The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Parents cite ‘dreadful state of special education’
GREENWICH — A group of parents has filed a complaint with the state Department of Education alleging the Greenwich Public School district has deprived special education students of a suitable education and is violating state and federal regulations.
The letter, sent to Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona late Wednesday, lists three complainants: Jennifer Kutai, Caroline Lerum and Audra O’Donovan, who together founded the Greenwich Special Education Advisory Council. Each of them has children who receive special education services in Greenwich Public Schools.
“Tragically, there is nothing new about the dreadful state of special education in
Greenwich,” the complaint states. “Every few years, the town commissions another study of special education. The recommendations of the consultants are ignored. And, the cycle continues.”
Wednesday’s complaint is the latest in a flurry of recent criticism of the district’s Pupil Personnel Services Department, which oversees special education. PPS is the subject of a report, presented last week to the Board of Education, critical of the department’s communication and delivery of services.
It also has raised concerns among district teachers, who notified Superintendent of School Toni Jones in September that they felt unable to provide adequate educational services to some special education students. The district also recently funded a full-scale audit of the department, which began this month.
“We are hoping this complaint results in a meaningful action for our special education children in teh Greenwich Public Schools,” Kutai, Lerum and O’Donovan said in a joint statement Wednesday. “We can only begin to fix and rebuild this program once we finally acknowledge the deepseated issues we are up against.”
The parents are represented by Mystic-based educational attorney Andrew Feinstein, who has represented special education families throughout the state. In 2013, he filed a complaint with the state on behalf of a group of parents in Darien that led to sweeping changes in that nearby district.
“It was very disappointing to receive this complaint as Greenwich Public Schools are working hard to be partners with our families,” Jones said in response Thursday morning. “We will work with the Connecticut Department of Education when asked to do so, and comply with their requests.“
Board of Education Chair Peter Bernstein deferred to the town law department when asked for comment.
The Greenwich complaint references a Sept. 22 letter sent by the Executive Board of the Greenwich Education Association, the union representing teachers, in which the bargaining unit alleged the district had instructed teachers to lie to parents and persuade them to change details of Individualized Education Plans — legal documents that outlines the necessary services provided to each special education student.
Failing to correctly implement IEPs, or instructing teachers to manipulate IEPs without parental consent, is a violation of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the GEA letter alleges.