Richmond school violated law by barring special needs student from in-person learning, state says - 8News
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) found Richmond Public Schools noncompliant after denying a special needs student in-person learning.
Back in September, 8th grader Micah Davis to get back in the classroom. COVID restrictions the year before forced his classes to move online.
However, when Davis arrived at Binford Middle School, staff told his mom they couldn’t accept him.
Davis said the last year has been “difficult.” His mom, Natalynne Hicks, said he missed 25 days of school before Binford let him back in the building.
“He’s at a disadvantage trying to play catch up,” she said.
Now, the Virginia Department of Education has found that RPS was breaking the law.
“They found what I was stating was actually fact. I mean, you can’t change the law, the law is what it is,” said Hicks.
RPS alleged a nationwide shortage of workers made it impossible for Binford to support the special needs student. However, VDOE found that’s no excuse.
In a response to a complaint filed by Hicks and Dr. Marla Crawford with Elite Educational Consulting, VDOE state RPS failed to provide free appropriate public education to Davis when they failed to implement his Individualized Education Program (IEP).
The IEP calls for the 14-year-old to attend his assigned school.
“An IEP is a federal document that’s regulated by the government that they have to implement as written,” said Hicks.
RPS has been ordered to come up with a corrective action plan, but Hicks fears a new battle may be on the horizon. “They proposed one hour of education services for the 25 days for each day that he’s missed, which is not acceptable,” she said.
An rps spokesperson told 8News they “cannot comment on any legal matters.”
Davis lost about 6 and half hours of learning each day he was barred from Binford.
Hicks said she’s willing to work with RPS and cut the catch-up to 4 and half hours. She added that they’re going to have to make it up after school, on weekends or even holidays.
RPS could appeal the state’s decision.
In the meantime, Davis who loves school, is just happy to be back in the classroom. He’s not letting this situation dampen his desire to learn, “I have been through a lot but I never gave up.”
source: https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond-schools-violated-law-by-barring-special-needs-student-from-in-person-learning-state-says/
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