Capital School District, Kent Co. Community School violate state, federal education laws

DOVER, Del. – Capital School District and Kent County Community School are being made to take corrective actions after a parent complaint. The parent who made the complaint says he wants others to hear his story, so it doesn’t happen to their children.

Complaint Filed

For parent Jordan Scott, the last several months have been consumed by going back and forth with Capital School District (CSD) and Kent County Community School (KCCS). “I never thought sending my kids to school would be phone call after phone, call meeting after meeting. I expected the IEP meetings. But, not dealing with so much bullying inside the school, and the district sidestepping every issue I bring to them,” he said.

Scott filed an official complaint with Delaware Department of Education (DOE). The DOE found that the school and district violated state and federal education laws, and has made corrective action recommendations. But, Scott says the fight isn’t over yet. “Yes, I’m glad they’re held accountable. But, at the same time, more needs to be done. This is going to end up affecting other parents who might not have done their research,” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking”

It started in 2021, when Scott says his son was subjected to relentless bullying at school. “It’s heartbreaking to have your child, whether they have a disability or not, saying ‘I don’t want to go back to school. So and so is going to pick on me. So and so is going to bully me,” he said. “I went to the principal, and they said ‘We’ll put this in place.’ What is ‘this’? [They said] ‘We’ll figure it out as we go.’ I was even told by the principal and the associate principal that they really couldn’t do anything to the bully because he was in his first year at the school.”

Scott says not enough was being done to protect his son. So, he pulled him out of school, and requested virtual learning on the Schoology platform. But, the problem is that Schoology does not meet the standards of Free Appropriate Public Education. Scott says CSD did not tell him that for months. “So you guys allowed two or three months to go by, where I was under the impression they were being educated properly by the standards of FAPE, and they really weren’t,” said Scott. “They need to provide parents with more accurate information. It’s about accountability at the end of the day.”

IDEA Violated

The DOE’s review of the situation ruled that CSD and KCCS violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on three different levels: The school and district failed to provide Scott’s son with appropriate special education services, staff members failed to share information with Scott about what was happening with his son, and staff members cyberstalked, threatened, and insulted Scott on social media.

The corrective actions suggested by the DOE included provisions both for Scott’s son, and the district as a whole. Scott’s son is due 41 days of compensatory education services  by December 15th, 2022, Scott could be reimbursed by the district for tutoring or other education services, and CSD is required to develop a plan to provide those corrective actions by May 31st, 2022.

CSD is now required to provide professional development to all special education staff and administrators. Any related materials for the professional development must be turned over to the DOE’s Director of Exceptional Children Resource Workgroup by May 31st, 2022. 47ABC did reach out to CSD and the DOE to press for more answers on the violations and corrective actions. A copy of the complaint investigation and report were provided, and the interview was turned down.

In a statement, CSD said, “As made clear in the investigator’s reports, the violations were procedural. Paperwork was not issued at the height of the Omicron variant when the parent wanted a change of placement and Capital School District acquiesced to this demand.”

Power In Numbers

Scott says while the ruling and corrective actions are a step in the right direction, they are just that: a step. “Teachers have to be suspended or removed from that position. Bullies need to be suspended,” he said. “When you have all these people in power involved, and they don’t do their job correctly or they knowingly misguide you, they shouldn’t be allowed to stay in that position of power.”

Now, Scott is on a mission to connect with other parents who have been through similar experiences. He says that is because there is power in numbers. And, Scott says that power is where real change begins. “You have to be vocal. If you don’t speak up, they’re never going to be held accountable, whether it be the district and the school that I dealt, with or whatever other school district,” he said. “Do your research. Be vocal. Advocate for your child, whether they have a disability or not. If there is a neurotypical child being bullied, you still have to be their voice.”