22 Darien Parents: Darien Violates Special Ed Law

Editor's note: Here is a follow-up article on what Darien Public Schools officials said when asked about the complaint.

Update Thursday 10:44 a.m.:

Attorney Andrew A. Feinstein of Mystic, who helped draw up the formal complaint, told Darien Patch in a follow-up article that the Connecticut Department of Education would withhold only federal money for special education, not all federal money that Darien Public Schools would receive.

If money were withheld, the state Education Department would take over special education services in Darien.

Original article, Tuesday, March 26, 2:45 p.m.:

Some parents of special education students in Darien Public Schools have complained to the Connecticut Department of Education about various district practices regarding how Individual Education Programs are drawn up.

The parents are asking the state for a hearing to look into the complaints, and they're asking that any federal funds received by the district be halted because the special education practices violate federal law.

Twenty-two parents of Darien students signed the complaint, Patch was told by a parent who asked to remain anonymous. According to the parent, copies of the complaint were sent to Board of Education members last week. (See complaint attached to this article—names of parents were removed from the original version.)

The parents' complaint, addressed to the state commissioner of education, begins:

We are parents of children with disabilities in the Darien Public Schools.  We write to request that you convene a hearing, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. §1413(d)(1) to withdraw funds from the Darien Board of Education for its systematic violations of parental rights under the IDEA [the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act].  We recognize that this is a drastic remedy and one that has never been invoked in Connecticut.  Nevertheless, the extent of wrongdoing and violation of the rights of students with disabilities by the Darien Public Schools warrants serious consideration by the State Department of Education, pursuant to its supervisory responsibility over local education authorities pursuant to the IDEA.

In part, the parents complain that individual education programs for their children are supposed to be drawn up with extensive parental involvement, but the school district now has educators meet privately before PPT meetings with parents in part to develop a "united front" of recommendations. The parents are also objecting to other restrictions on how school personnel work with outside consultants hired by parents.

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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 parents are asking that any federal education money going to Darien Public Schools be withdrawn, and they say 10 complaints from parents about special education in Darien schools have already been sent to the state Department of Education.

Much of the parents' complaint revolves around a memo (dated Nov. 6, 2012) purportedly sent by , who was appointed to the job last year. Osypuk apparently sent the memo to special education teachers and staff. That memo is attached to the bottom of the complaint.

The Darien Board of Education and Osypuk have been praised by town officials pleased that the rising costs of special education in Darien have been considerably slowed down.

The parents' specific complaints include:

• A policy that "directly undermines the rights of parents to be able to deal with their child’s service providers by precluding the attendance of occupational therapists at team meetings, by eliminating occupational therapy consultations, and by severely limiting occupational therapist participation at PPT meetings."

• Another policy "provides that school staff must go into a meeting with a united front, with all differences worked out in advance.  This is predetermination, something clearly forbidden under the IDEA. [...] Where, as here, the school system approaches the PPT meeting as a united front, there is no opportunity for the parent’s proposals to be considered as a viable option."

The copy of what purports to be a Nov. 6 memo from Osypuk, attached to the complaint, states in part:

Unified front – if changes are going to be recommended, differences among team members need to be worked out prior to PPT
Prep paperwork (grades, teacher reports, proposed g/o, etc.) need to be given to the building admin at least 1 day prior to the PPT

The complaint to the state education commissioner states:

Beyond this memo, we understand that ten complaints have been filed with the State in the last few months concerning the policies of the Darien Board of Education and no fewer than five due process complaints have been pursued.  Virtually all of these complaints revolve around similar issues: either the Darien Board of Education unilaterally withdrew services previous provided for in the child’s IEP or the Darien school system excluded the parents from involvement in the IEP process.

Darien Patch has sent a copy of the complaint to Elizabeth "Betsy" Hagerty-Ross, chairperson of the Board of Education, and Superintendent Stephen Falcone and asked for their response to the complaint.

The matter is not on the Board of Education agenda for Tuesday night, although the board in the past has invited comments from the public.

Editor's note: This article originally was published at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 26. The timestamp has been changed for layout purposes on the Home page of Darien Patch.

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

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

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

• THURSDAY: "Complaint Lawyer: Darien's Special Ed Violation Egregious"