Federal judge rules against Hoover school system in 3-year special ed case

A federal judge this week ruled against the Hoover school system in a three-year court battle over providing special education services to a Hoover High school student who was struggling with psychological and emotional issues.

U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala on Monday ruled in favor of the girl’s guardian, saying the school system erred in its process for assessing whether the girl needed specially designed instruction.

Haikala ordered the school district to follow the September 2016 ruling of a hearing officer for the Alabama Department of Education, who had instructed the district to get an independent evaluation of the girl to help determine whether she was eligible for an individualized education program, commonly known in special education circles as an IEP.

School officials had offered instead to provide the girl a 504 plan, which is a type of plan designed to provide support and remove barriers for students with disabilities. However, the girl’s guardian, Rick Leventry, said the school system has zero accountability with that type of plan. He wanted an IEP, which requires the school to provide updates on a student’s progress. School officials refused, saying the girl did not qualify for special education services.

Haikala ruled that the school system did not adequately explore whether the girl needed special education because school representatives on the team assessing her did not fully understand her impairment.

She commended the school district for its efforts to support the girl but agreed with the hearing officer that the school district should have sought input from the girl’s psychologist, who had personally examined and counseled her.

So now, the district must get the independent evaluation, reconvene its assessment team and consider input from the girl’s psychologist.

The girl’s guardian wanted the Hoover school system to provide homebound services for her in lieu of her coming to school. Leventry said the girl could not attend Hoover High because of anxiety related to the fact that her estranged mother, who had lost custody, works at Hoover High and had been aggressive with her at school.

“That was an emotional trigger for her,” Leventry said. “She was getting so upset and so stressed out that she was passing out … literally dropping and getting hurt. … She was passing out seven to eight times a day.”

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy declined to discuss specifics about the case but said the school district always convenes a team of educators and others to review any request for special services.

This is not a situation where a child was being ignored, but rather a disagreement about the level of services that should be provided, Murphy said. The team gave thoughtful consideration to the request, she said.

Leventry appealed the decision not to provide an IEP to a hearing officer appointed by the state. The hearing officer concluded the school district needed to reconsider its decision with input from the outside evaluator and the girl’s therapist, and the school district appealed that ruling to federal court.

That was in November 2016. Meanwhile, the girl has been out of school for three years and four months. In March 2016, Hoover allowed her to attend the New Beginnings program at the Crossroads alternative school when that school was at a separate campus on Columbiana Road.

But the girl kept passing out there, too, court records show. In May 2016, she fell, hit her head on concrete, dislocated her shoulder and suffered a concussion. Though she never officially dropped out, she never returned to school, records show.

She’s now 19 years old, living on her own with support from the Leventry family and working a part-time job, Leventry said. But she still needs to get either her diploma or a GED, and Leventry said he now hopes the school system will provide tutoring to help her do that.

Leventry said it’s sad the Hoover school system has spent so much time and money challenging the state hearing officer’s ruling in federal court when it would have been cheaper to provide the services requested.

“It’s a sad story. She’s a good kid,” Leventry said. “They wrote her off.”

Murphy said it’s the school system’s objective to serve every child to the best of their ability according to his or her needs, as well as to make wise decisions in how the district utilizes and invests money. In this case, they made what they thought was the best decision at that point in time, and now they certainly will follow the judge’s order, she said.