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The Foster's Kick School Official Butt, District #93, Dupage Cty, IL Congratulations Jim and on behalf of many others who will benefit, Thank you for Fighting the injustice! PRESS RELEASE The Fosters, of Carol Stream, cashed their $22,300 settlement check from Community Consolidated School District #93 today. In May, they sued District #93, and one employee of Queen Bee School District 16, asking for damages resulting from violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Illinois School Code, and other civil rights Acts. This stemmed from the removal of their son from school for the last 22 days of the 1999 school year, for talking to another student in the school hallway, asking questions about the Columbine incident. A previous Due Process Hearing, conducted by the Illinois State Board of Education, had determined that District #93 had violated the law, and awarded a small amount of money ($1,310) for additional counseling. District #93 appealed this to the Seventh District Federal Court, which ruled strongly in the Foster's favor. The resulting decision is on several Web sites, and will be published in the near future, forming the basis of future suits by other parents. The Fosters settled with the single District 16 employee for $2,500 several weeks ago. Last week, the Fosters settled with District #93. The amounts paid to the Fosters from both settlements total $26,110, not including $16,000 paid solely for their legal expenses. The District's legal expenses were expected to exceed this amount. "We are pleased that this is behind us now." said Mr. Foster. "The
message should be clear to all school districts that they cannot violate
the civil rights of students, especially the rights of those with Additional Details John is a very bright individual, with a high intelligence quotient,
and the disability of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
His disability is, however, not severe enough to prevent John from John was diagnosed as having ADHD, when he was four years old. Use of Ritalin reduced the symptoms of his attention deficit markedly, and, as the years passed, he was placed in "mainstream" classes. Individual Educational Programs were developed and implemented, and John's behavior became vastly improved. John's last significant school discipline problem was in December, 1993; an insignificant event occurred in 1996. His grades improved to the point that he was on the Honor Roll and then the High Honor Roll! John became a student at Stratford Junior High school, then a two-year "middle school," in 1997. At the end of the first year, John was one of only two students awarded plaques for academic achievement. There were no discipline problems, his teachers spoke highly of him, and he was on the High Honor roll. John was very knowledgeable of the school rules, and followed them to the letter; he would not bring a laser pointer to school because he was aware it was a banned object. Some of the typical symptoms of ADHD continued to be displayed; John was sometimes impulsive, and sometimes had trouble discerning social cues. To improve his social skills, John was strongly encouraged to try to talk with others and make new friends. During some classes on the morning of the event, there were discussions of the shootings at the Columbine High school. John felt the need to discuss the shootings with someone. On April 23, 1999, having forgotten to take his Ritalin, he had one impulsive discussion with a student in the Stratford hallways. He was trying to follow the suggestions he had received regarding talking to others on some topic of general interest and thereby making new friends. The accounts are not clear, but he apparently questioned if the student would like to join a fictitious club, and inquired if the boy knew of anyone who had black market access to weapons (somewhat like the discussions of the Columbine shootings). John had no weapons of any kind, made no threats, and made no indication that he was in the market for weapons; these were only intended to be discussion topics. The discussion points and statements he made may have been impulsive and inappropriate, a symptom of his disability, but no threats to the boy or the school were involved. He was reported, brought to the school office and questioned by several members of the school management and a police liaison officer. This continued for over two hours before his parents were contacted. Stratford personnel were apparently displeased that he did not confess to something, and that he did not respond well. Being of a fragile disposition, he both broke down and began yelling, but did not attempt to hit anyone despite having a Black Belt in Karate. It should have been patently obvious that John had not taken his medication. Mr. Foster vividly remembers coming home to his red-eyed wife and child, crying on the sofa because John had been suspended. Mary Foster remembers waking John in the mornings to find his eyes caked with salt from crying himself to sleep. The entire family was depressed for weeks. School personnel never expressed one shred of concern over the impact of this episode. He was suspended and a Manifestation Determination Committee (MDC) meeting was held. During the meeting, school personnel repeatedly criticized the Fosters' upbringing of John. The documentation for this meeting determined that the behavior in question was a manifestation of John's disability. John's therapist and psychiatrist provided statements and letters that he was not a threat to others or himself; school personnel argued that he needed further evaluation. Additional evaluation was almost the last thing he needed; the last thing he needed was the trauma and mental anguish of being made an outcast from his school during the last weeks of school, just before he was to graduate with high honors. School personnel ignored their own manifestation determination and indicated that John was not to return to Stratford. The resulting letter from Stratford referenced Illinois "Senate Bill 694", which they were never able to produce. The Fosters requested a hearing (well after the end of the initial suspension), but got a meeting with a Special Services Assistant Superintendent from neighboring District 16 instead. The neighboring District 16 Special Services Assistant Superintendent generated a one page letter which did not even mention that a hearing had been held, but she signed it "Impartial Hearing Officer." After being out of school for ten days, Stratford sent a representative to the Fosters house for one hour each day, bringing homework assignments. John's high grades began to decline. The High Honor Roll students' middle school had become the Fosters' living room.. The Fosters threatened suit but were again ignored. John remained away from Stratford until the school year ended, despite the efforts of his parents to reason with school officials. He was made an outcast from the school, missed his eighth grade graduation, and John and his entire family were depressed for weeks. Some of the ground gained during therapy sessions was lost, and additional therapy sessions were required. During the process described, Stratford Junior High School, Queen Bee School District 16 and Community Consolidated School District 93 personnel violated numerous sections of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), John's Civil Rights and the Illinois School Code. The Fosters finally requested, and received, a real Due Process Hearing from the Illinois State Board of Education. In Seventh District Federal Court, Community Consolidated School District 93 v. John F., No. 00 CV 1347, Judge James F. Holderman found, on October 19, 2000, in a strongly worded decision, that John's rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, had been violated in numerous ways, and upheld the findings of a previous Due Process Hearing, FOSTER v. C.C.S.D. 93, Illinois State Board of Education Case NO. 1113, dated November 9, 1999. In May, 2001, the Fosters filed suit 01 C 3396, also in Seventh Federal District Court, for damages. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James E. Foster |
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