I am the parent of a 6-year-old little girl. She attends school at Christa McAuliffe in Oxnard.
My daughter recently got suspended for fighting at school. She has a disability called sensory deprivation. Both myself and her mother work and cannot take the time off from work for fear of losing our jobs for unexcused absence, not to mention the affordability factor of two single parents.
Christa McAuliffe School suspended my daughter for one day on campus and one day off campus. We have no one to baby sit, and the local day care facilities either do not take drop-ins or they are full. There are no relatives anywhere near us, and our neighbors all work. The principal of the school will not suspend her for both days on campus, and when asked why not, she stated that no one can watch her. When asked who was watching her on the day of the on-campus suspension, I received no answer.
My daughter has two teachers in a classroom of roughly 20 students. If one of the two teachers cannot see an impending situation brewing and cannot rein in a 6-year-old little girl, then it would seem that someone is not doing their job effectively.
That brings another question. What are our tax dollars paying for? There is a reason why the California school system is horrible. My child is not receiving an education where she is being challenged. Are they just “warehousing� children, or are they actually doing the job that they are being paid to do? Obviously, they are not.
My daughter is not a troublemaker. She will fight back when struck or provoked. I believe that because she has a slight disability, she is being made into a scapegoat. The last time I checked, a first-grade classroom wasn’t akin to a college classroom. These are 6-year-old children, not college kids. They play, they run around, they act their age. My problem is: Why are the faculty members of this school acting like the children?
— Chris Franz, Port Hueneme
Chris...as a mother of a disabled child, it has been my experience that the more we know about our disabled childrens rights the better off we are. If you already haven't, do all you can to educate yourself on the educational rights of handicapped children and get in touch with those who can help you with the problem you have described in your letter. Go to this website, http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm#anchor65310 and start making some calls. You daughter has certain rights that need to be protected and perhaps McAuliffe School could use a few lessons on how to deal with a "special needs" child. It certainly sounds like her rights have been violated and the school has failed to handle this situation in the proper manner. If she has not been placed in a special education classroom setting, that would be the first place to start...and then you can be sure she would be under the care of an IEP program and a teacher who has had special training in dealing with those who have "special needs." Your daughter certainly fits the criteria.
Best of luck...