Woman says son is bus aggressor; wants video

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http://www.news-leader.com/article/20090501/NEWS04/905010359

Woman says son is bus aggressor; wants video

Trotter • News-Leader • May 1, 2009

A mother who believes her son is the boy who assaulted an autistic child on a

school bus says she is frustrated and angry that school officials won't tell her

what happened or even confirm her child was involved.

Brigett Mc-, mother of Delaware Elementary student Brett Mc,

said she believes it was her son, who is also autistic, who slapped, poked and

hit Tripp Woolery on April 17.

When she asked him about the incident, Brett admitted he " might have slapped

someone, " Mc- said. And he has since been moved to a different bus.

Delaware school officials will neither confirm nor deny Brett was involved, she

said.

" We're facing the same frustrations as the other family, " Mc- said,

referring to the Woolery family. " They're not telling us anything. "

Now, she is worried there will be unknown disciplinary consequences for her son.

" I'm scared they're going to take him from me, " she said, adding an investigator

from the Division of Family Services has since visited their home.

Delaware Elementary principal Donna Prouty would not say whether she had

informed the parents of the children involved in the incident.

When asked if parents were told of their child's involvement in the incident,

district officials also refused to comment.

" The district can have no comment on the questions you submitted due to

parameters set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, " said

Marc Maness, community relations director, in an e-mail.

A late- afternoon follow-up e-mail to Maness asking what is the district's

policy for providing information to parents of children involved in an assault

incident did not receive a reply.

Reached on his cell phone, superintendent Norm Ridder said there was no district

policy for informing parents in such incidents.

" This is all in the hands of our attorney, determining what kind of contact is

made, " Ridder said.

Because of recent changes to the FERPA -- the Family Educational Rights and

Privacy Act -- the district has to examine each situation differently, he said.

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" There is no precedent for this, " Ridder said.

A call to the home of district attorney Ransom Ellis III was not immediately

returned.

" He blacked out "

In addition to autism, Brett also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

Mc- said. But he has never before acted violently toward other

children, she said.

On April 17, his bus was about 30 minutes late to the corner of Rockhurst Street

and Belview Avenue, where her husband, Steve , picks up Brett, she said.

Beside the tardiness, nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Brett was picked

up, said , Brett's stepfather.

But after they began reading the News-Leader stories about the incident,

Mc- began to question Brett about it.

" He said that he might have slapped someone but then he blacked out and doesn't

remember anything, " she said, adding that he cried when questioned about the

incident.

Like the Woolery family, Mc- said she has also requested to see a

videotape of the incident to confirm Brett's involvement but was denied.

Citing FERPA, district officials have said " only district personnel and

authorized investigatory agencies may view videos of this nature. "

Lomonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, described the

district's interpretation of FERPA as " a common misapplication " and " legally

untenable. "

The SPLC, a national organization based in Virginia, has been working to oppose

recent changes to FERPA that have tightened public access to school records.

" FERPA is intended to conceal confidential documents, " Lomonte said. " What

happens on a bus in front of 30 other people is not a confidential document. "

" FERPA was never intended to forbid a parent from seeing a film of their own

child. "

Without seeing the video, and with no further information from the district,

Mc- said she feels frustrated enough to remove Brett from the

Springfield school system.

They have been praying for the Woolerys, she said, and trying to piece together

what happened.

" Why won't they tell us anything? Why can't we see the video? " Mc-

asked, breaking into tears. " We feel totally alone in this. "

" There is no precedent for this, " Ridder said

A call to the home of district attorney Ransom Ellis III was not immediately

returned.

" He blacked out "

In addition to autism, Brett also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

Mc- said. But he has never before acted violently toward other

children, she said.

On April 17, his bus was about 30 minutes late to the corner of Rockhurst Street

and Belview Avenue, where her husband, Steve , picks up Brett, she said.

Beside the tardiness, nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Brett was picked

up, said , Brett's stepfather.

But after they began reading the News-Leader stories about the incident,

Mc- began to question Brett about it.

" He said that he might have slapped someone but then he blacked out and doesn't

remember anything, " she said, adding that he cried when questioned about the

incident.

Like the Woolery family, Mc- said she has also requested to see a

videotape of the incident to confirm Brett's involvement but was denied.

Citing FERPA, district officials have said " only district personnel and

authorized investigatory agencies may view videos of this nature. "

Lomonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, described the

district's interpretation of FERPA as " a common misapplication " and " legally

untenable. "

The SPLC, a national organization based in Virginia, has been working to oppose

recent changes to FERPA that have tightened public access to school records.

" FERPA is intended to conceal confidential documents, " Lomonte said. " What

happens on a bus in front of 30 other people is not a confidential document. "

" FERPA was never intended to forbid a parent from seeing a film of their own

child. "

Without seeing the video, and with no further information from the district,

Mc- said she feels frustrated enough to remove Brett from the

Springfield school system.

They have been praying for the Woolerys, she said, and trying to piece together

what happened.

" Why won't they tell us anything? Why can't we see the video? " Mc-

asked, breaking into tears. " We feel totally alone in this. "