A Restraining Order Is Keeping a Boy With Down Syndrome From Classes

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/10/AR2006021001963.html

Conflicting Needs at Md. School

A Restraining Order Is Keeping a Boy With Down Syndrome From Classes, But His Parents Dispute the Frederick System's Claim That He's Dangerous

By Fredrick Kunkle

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, February 11, 2006; Page B01

Bill Hutchison stands 4 feet 2 inches in his sneakers. He weighs 65 pounds. As of Tuesday, the 10-year-old is prohibited by court order from entering his elementary school because he's considered a danger.

The Frederick County public schools took the unusual step of obtaining a restraining order because Bill, a fourth-grader with Down syndrome, has had repeated violent outbursts that threatened himself and others, county Circuit Court filings say.

Bill Hutchison, 10, waited with mother in his school's office one day before a school restraining order against him went into effect. (By Frey -- The Washington Post)

Unusual Restraint

The Frederick County Board of Education has filed a restraining order against 10-year-old Bill Hutchison, who has down syndrome

In a case that illustrates the painful choices in balancing the rights of disabled students and the rights of their peers and school staffs, the school system has resorted to a restraining order for the first time. The system wants to send Bill to a special school, but his parents refuse.

Bill's parents dispute the characterization of their son's behavior, but court papers filed by the Board of Education give a long list of Bill's outbursts since his arrival at Monocacy Elementary in March:

He has bitten, growled, screamed and used abusive language. He has spit at staff members, rammed his head into their faces, tripped them, hit them with his fists and wrapped his hands around a staff member's throat and threatened to strangle her. During one outburst Jan. 31, staff members had to escort him to the office, and he fought the entire way. After being placed in a room for a timeout that day, he stripped naked and stayed that way for about 30 minutes. On Oct. 17, the staff was forced to evacuate the rest of the class until he calmed down, the filings say.

Bill's mother, Hutchison, said the school triggered some of the misbehavior by using inappropriate methods to control him. And she said that what school officials are saying now differs from reports the school sent home on days Bill required discipline. For instance, on a day when Bill allegedly caused a significant disturbance in the cafeteria, he brought home a "smiley card" for good behavior.

"If you met him, he's nowhere near what they describe," said Hutchison, 31, a night-shift nurse in Frederick. "He's not a maniac. The things that they leave out is what they've been doing to him, like what starts an event before the hitting and the screaming."

Bill is a triplet. Unlike his brothers, however, who are identical twins, he is a fraternal sibling and carries an extra chromosome. Health problems -- including bouts of pneumonia related to a tracheotomy -- have further complicated his development. He speaks in short sentences, usually directed at his mother, and it is sometimes difficult to understand what he is saying unless she interprets.

School officials want to transfer Bill to Rock Creek School in Frederick, which serves disabled children and adults ages 3 to 21, because it is better equipped to handle him. But because he is protected under the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the system cannot unilaterally remove him from the school for a lengthy period or transfer him to a different educational setting.

In an affidavit, Monocacy Principal Leigh Warren said the system had suspended him for 10 days and could not suspend him further. She said Bill's outbursts had "resulted in injury" to staff members but did not specify the injuries.

"Our very first priority is to ensure the safety of all children in our care," said Pamela Pencola, director of special education in Frederick County's schools. Like other school officials contacted for this report, Pencola declined to discuss specifics of the case.

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act requires that every special education student receive an education tailored to his or her specific needs and in the least restrictive setting. It also allows families to challenge a child's individualized education plan, known as an IEP, in a hearing before an administrative law judge.

The Hutchisons object to placing their son in Rock Creek because they believe he would receive more punitive behavioral controls and less instruction. Hutchison cites a letter from her son's pediatrician that bolsters their view.

"They just want to move him to a place where they're going to lock him in. The seclusion room is essentially a padded room," she said. "That's not a solution."

Bill Hutchison, 10, waited with mother in his school's office one day before a school restraining order against him went into effect. (By Frey -- The Washington Post)

The Frederick County Board of Education has filed a restraining order against 10-year-old Bill Hutchison, who has down syndrome

The Hutchisons were preparing for their hearing this week when the school system obtained the 10-day restraining order. The system said it had to move rapidly before someone else was hurt.

Bill's father said he believes the system filed for the temporary restraining order because the family has challenged its educational plan for their son and because of personal friction between his wife and some staffers over the past year.

"At this point, I think they just want her backed off any way they can. They just don't want you to stand up to them," said Hutchison, 35, a supervisor in a carpentry company.

The conflict echoes a recent Supreme Court case involving a Montgomery County couple that challenged the school system's special education program for their son.

The parents argued that the burden of proof should fall to the schools when individualized education plans are disputed, a view opposed by educators who feared that the costs and potential litigation would balloon. The court ruled that parents, like all plaintiffs in legal proceedings, must bear the burden of proof.

The law spells out the measures that schools can take to deal with disruptive special education students, and it guarantees that parents can challenge those decisions. It also provides for expedited hearings on removing a child from class for long periods or finding a more appropriate setting, and it recognizes that a school might go to court.

The U.S. Education Department does not have data on how often schools have gone to court over disciplinary issues involving disabled students, a spokesman said. Little data are available on how often a restraining order is used for emotionally or physically disabled students. Educational experts say the practice appears to be rare but has increased after several high-profile episodes of school violence, such as the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School outside Denver.

Monday morning at the Hutchisons' house, was getting ready to take Bill to school on his first day back after a one-day suspension. Although she had been up all night working, she planned to spend the day with him.

Bill was glued to the screen of a portable DVD player showing "The Doodlebops," a Disney show popular with preschoolers. He was eating yogurt and playing with a rolled-up piece of gift wrap while his sister and two brothers raced through breakfast and prepared to catch their school bus.

When his mother asked him to turn down the sound, he refused, saying he would not be able to hear it. His father asked him again, and Bill complied.

A little while later, he picked up a toy electric guitar and strummed.

"That guitar was quite a mistake. What was Santa thinking?" said while going through paperwork from the school. She asked Bill to turn the guitar down, too.

"Well, M-o-o-o-om," Bill said, whining, and he fiddled with the knobs until it became softer.