Our vision statement: We will create individual and family supports, chosen and directed by the person with a disability

School district retracts expulsion

Most of the names in these stories have been changed to protect privacy.

Andy Melton qualified for special education because of a specific learning disability (SLD). His father called the San Diego office when the school tried to expel Andy for fighting.

The fight occurred off campus after school. Andy was watching, not fighting, although someone said he hit a participant after the fight was over. It was Andy’s third reported fight during the 2007-2008 school year.

Andy had an SLD in math, but there were no academic goals. His individual education plan (IEP) noted that:

  • His SLD was based on a visual processing disorder;
  • He had never been referred for a visual processing assessment or an occupational therapy assessment.
  • There were no goals or services to address the disorder.

Andy had been in fights before, but no one ever referred him for a functional analysis assessment (FAA) or behavior intervention plan. His behavior support plan (BSP) put all the responsibility on him to get help if he felt that he was going to have a fight, even though his IEP team members had noted that he did not have the social skills to avoid a fight. Despite this, Andy was not offered any behavioral, social, emotional, or counseling goals and services.

In April 2008, a staff attorney in the San Diego office filed a complaint for a due process hearing alleging:

  • Failure to appropriately assess Andy’s behavior and visual processing ability in both the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years;
  • Failure to provide appropriate services, such as behavior supports and vision therapy in both the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years;
  • Failure to provide appropriate goals and objectives during the 2007-2008 school year;
  • Failure to provide any behavior supports during the 2007-2008 school year;
  • That the pending expulsion was illegal because it violated the California Education Code, as it occurred after school and off campus; and
  • That the school failed to implement the behavior support plan because the BSP specifically stated that Andy was to seek out school personnel if he felt that he would be involved in a fight. As the fight occurred off campus, there were no school personnel for him to seek out.

At mediation, the matter settled, and the school agreed to provide Andy with:

  • One hour per week of on-site counseling,
  • An independent educational evaluation for vision processing,
  • Placement at a comprehensive high school,
  • An updated behavior support plan,
  • An FAA for the 2008-2009 school year,
  • Reassessment to determine what goals and objectives should be set for him.
The school district also dropped the pending expulsion.