Re: School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

[Guest guest]

First I want to say that I am so sorry for what happened to your son. Talk about an extreme overreaction on the schools part. Are your son’s communication skills at the level that he could have asked for the food or told someone that he was hungry?

I guess one of the first things I would look for is what is written on your son’s IEP. Does his IEP demand close supervision, are there any accommodations regarding his eating disorder or communication issues?

I would want to know why your son was left unsupervised long enough to take the sandwich. I would also want to know if there is anything in the IEP that requires the school to actively engage in communication w/ your son.

I would also want to know why an apology is necessary to the lunch aids? It wasn’t their food, it was the schools. That seems to me to be far reaching and only required to humiliate him more. I would also want to know if there have been any other typical needs children who have taken food and what happened to them (very difficult to find out) was the typical needs child treated to the same punishment and humiliation?

If the school has refused to consider his eating disorder into his IEP, now would be the time to get it in the IEP. You also can call an all inclusive IEP meeting, including EVERY person that is w/ your child during the school day, including the aids … I wouldn’t jump right to this though … but you can if it’s necessary. A lot of ppl don’t know that lunch aids and even the janitorial staff can be included in an IEP meeting.

No real answer here, but I hope that some of the questions will help you figure something out.

Be well,

Kat

[ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.

On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.

The school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?

Please advise -- anyone.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pannell

[Guest guest]

I would contact the press. It sounds like they terrified Terrance and HE is due the apology!My son is autistic and would grab peoples food in a heartbeat if it weren't for his aides.Tell them you will cover the cost of the "federally funded" sandwich and from now on they can cover the cost of a one on one para professional aide to meet his special needs via an addition in his IEP for the remainder of his enrollment!

Debbie Young

From: evelyn_pannell@...Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:29:27 -0800Subject: [ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

Dear All:I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.The

school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?Please advise -- anyone.Sincerely,Mrs. Pannell

Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it now.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Kat so much for your feedback -- it seems that my son's IEP is where I can make some demands and changes so that this will not happen again but it is a shame how the school will not make any allowance or consideration due to my son's present condition.From: "KathieQuinnBoor@..." <KathieQuinnBoor@...> Sent: Fri,

December 18, 2009 11:39:35 AMSubject: Re: [ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

First I want to say that I am so sorry for what happened to your son. Talk about an extreme overreaction on the schools part. Are your son’s communication skills at the level that he could have asked for the food or told someone that he was hungry?

I guess one of the first things I would look for is what is written on your son’s IEP. Does his IEP demand close supervision, are there any accommodations regarding his eating disorder or communication issues?

I would want to know why your son was left unsupervised long enough to take the sandwich. I would also want to know if there is anything in the IEP that requires the school to actively engage in communication w/ your son.

I would also want to know why an apology is necessary to the lunch aids? It wasn’t their food, it was the schools. That seems to me to be far reaching and only required to humiliate him more. I would also want to know if there have been any other typical needs children who have taken food and what happened to them (very difficult to find out) was the typical needs child treated to the same punishment and humiliation?

If the school has refused to consider his eating disorder into his IEP, now would be the time to get it in the IEP. You also can call an all inclusive IEP meeting, including EVERY person that is w/ your child during the school day, including the aids … I wouldn’t jump right to this though … but you can if it’s necessary. A lot of ppl don’t know that lunch aids and even the janitorial staff can be included in an IEP meeting.

No real answer here, but I hope that some of the questions will help you figure something out.

Be well,

Kat

[ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.

On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.

The school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?

Please advise -- anyone.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pannell

[Guest guest]

Your more than welcome. I would suggest you get EVERYTHING in writing and tape the IEP meeting.

Thank you Kat so much for your feedback -- it seems that my son's IEP is where I can make some demands and changes so that this will not happen again but it is a shame how the school will not make any allowance or consideration due to my son's present condition.

[ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.

On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.

The school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?

Please advise -- anyone.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pannell

[Guest guest]

Dear Kat:Would you by chance know how I can find out the exact amount funding is given to my child for services? I never knew how much and how it is allocated. Once I am informed -- can I demand where that money goes in reference to helping my son's development? At present my son only receives an hour of Speech Therapy a day -- He needs more speech therapy and reading even after school if there is money for a tutor. Please advise -- your feedback is so much appreciated.From: "KathieQuinnBoor@..." <KathieQuinnBoor@...> Sent: Fri, December 18, 2009 5:02:16 PMSubject: Re: [ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

Your more than welcome. I would suggest you get EVERYTHING in writing and tape the IEP meeting.

