Mom says charter drops son with ADHD

The mother of a student at Heritage Elementary has accused the Glendale charter school of kicking out her 6-yearold son because he has a disability.

Haylee Barthol made the allegation in a complaint to the state Charter Board.

Barthol, whose son has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, said the school forced her to withdraw her son on Tuesday because it “didn’t have the resources for his issues.” His first day at Heritage was Monday.

Because they are funded by the state, charter schools are required to educate all students, including those with disabilities. But an ACLU investigation last year found widespread “illegal or exclusionary” enrollment practices at Arizona charter schools.

Barthol said Principal Justin Dye told her that her son could continue attending Heritage if she volunteered at the school every day and helped supervise him.

Barthol alleged her son’s teacher made a similar comment, telling her that “as a charter school, they do not have the time or resources for a child” with such disabilities.

Barthol, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, said it would be impossible for her to help monitor her son while he’s at school. She delayed a Thursday deployment in order to find a new school for her son.

The Air Force confirmed Barthol is a staff sergeant who works as support staff for fighter squadrons.

Dye did not return a call to the school.

Heritage Superintendent Jackie Trujillo said the school did not ask Barthol to remove her child from the school. She did it on her own, Trujillo said.

“We wanted the student to stay, and wanted the parent to help out,” Trujillo said. “There were other issues going on. We were trying to work with the parent to come up with a solution.”

The ACLU investigation of Arizona charter schools forced documentation and policy changes at nearly 100 schools over six months, state officials said.

The Arizona Board for Charter Schools — charged with ensuring the publicly funded schools comply with the law and their charter contracts — has also revised its review and advisory efforts to prevent enrollment violations.

Darrell Hill, a staff attorney for ACLU of Arizona, said all public schools must provide an education to every child who enrolls.

“The school (Heritage) should not serve the students they want to serve, which is what seems to be happening here,” Hill said. “The Charter School Board has to do more to police schools in these situations . ... These cases happen quite often in charter schools, especially with special-needs children.”

Ashley Berg, the Charter Board’s executive director, said she could not comment on Heritage, but the board plans to investigate “The board will take this complaint very seriously and will ensure that the charter is held accountable for any noncompliance. The accusations made by Ms. Barthol are very troubling and will be treated accordingly,” Berg said.

Barthol said Berg on Tuesday helped her find a public school near her Barthol’s complaint. home

Charter schools, which receive up to $2,000 more per student in state funding than traditional public schools, have complained they don’t receive the same total funding from local and federal sources as district schools. A portion of federal funds for public schools are tied to teaching special-needs stuschool for her son to attend. dents.

Barthol said when her son had difficulties she asked Heritage officials about their special-education program.

“They said they are a charter school and they don’t have the resources like a normal (district) school,” she said. “I left with a crying 6-year-old.”

Trujillo, the Heritage superintendent, denied that Dye told Barthol the didn’t have special-education resources for her son.

“She didn’t want to stay at the school, and she was angry at the conversation that took place,” Trujillo said.

Barthol said it was curious Trujillo would dispute her account because she was not present during the conversation.