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Family accusing Buckeye preschool of bias against disabled boy
http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2010/10/25/20101025buckeye-preschool-bias-accusation.html#ixzz13Urrrqa4
by Megan Gordon - Oct. 25, 2010
The Arizona Republic
A family is accusing a Buckeye preschool of discriminating against disabled students in a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education.
Jennifer and Joseph Herring, the parents of a student in Buckeye Elementary School District's preschool, want the school to make its playground and bathrooms accessible to the disabled. They also want a safer evacuation route.
Colleen Lopez, the student's grandmother, told The Arizona Republic the preschool has a "stellar" staff but the 50-year-old facility is inadequate and unsafe.
Superintendent Allen Steen said he will not comment on Lopez's claims, but said, "Safety is the Number 1 priority for our students. We're just moving forward."
The Education Department'sOffice for Civil Rights Western Division confirmed it is investigating Lopez's civil-rights complaint, claiming the district "subjected preschool students with disabilities to different treatment with respect to the safety of their facility, among other things," spokesman Jim Bradshaw said.
He said the office acts as "a neutral fact finder" to determine whether a complaint has merit.
"It will collect and analyze all relevant evidence from the parties involved in the case to develop its findings," he said.
Complaint dismissed
The Education Department dismissed a second complaint that the district retaliated against Lopez and her family for filing the discrimination accusation.
Lopez said school officials made the family leave the preschool campus, just south of Buckeye Elementary School, during an open house and discouraged district staff and governing board members from speaking with the family.
The department interviewed district employees, the family and other parents and found "insufficient evidence to establish that the district retaliated against the . . . family," according to the Sept. 3 Office for Civil Rights findings, obtained by The Republic.
Steen said he agrees with the Education Department and reiterated that district employees never retaliated against Lopez nor the Herrings. Lopez said it is "almost impossible to prove retaliation."
Safety concerns debated
The family is more concerned with the initial case involving "the safety of the preschool and . . . accessibility for handicapped students," Lopez said.
The initial complaint, filed Feb. 1, show the family was concerned with "safety issues" at the preschool campus, built mostly in 1959.
"We want the school's bathrooms handicap (accessible). We want the playgrounds handicap (accessible). We want a safe environment for Timothy (to) learn and play in. We want (accessibility) for all students no matter what their disability is," according to the complaint.
The Herrings took their son, Timothy, who is physically disabled, out of the school Nov. 20, 2009, according to the complaint.
Over the past year, Buckeye repainted, posted evacuation routes in classrooms and sprayed for pests, as well as added safety fencing around the preschool campus. The district also named a new preschool director, Sue Johnson, in July.
Lopez said the parents re-enrolled their son and enrolled his younger brother in August because of the changes but said improvements are still needed.
The school's "large playground" is still inaccessible to disabled students, which Lopez says violates federal equity laws. She also said the emergency-exit route is not handicap accessible, because school staff would need to assist children in walkers or wheelchairs.
"Their staff is stellar. Their therapist is wonderful. But their facility is inadequate," Lopez said. "I don't have a background that would make me know all these disability laws, but I have a grandson who needed to go on the playground and play with other kids and was literally denied that because the playground was not accessible."
http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2010/10/25/20101025buckeye-preschool-bias-accusation.html#ixzz13Urrrqa4
by Megan Gordon - Oct. 25, 2010
The Arizona Republic
A family is accusing a Buckeye preschool of discriminating against disabled students in a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education.
Jennifer and Joseph Herring, the parents of a student in Buckeye Elementary School District's preschool, want the school to make its playground and bathrooms accessible to the disabled. They also want a safer evacuation route.
Colleen Lopez, the student's grandmother, told The Arizona Republic the preschool has a "stellar" staff but the 50-year-old facility is inadequate and unsafe.
Superintendent Allen Steen said he will not comment on Lopez's claims, but said, "Safety is the Number 1 priority for our students. We're just moving forward."
The Education Department'sOffice for Civil Rights Western Division confirmed it is investigating Lopez's civil-rights complaint, claiming the district "subjected preschool students with disabilities to different treatment with respect to the safety of their facility, among other things," spokesman Jim Bradshaw said.
He said the office acts as "a neutral fact finder" to determine whether a complaint has merit.
"It will collect and analyze all relevant evidence from the parties involved in the case to develop its findings," he said.
Complaint dismissed
The Education Department dismissed a second complaint that the district retaliated against Lopez and her family for filing the discrimination accusation.
Lopez said school officials made the family leave the preschool campus, just south of Buckeye Elementary School, during an open house and discouraged district staff and governing board members from speaking with the family.
The department interviewed district employees, the family and other parents and found "insufficient evidence to establish that the district retaliated against the . . . family," according to the Sept. 3 Office for Civil Rights findings, obtained by The Republic.
Steen said he agrees with the Education Department and reiterated that district employees never retaliated against Lopez nor the Herrings. Lopez said it is "almost impossible to prove retaliation."
Safety concerns debated
The family is more concerned with the initial case involving "the safety of the preschool and . . . accessibility for handicapped students," Lopez said.
The initial complaint, filed Feb. 1, show the family was concerned with "safety issues" at the preschool campus, built mostly in 1959.
"We want the school's bathrooms handicap (accessible). We want the playgrounds handicap (accessible). We want a safe environment for Timothy (to) learn and play in. We want (accessibility) for all students no matter what their disability is," according to the complaint.
The Herrings took their son, Timothy, who is physically disabled, out of the school Nov. 20, 2009, according to the complaint.
Over the past year, Buckeye repainted, posted evacuation routes in classrooms and sprayed for pests, as well as added safety fencing around the preschool campus. The district also named a new preschool director, Sue Johnson, in July.
Lopez said the parents re-enrolled their son and enrolled his younger brother in August because of the changes but said improvements are still needed.
The school's "large playground" is still inaccessible to disabled students, which Lopez says violates federal equity laws. She also said the emergency-exit route is not handicap accessible, because school staff would need to assist children in walkers or wheelchairs.
"Their staff is stellar. Their therapist is wonderful. But their facility is inadequate," Lopez said. "I don't have a background that would make me know all these disability laws, but I have a grandson who needed to go on the playground and play with other kids and was literally denied that because the playground was not accessible."
