Guardian in Valparaiso sues faculties over IEP points

February 12, 2022

Tags: education, IEP, issues, Parent, schools, sues, Valparaiso

Guardian in Valparaiso sues faculties over IEP points | Training

VALPARAISO — A parent in Valparaiso Community Schools filed a lawsuit in this case against the district and Porter County Education Services, claiming discrimination toward a disabled student.

Victoria rinds previously won a due process against the district and PCES during the summer of 2021, when an independent hearing officer found that her child with special needs was not provided a free appropriate public education.

She claimed her child’s individualized education plan (IEP), developed in 2019, which was not safe, leading to her sending the child to Chesterton Montessori School.

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The hearing officer ordered that PCES and VCS reimburse Scharten for the costs associated with private school in 2020 and homeschooling the previous year. A total reimbursement of $22,000 was ordered based on a “conservative estimate” of how much funding the public school would have received if the student was enrolled during those two years.

Scharten said the case has not yet been resolved and she is still paying out of pocket for her child’s private school. She is amid a second due process, along with the suit. Hearings were held Feb. 7 through Feb. 10.

VCS Superintendent Jim McCall deferred to PCES. PCES did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication.

Parents raise IEP issues

Several parents have expressed concerns with their students’ IEPs in the school district, including issues about safety.

Mona Drake brought up her concerns with her son’s IEP at Valparaiso Community Schools’ August board meeting. Drake said she had been trying to communicate to the board since May with no response.

“I started to email this board and members of PCES administration back in May when we learned of the resignation of my son’s amazing special education teacher,” Drake said at the board meeting. “None of my concerns have been addressed and my son and his classmates and staff in (his) classroom are all suffering because of it.”

However, due to public comment time restrictions, she was not able to complete her thoughts. She pleaded with the board to allow her to continue to speak, but they asked her not to. The board informed her that the district’s director of social emotional learning would follow up individually.

Drake said her son, who is a third-grader at Cooks Corner Elementary School, has had his worst year thus far.

The year began with a teacher who only had an emergency license and one paraprofessional for 12 special education students. Drake’s son’s plan indicates he is to spend 20 to 30 minutes with his general education peers per day.

However, due to the lack of staffing, she said he has seldom left the classroom, even as they have more staff.

Not only that, Drake said she has seen no academic development this year.

Emily Spellman said her autistic 5-year-old daughter was moved to Flint Lake Elementary from Central Elementary in January, as Central did not have the resources available to help take care of her.

Spellman said her daughter is having trouble adjusting to the new classroom. She also said she feels it is unfair, as her daughter should be able to attend her “home” school, or the one closest to their home.

Spellman feels stuck with the district. She is a single mother of four children who has to work. She also said it’s not realistic to move her to private or charter schools, as her other three children are in VCS.

“I feel like I don’t have any options,” Spellman said. “With kids like her, transitions are rough. I can’t just bounce her around from school to school to see what sticks.”

Carolyn Smith has a daughter in the special education program at Valparaiso High School. She moved here for the 2021 school year. At her previous school district, her daughter was in some general education classes every school day.

However, she is currently only in the special education class every day. Smith said her daughter is not learning anything new.

Smith said she is planning on getting an IEP advocate regarding this issue.

AnnMarie Pince filed a complaint against Porter County Education Services and Valparaiso Community Schools in 2019. She had moved to the area after issues with her daughter’s IEP in another district.

Pince wanted her daughter to attend a school in Washington Township during the fall 2018 semester. However, due to staffing and resources, PCES informed her that her daughter would need to attend Valparaiso Community Schools.

The complaint was heard over a period from July 2019 to September 2020 and it was determined that PCES and VCS were not at fault. Pince has home-schooled her daughter since.

She said that while homeschooling is effective, it is difficult on her daughter socially.

“She wants to be with her fellow classmates,” Pince said.

Special education teacher shortage

Valparaiso Community Schools’ issues with IEPs and special education could possibly be attributed to the nationwide special education shortage.

A report from the United States Department of Education in 2020 showed that in 2017, there were approximately 6 million students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. They were being served by 389,456 teachers, 7% of whom were not fully certified or trained to work in special education.

In Indiana, the shortage may worsen. Many schools in the state rely on emergency permits to help fill special education positions. However, in June, the Indiana Department of Education informed schools that Indiana will no longer be issuing emergency permits after this school year.

The decision was made to comply with federal regulations. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act from 2015 prohibits special education teachers from having license requirements waived on an “emergency, temporary or provisional basis.”

In the 2019-20 school year, Indiana issued 1,018 emergency permits and 2,878 full licenses for educating students with learning disabilities or developmental disorders.

The median annual salary for special education teachers in 2021 was $62,820, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The minimum salary for newly hired teachers at Valparaiso Community Schools as of 2021 is $47,000.

Valparaiso Community Schools’ website shows a listing for a long-term substitute special education teacher and a special education aide at Flint Lake Elementary.

Parents use services, advocates

Laura Swanson is the president of IEP Hopean organization she founded to help parents with their special education needs by advocating and educating them.

She said since the non-profit began six months ago, she has received a lot of phone calls from parents in Porter County and LaPorte County.

Swanson said IEP Hope helps parents in many ways, such as going to IEP meetings, going through individual IEP plans and analyzing special education law.

She said that there has been great feedback so far, with parents spreading the word through word of mouth and using a Facebook group to ask any questions they may have.

This is particularly helpful to busy parents, as they may already have a hectic life, where going through their child’s IEP may require too much time.

Several parents also make use of the organization IN*SOURCEan organization that aims to provide families and service providers in Indiana the information and training needed to ensure appropriate services for individuals with disabilities, according to its website.

Swanson said a big way that IEP Hope makes a difference is simply that parents are treated differently when they have an advocate sitting with them at the table. She said she feels like parents get more respect in those moments.

“The schools usually know the advocate knows the law and knows what services a child may be entitled to,” Swanson said.

PHOTOS: Valparaiso visits Lake Central in girls basketball action

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Lake Central’s Aniyah Bishop goes to the basket in the second quarter against Valparaiso’s Emma Gerdt and Kristin Bukata Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Riley Milausnic tries to get around Valparaiso’s Kristin Bukata in the second quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Ayla Krygier pulls the rebound away from Valparaiso’s Norah Flynn in the fourth quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Ayla Krygier takes a shot over Valparaiso’s Amelia Benjamin in the third quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Vanessa Wimberly passes the ball off with Valparaiso’s Bolanle Ayangade guarding in the fourth quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Valparaiso’s Bolanle Ayangade goes to the basket against Lake Central’s Riley Milausnic in fourth quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Essence Johnson gets an open shot against Valparaiso in the third quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Valparaiso’s Norah Flynn looks to the basket against Lake Central’s Essence Johnson in the fourth quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Isabella Soria slips between Valparaiso’s Kristin Bukata and Emma Gerdt to the basket in the second quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times

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Lake Central’s Isabella Soria battles for the rebound with Valparaiso’s Becca Gerdt and Emma Gerdt in the third quarter Friday evening at Lake Central.

Jeffrey D Nicholls, The Times