The Swamp

God, that's just awful. The sad truth in this country is that if you call the police to come deal with someone who is angry or violent, there's a very real chance the police will shoot that person, regardless of the situation. Hope that poor kid recovers.

bfj wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 9:33 am Breaks my heart. We train police all the time, but this shit still happens.

JFC

This online learning is going really well so far.

This popped across Reddit today. The guy is pretty good!

bfj wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 9:33 am Breaks my heart. We train police all the time, but this shit still happens.

Bodycam video of the incident. Not easy to watch.

Where is the attempt to de-escalate? These officers knew of the fear this kid had of the cops, yet they yell, threaten and chase. No calm voices, no mental health professional, which mom requested. This could very well be my son.

Shit that they are teaching my son. I’m losing my mind. Today the stupid woman was using Typhoid and infection as synonyms. As in, and this is a direct quote, “he could catch a Typhoid”.

Navigate: Channel :: Triumph:
Michelle came across many challenges when taking Algebra, but she triumphed and received an A+ in the class!
A. Unsuccessful
B. Fail
C. Victor

Sick: Ill :: Widow: _______
After her husband had passed, Marry became a widow.

A. Husband
B. Wife
C. Tyrant not a good leader or person

Are those real?

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:47 pmAre those real?

Copied directly from the pages he was sent.

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:44 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:47 pmAre those real?

Copied directly from the pages he was sent.

wow

Told the speech therapist her services were no longer needed. That’s how bad she is, I’d rather have no therapist for my son than have this moron work with him one day longer.

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 10:05 pm Told the speech therapist her services were no longer needed. That’s how bad she is, I’d rather have no therapist for my son than have this moron work with him one day longer.

Probably for the best. Better to cut bait than deal with incompetence.

Here we go again.

bfj wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 8:00 pm

Here we go again.

Good luck. Sorry you are having to keep waging this fight.

Ugh. Best of luck

Good luck BFJ

Give em hell BFJ

Good luck, BFJ.

Best of luck my friend.

Good luck, buddy. I can't believe Max is about to be 17.

All CoPS Are Bastards

So our Due Process hearing is scheduled to start on April 21st. Our attorney filed a motion of partial summary judgment yesterday laying out all of the facts that are indisputable hoping to get a ruling on some of the main issues before we start. The main issue that we are basing this case on is that Max wasn't provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) which is guaranteed under the the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Max's IEP is a legal document that states Max is supposed to have 4 periods/day and be given a reading program called Verbalizing and Visualizing (VV), which was suggested by the school many years ago and has been implemented since Max was in elementary school. Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) doesn't have any certified VV instructors, so they have to subcontract it out to the company that developed VV, Lindamood-Bell. They have done that since 5th grade, he would get 2 hours of VV a day during his school day and the county footed the bill. A few years ago they made it 1 hour/day, we argued, but figured something was better than nothing. This past summer VV decided that working only one hour/day with Max wasn't helping him or worth their time and they said they couldn't work with him for less than 2 hours/day anymore. BCPS's lawyer (let's call her Twatface) told us she would find us someone to teach VV. It never happened, so Max has been without VV all year long, A CLEAR VIOLATION OF FAPE.

Since Max would normally have VV for 1-2 hours/day, there was always a gap left in his schedule for VV. However, once VV was taken off his schedule, they never put him in any other classes during that time period. All other students would get 4 classes/day. So my son, who was clearly struggling academically this year, was being denied the opportunity for a 4th period of learning. ANOTHER CLEAR VIOLATION OF FAPE

What we asked for in our claim is that Max be moved out of the school he's in because the IEP team and administration is clearly not looking out for Max at all. We want VV brought back for 2 hours/day during school at BCPS's expense. We want a fund set up to help Max regain the losses he's had this year from a lack of VV. This money would be used for extra tutoring, social opportunities and to work on a transition plan for when he leaves HS eventually. We also want all of our legal fees reimbursed to us from this entire year (around 11k at the moment). Technically, we aren't entitled to this money, but we've asked for it and have received it in the past. Even when presented with all of this negligence by BCPS, Twatface wouldn't negotiate and chose to push forward for the Due Process hearing. Twatface is new, she hasn't dealt with us before. We've dealt with her boss. He was always reasonable and fair and really seemed to be looking out for my son's benefit. We've always dealt with her boss, but she was dealing with us this year and for some reason, she wants to try and make us go away by not coming to the table with a reasonable counter offer.

This morning Twatface's boss emailed our attorney. He read the motion that was filed and really wants to talk to us about a resolution. If we can avoid this Due Process hearing it will save me a lot of money and stress. I don't believe that BCPS will ever do right by my son, but I live where I live and there isn't much to be done about that. If we can get this fund set up to help him going forward and get VV back to help him with reading comprehension, it will be a win for Max.

Sorry this is so long, thanks for listening. I'll post here as soon as my lawyer talks with Twatface's boss.

That you're the ones who have to bend over backwards all day every day to make this right is a disgrace

He's lucky to have you, bfj.

Was pretty angry after reading BFJ's post and then got angrier after reading the next two and thinking about all of the kids who get completely left behind because their parents can't or won't fight how Max's parents are fighting for him and then angrier still thinking that means the system is probably working as intended.

rass wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:03 am Was pretty angry after reading BFJ's post and then got angrier after reading the next two and thinking about all of the kids who get completely left behind because their parents can't or won't fight how Max's parents are fighting for him and then angrier still thinking that means the system is probably working as intended.

