The U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into Seminole County Schools over its treatment of a student with disabilities. The investigation follows a complaint a Seminole County Schools parent, Cindy Bockleslaugh lodged in September.
The complaint alleges that her son, a 20-year-old student with disabilities at Lake Mary and Lake Brantley High Schools, was not supported in his use of his communication device. Bockleslaugh said without this device, which is the only way he can access instruction, her son was being denied a free appropriate public education under federal law.
“This communication device is set up with an infinite amount of pictures that he can then put together to say, ‘I want chicken nuggets. I need the bathroom.’ It’s a way to communicate with other people who would not understand his gestures,” said Bockleslaugh.
Bockleslaugh figured out her son wasn’t using his device with his teachers after she searched his history and found hours of YouTube videos on his device. You can’t use the device to communicate and watch a video at the same time, she says. It’s technically impossible.
Her concern is that her son missed out on the last few years of his high school education both in the classroom and outside it, without his device.
She said her goal with the complaint and the investigation is simple: to make sure every child gets the best possible education they can in Florida public schools.
“I want to see everybody have the opportunity to at least try to succeed and not be blocked,” said Bockleslaugh.
In a statement, Seminole County Schools said it, "takes every allegation seriously, and fully cooperates with any investigation.” The district could face penalties like the loss of federal funding, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, public K-12 schools in the United States are required to provide free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment possible to all students with disabilities.
The law also requires schools to provide students with disabilities any related services and supports like communication devices that a child needs for learning.
In addition, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by any recipients of federal financial assistance or by public entities, respectively.
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights said it is investigating Seminole County Schools to determine whether the district denied the student his right to a free appropriate public education.
Office for Civil Rights Program Manager Jana Erickson in a letter to the family said that’s important, as the district receives federal assistance from the Department of Education as a public entity which means, “the district must comply with Section 504 and Title II and their implementing regulations.”
Read the full letter from the U.S. Department of Education on the investigation below. Please note that special education advocate Karen Mayer Cunningham has been helping the family through the process, and so the letter is addressed to her.
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