Feds to Probe Civil Rights Complaints Made Against School
Allegations made by a Cortlandt family that their son was subjected to “intentional bullying” and discriminated against by staff at Van Cortlandtville Elementary School on the basis of a learning disability has caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Education. New York Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
In an April 28 letter to Michelle Browne, Nadja Allen Gill, compliance team leader for OCR, confirmed federal workers would be investigating four complaints Browne and her husband, Neal, filed against the Lakeland School District on January 20 in reference to their son, Alec, a fifth grader who was taken out of Van Cortlandtville in late November and placed at St. Patrick’s Catholic school in Yorktown.
Several of the complaints made by the Brownes centered around Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which provides students with special learning needs extra time to complete classroom work and tests. Michelle Browne maintained she had sought those accommodations for Alec since he was in first grade.
OCR stated it would be looking into allegations by the Brownes that Lakeland retaliated against them for filing a disability discrimination complaint by referring Alec to the Committee on Special Education for an evaluation in mid-November, and discriminated against Alec, on the basis of his disability, by denying the Brownes access to the Student’s Committee on Special Education records, including Alec’s evaluation, which was requested on January 16.
“OCR is responsible for enforcing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504)…and its implementing regulation…, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education. OCR is also responsible for enforcing Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,” Gill stated. “The district is a recipient of financial assistance from the department and is a public elementary and secondary education system. Therefore, OCR has jurisdictional authority to investigate this complaint under Section 504 and the ADA.”
The Brownes have alleged a Dignity For All Students Act (DASA) investigation in October, which involved district staff to view all video of any occurrences where Alec and another student who allegedly constantly harassed him were together, led to a series of “intimidation and retaliation” from Lakeland officials. They also accused administrators at Van Cortlandtville and district offices of violating their rights by “using official resources to punish” them.
On November 5, the DASA investigation conducted by the district determined any alleged DASA violations were unfounded. On November 19, the Board of Education upheld the findings after the Brownes questioned the validity of the DASA probe.
The Brownes said this week they were “relieved” OCR was moving forward and conducting a full investigation “based on the information, which is documented in emails, letters, reports and recordings, we have already provided to the OCR investigators.”
“This is a big step in the right direction,” they stated. “As the investigators have full access to all records, the OCR will determine the accountability of the administrators and staff members, of Lakeland Central School District and Van Cortlandtville Elementary School, as well as the members of the Lakeland Board of Education,” the Brownes said. “We have been provided with the appropriate channels to pursue resolution of the issues the OCR does not have authority to address.”
In late February, Lakeland Superintendent of Schools Dr. George Stone vehemently defended the actions of Van Cortlandtville staff and other district officials who he maintained spent “extensive time” doing a “full and thorough investigation” into the complaints made by the Brownes.
Last week, Stone said the district would “cooperate fully with the Office of Civil Rights.”
“We strongly disagree with her (Michelle Browne) allegations and characterizations and otherwise simply cannot comment,” he stated.
Gill stated the OCR’s goal was a “prompt and appropriate resolution of the allegations contained in a complaint.”
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