Thanks to everyone in Tommy’s fan club’s help, we have his Christmas present! You guys are the best!
Noah had to have some dental work today and when I returned him to school his mouth was still bleeding (Von Willebrands). I would like to have brought him home to let him heal but quite honestly I’m afraid to let my children stay home. Last week we got a note from the school system complaining about Tommy’s constant early dismissals. The note explained that Tommy owed many hours that would have to be made up before and after school hours. It also made a vague threat that if this early dismissal continued we would be called before the Knox County Juvenile Court judge who handles truancy cases. Tommy has all those early dismissals because the school called me to come pick him up! So, when they call again this week do I refuse to pick him up and risk them having him taken to Juvenile Court because he is out of control?
All they do is sit him in front of the Internet. He can do that at home just as well.
Been there, done that. This is one of the reasons we finally decided to let JD leave school. His school knew he had psychiatrist and therapist appointment regulary. Even though they were “legal” absences with doctor’s excuses, they kept penalizing him with what they called “sanction.” A certain amount of those and here come da judge. This system is just not working for special needs kids. Their stupidity basically pushed him out of school. He was held back a year so by dropping out and getting his GED, he will actually be back on track. He will be able to take the GED when his class graduates. From that point, he want to work for awhile then go to a school for audio technology. Someone who works in a sound studio or as an engineer in a recording studio. His school could have cared less that he is incredible at music and computers. All they cared about was trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. He just didn’t fit and now, they can go to hell. It feels good not to have the constant threat of the courts or Children’s Services hanging over our heads. I never thought I would make it.
Exactly. The school types aren’t used to parents getting back into their faces and fighting. I think they believe the intimidation factor will control anyone who disagrees. Arm yourself with state laws. Federal ones are real good since the school’s usually get federal funding of some sort so they don’t want you knowing what they are supposed to be doing.
I got in their faces hard once. That’s one reason they don’t like us.
Ugghhh … we went through the same thing. Justin missed a lot of school due to hospitalization, recovery from that, doctor appointments, and many “bad days” when he was just too unstable to go at all, or had to leave early. We got “the letter” and had to go to “the meeting” to hear the speech about how we were bad mommies and daddies for letting our kids lay out of school. But when the meeting was over, I raised some unholy hell with those people. I finally was put face to face with someone from the truancy board and she told me that SpEd kids are supposed to be given more leniency. We weren’t supposed to get “the letter” at all!
Get pushy with these people … call your School Board rep and get them off your back. Geez o’pete, as if ya don’t have enough to worry about as it is!