Lawyer: Darien's Special Ed Violation Egregious

The lawyer who helped draw up the complaint against the Darien school district by 22 parents of special education students says the district violated federal education law in a blatant, egregious way that he hasn't seen during his years of work in special education law.

"I'm unaware of anybody ever having  brought a complaint of this sort" in Connecticut, said Attorney Andrew A. Feinstein of Mystic. What makes the case so unusual is that a school district official put in writing a policy for special education personnel that is "directly counter to" federal law, he said.

"I suppose things like this happen, sort of sub rosa, but here's the black and white proof of it," he said.

What Feinstein is referring to is a document that purports to be a Nov. 6, 2012 memo from Darien Special Education Director Deidre Osypuk telling staff involved in evaluating students to consult with each other and work out a "unified front" to present to each parent with regard to what Individual Education Program to put in place for that parent's child.

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For definitions of abstruse education terms and acronyms used in discussions of Darien Public Schools, see "Darien Education Glossary: Abstruse Terms Defined" on Darien Patch. (And feel free to suggest additions to the list.)

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The 12-page complaint filed by the 22 parents states that the school district's "united front" practice is in violation of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which mandates that parents be involved in creating the Individual Education Program that maps out what special education services a child will receive.

The complaint asks the state to convene a hearing quickly to begin determining if Darien has violated the law and, if so, whether federal funding for special education should be withheld from the town. (Feinstein said the complaint does not ask for all federal funding to be withheld from the town.)

If the town were to lose federal funding for special education, the state would take over administering special education in Darien, Feinstein said. That would minimize the town's cost of complying with the law.

Feinstein said parents tried to work with Darien Public Schools officials, and when that didn't work out, they decided to make a complaint to the state Department of Education. 

"For a long time, the school board has just not been responsive, Feinstein said. "I deal with a lot of boards. That's pretty bizarre."

"What's happened in Darien in the last six or seven moths or so has been pretty unprecedented," Feinstein said. "This goal of reducing special education costs—a lot of people agree with on that, and there are ways to do it consistent with the statute. The methods used in this instance are not legal."

Feinstein said he is working on the case for free so far, although he might later be hired by the group. He got involved in this complaint because he was already representing some of the parents involved in it.

Editor's note: Here's the news coverage so far on this issue:

• TUESDAY: "22 Darien Parents: Darien Violates Special Ed Law"

• TUESDAY (Darien Times): "Darien schools accused of violating special ed kids' rights" 

• WEDNESDAY: "Parent: Educators Obstruct Parent Specal Ed Input"