interruption.
Original article:
Darien Public Schools Superintendent Stephen V. Falcone sent an email Monday to school district parents regarding allegations that the district violated special education law.
In the email, Falcone asks that "any parent or families who suspects or has determined that there were any unilateral changes in PPT documents share their specific information and concerns with the lead investigator at the State Department of Education [...] and/or with me directly."
This is the complete text of the email:
Dear Parents and Community Members,
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During a visit by State Department of Education personnel last week, allegations were made that substantive changes had been made to IEPs outside of the PPT process.
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We take these allegations very seriously, because any such conduct would compromise the PPT process and violate the law. We must promptly address these allegations and remedy any violations as soon as possible.
We are cooperating fully with the State Department of Education as it investigates these allegations, and we have begun to conduct our own internal investigation into these allegations.
We ask that any parent or families who suspects or has determined that there were any unilateral changes in PPT documents share their specific information and concerns with the lead investigator at the State Department of Education, Michael Tavernier (at michael.tavernier@ct.gov) and/or with me directly, at sfalcone@darienps.org or by telephone at 203-656-7412.
Thank you very much.
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