Thank you Kat so much for your feedback -- it seems that my son's IEP is where I can make some demands and changes so that this will not happen again but it is a shame how the school will not make any allowance or consideration due to my son's present condition.

[ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.

On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.

The school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?

Please advise -- anyone.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pannell

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

While I understand your desire to know more about the funding, it really doesn't matter and that argument could easily backfire. Just as your finances are of no concern to them, theirs are of no concern (as far as IEP implementation) to you.

There are ways to find out, however school funding (especially for children w/ IEP’s) is so convoluted that it’s next to impossible to understand.

It doesn’t matter if your child costs $10,000 to educate or $100,000 to educate, FAPE is FAPE, there are no price limits in IDEA. Now, does that mean that the district will be willing to spend huge amounts of money? No way.

The district isn’t required to provide the “best†they are required by IDEA to provide “appropriateâ€. The hard part is finding an agreement as to what FAPE is for your child.

Most funding isn’t “per child†yet they get an amount per child. If the district receives $100 (just a made up number btw) per child that doesn’t mean that each child gets $100 in services. It means that they get $100 and if they have 20 children, that is $2,000 to spend on all 20 of those children, some could cost 25, some could cost 500. However, it’s not really as straight forward as that … there are all kinds of pockets of money that the district receives. Clear as mud, huh?

Anyway, while I understand wanting to know, it’s really not a good argument to get services.

HTH,

Kat

[ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.

On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.

The school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?

Please advise -- anyone.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pannell

[Guest guest]

Wow -- how sad. Well I will make new demands on my son's IEP based upon his current predicament. This whole incident is just making me sick. Thanks so much for your advice -- it is greatly appreciated. Have a Happy Holiday and New Year. I hope to talk to you again. Take care.From: "KathieQuinnBoor@..." <KathieQuinnBoor@...> Sent: Sat, December 19, 2009 7:35:29 PMSubject: Re: [ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

Hi , While I understand your desire to know more about the funding, it really doesn't matter and that argument could easily backfire. Just as your finances are of no concern to them, theirs are of no concern (as far as IEP implementation) to you. There are ways to find out, however school funding (especially for children w/ IEP’s) is so convoluted that it’s next to impossible to understand.

It doesn’t matter if your child costs $10,000 to educate or $100,000 to educate, FAPE is FAPE, there are no price limits in IDEA. Now, does that mean that the district will be willing to spend huge amounts of money? No way.

The district isn’t required to provide the “best†they are required by IDEA to provide “appropriateâ€. The hard part is finding an agreement as to what FAPE is for your child.

Most funding isn’t “per child†yet they get an amount per child. If the district receives $100 (just a made up number btw) per child that doesn’t mean that each child gets $100 in services. It means that they get $100 and if they have 20 children, that is $2,000 to spend on all 20 of those children, some could cost 25, some could cost 500. However, it’s not really as straight forward as that … there are all kinds of pockets of money that the district receives. Clear as mud, huh?

Anyway, while I understand wanting to know, it’s really not a good argument to get services.

HTH,

Kat

[ ] School Issue - Special Needs Child Will Be Suspended For Taking Sandwich

I am in a situation I am not sure how to handle. My son Terrance Pannell attends Nordonia Middle School. He is an Eighth grader in a Special Needs Class. Terrance is Autistic with an eating disorder. Terrance is an honor student and well behaved.

On Wednesday, Terrance was still hungry after lunch and without permission took an extra sandwich in the cafeteria. A lunch aide reported the incident and Terrance was taken into custody like a criminal. He was summoned to the principal's office and required to write a letter of apology to the school lunch aides, however after observing Terrance's remorse for taking the sandwich, apologizing continuously about the incident and having a nightmare about meeting with the principal, was enough apology for him.

The school begs to differ and are requiring my son to write a letter of apology or my son will be suspended for a day. Please someone give me your input on this -- I feel an injustice has been done based upon my son's condition and it is not taken into consideration at all. I am revising my son's IEP based on this current incident. What are my rights? if any?

Please advise -- anyone.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pannell