WALLED LAKE, Mich. – Parents of special needs children in Walled Lake addressed the school board Thursday night about the district segregating their kids.
Melody Arabo, a mother of twin boys who have speech apraxia and Michigan teacher of the year in 2014, filed a complaint with the state.
Sadly, one of her boys died last week of a rare case of the flu.
Her complaint alleges many violations by the district including trying to intimidate and coerce parents into an improper placement of their kids.
“They would essentially remove them from their home school, instead of bringing the supports to the child and take the child to the supports,” Arabo said.
Parents called it a “miserable process” that would send their special-needs children away from their home school and to another for just cognitively impaired students.
“We don’t want to send him to the self-contained classroom at Meadowbrook because it’s not where he belongs and it goes against our family’s beliefs for our kids,” Arabo said.
The district released the following statement:
"We have a duty to provide an appropriate public education for every student. The district made a decision about how to do that. There is a process for resolving these disagreements and it is a confidential process."
The district also said it will follow state education laws which say that kids needs drive decisions.
"The only issue I've ever had, as a parent, trying to work with the special services department. It's been a miserable process,” Arabo said. “I have not gotten to enjoy my children's kindergarten experience and sadly now one of them is gone now and I will never get to."