KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Public Schools was hit with another lawsuit, this time from a family claiming the district failed to accommodate their child with a disability.
According to the 25-page lawsuit filed by Angela and Lee Smith, their child is diagnosed with emotional dysregulation, anxiety, major depressive disorder, attention deficit disorder, suicidal ideation and conversion disorder.
This was first acknowledged by the district in 2018 when they developed a Section 504 plan for him. The 504 plan is a blueprint for how the district will support a student with a disability.
That plan was developed annually for the next three years, but the parents claim it was later violated.
When the student got COVID in December of 2021, he returned in January of 2022. During that time, the lawsuit claims he fell behind in his classes and received failing grades.
The parents requested that the district accommodate the student’s inability to catch up with his work but were told he was no longer sick and told him to quote, “buck up because he didn’t have COVID anymore.”
The lawsuit says the student's mood started to spiral and he refused to attend school. That’s when the parents went to the district for help again, asking if they could provide homebound services. They claim the district refused.
The student was later hospitalized for two weeks in April 2022. When he was discharged, his father took unpaid family medical leave (FMLA) so he could take care of him. The parents claim that it cost them $20,000 in unpaid wages.
The student was hospitalized again from early August until the end of October 2022, which cost the family $30,000.
Toward the end of the student's hospitalization, the documents allege the district refused to take steps to determine whether he was IDEA–eligible until he physically returned to the district.
Upon his return, they deemed him eligible and developed a new individual education plan for him in February of this year.
The family is seeking damages for finances lost, the district's violation of policy, and attorney fees.
“The School District’s acts and omissions, including its failure to meet its statutory obligations to the Student under federal and Michigan law, have deeply and permanently scarred the Student,” the lawsuit states.
Kalamazoo Public Schools would not comment on the lawsuit due to pending litigation.
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