Mom of autistic boy voted out of class seeks hearing in son's case

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class-seeks-hearing-son/

Mom of autistic boy voted out of class seeks hearing in son's case

By Kirley (Contact)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The mother of a 5-year-old former Morningside

Elementary student reportedly voted out of his kindergarten class at

the prompting of his teacher has demanded a hearing before a state

administrative law judge that may settle her son's special

educational needs and set the stage for suing local schools in state

or federal court.

Barton's son, , suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a type

of high-functioning autism. She released an otherwise confidential

complaint Tuesday that outlines her and her son's version of events

leading up to a May 21 incident in the classroom of Portillo.

According to several official accounts, Portillo asked 's fellow

kindergarten students to vote on whether to allow to return to

class after he was removed twice that day for behavior problems

possibly related to his autistic disorder.

The county School Board voted to suspend Portillo one year without

pay Nov. 18 and afterward to put the tenured teacher on a year-by-

year contract. Her attorney, of Stuart, notified the

School Board that his client intends to appeal that action.

The complaint released by Barton alleges the School District failed

to develop a plan to meet 's educational needs and asks the

administrative judge to order the district to compensate them the

cost of private schooling, testing and counseling.

It also seeks compensation and punitive damages for mental suffering

and alleged assault and battery on . The latter actions were

investigated by the Port St. Lucie Police Department and reviewed by

the State Attorney's Office, which concluded a criminal case was not

warranted.

Administrative judges in Florida have no authority to award punitive

damages and are limited in awards of compensation. However, it is

common to outline such demands in administrative complaints to give

the judge more complete information, said Jeff Vastola, an attorney

handling personal injury complaints for Barton. It is also necessary

for the allegations to be included in the administrative hearings for

them to be later heard in state civil courts, he said.

The complaint by Barton on behalf of was sent to the School

Board on Aug. 28.

Board attorney Dan Harrell said school officials are prohibited by

state and federal law from talking about complaints that contain

confidential student information.

" She (Ms. Barton) can open the door as wide as she wants, " Harrell

said. " We have to maintain the confidentiality of the information

regardless of what she chooses to do with it. "

currently is being schooled at home by a St. Lucie County

teacher and the family is working with school officials to develop an

appropriate individual education plan, said Sopp, a West Palm

Beach attorney handling the civil aspects of the Barton complaint.

" The important thing is to get back into a classroom setting, "

Sopp said.