God, all of this.

I have to say one of the things I love about this place is the amazing parents everyone seems to be. bfj, you're awesome.

Thanks for the love, it really does help since there aren't a whole lot of people I can talk about this with. My son is lucky to have my wife who is a special educator and a brilliant woman who doesn't tolerate fools (I'm the exception she makes). She knows what he's due and will accept nothing less. Without her, I think I'd be pretty lost and like many parents, trust the system to do the right thing. I really believe the only reason they are pushing this to Due Process instead of coming to a resolution is that they think that we will back off because of how expensive this can all be. It feels like a poker game where we have pushed all in and we just have to wait to see if they fold or play their cards.

My lawyer talked to Twatface's boss and he told us that he is intervening on his own and NOT by the request of his client (BCPS). Since he is so familiar with Max and our history with BCPS, he wanted to see if he could help find a resolution. Our attorney interprets that as he sees legal risk in their case and would like to find a solution, but he needs to convince his client of the same. They discussed what we want and Twatface's boss is going to take it to BCPS and see if there is a way for resolution.

Giff wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:59 am I have to say one of the things I love about this place is the amazing parents everyone seems to be.

Seconded. The Proud Parents Thread is one that always puts a smile on my face. I was legit on the edge of my seat watching El Flaco's son tear ass around the track last week.

Keep fighting the good fight, BFJ...

And I echo the sentiment...the Proud Parents thread is always great to read.

Beefy Frank Jackson, I've heard that DonSafetyGuy may be available if you want him to come cut a vicious promo on someone.

Damn, BFJ. Im sorry you and you wife and your son have to go through all this unfair bullshit. Best of luck, bud.

BCPS came back w a counter. Not even close, but it opens the door a crack for more negotiations. We put together our counter offer yesterday. We'll see what they say.

We have reached a settlement agreement with the county. As much as I'd like to stick it to the county and drag them through the hearing and watch them lose, I really don't have the 30k that it would have cost me and there is always a chance the judge doesn't see it our way and we lose and cant recoup any legal fees.

The settlement gets him transferred to a different school, gets him a competent speech therapist, gets some outside oversight to watch the county and report to us if they aren't following the IEP, keeps the behavior aides that travel with him daily and establishes a fund that we can use to pay for future legal bills, future educational advocacy, outside of school educational programs, etc. This fund was the kicker for us because we now have money to pay the lawyer when, inevitably, the county starts fucking up again and we file for due process next year.

I think we did the best for Max and have set up some things that may be able to make him successful next year. Our lawyer said that the deal we made with the county is better than any deal we could have gotten even if we won the due process hearing.

Basically, this entire year was a waste and Max has seriously regressed in many areas. Fuck Baltimore County Public Schools. I'm happy with the results, but I would give it all back to find one school that knew how to teach my kid and followed the rules.

Sorry you had to go through all this.

bfj wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:22 pm We have reached a settlement agreement with the county. As much as I'd like to stick it to the county and drag them through the hearing and watch them lose, I really don't have the 30k that it would have cost me and there is always a chance the judge doesn't see it our way and we lose and cant recoup any legal fees.

The settlement gets him transferred to a different school, gets him a competent speech therapist, gets some outside oversight to watch the county and report to us if they aren't following the IEP, keeps the behavior aides that travel with him daily and establishes a fund that we can use to pay for future legal bills, future educational advocacy, outside of school educational programs, etc. This fund was the kicker for us because we now have money to pay the lawyer when, inevitably, the county starts fucking up again and we file for due process next year.

I think we did the best for Max and have set up some things that may be able to make him successful next year. Our lawyer said that the deal we made with the county is better than any deal we could have gotten even if we won the due process hearing.

Basically, this entire year was a waste and Max has seriously regressed in many areas. Fuck Baltimore County Public Schools. I'm happy with the results, but I would give it all back to find one school that knew how to teach my kid and followed the rules.

Sounds like a win to me, even if it may not feel like it right now.

Yeah, I know it's hard to be anything but upset right now, but it sounds like you got a good deal if your attorney is to be believed. I hope they stick with it and Max gets the education he deserves.

Giff wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:54 pm Yeah, I know it's hard to be anything but upset right now, but it sounds like you got a good deal if your attorney is to be believed. I hope they stick with it and Max gets the education he deserves.

Same here on all of this.

Good luck, BFJ.

BFJ..sounds like you got a positive outcome. I often wonder how students who need support are doing in the last 2 years. The stories I heard before then always made it sound like the educators were fighting the bureaucrats and budgets weasels who somehow ended up being in charge.

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 1:27 pm BFJ..sounds like you got a positive outcome. I often wonder how students who need support are doing in the last 2 years. The stories I heard before then always made it sound like the educators were fighting the bureaucrats and budgets weasels who somehow ended up being in charge.

That's not far off. There is blame on all levels. From the weasels to the administrators and in some cases the educators (see Speech Therapist).

You're aunt was scheduled to be a witness in our hearing and she is a part of our team that is going to try and get Max set up with a good program so he can transition after high school into a job, a college program, an adult day program or a combination of all 3. She's been a big help to us through this process.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:32 pm

bfj wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:22 pm We have reached a settlement agreement with the county. As much as I'd like to stick it to the county and drag them through the hearing and watch them lose, I really don't have the 30k that it would have cost me and there is always a chance the judge doesn't see it our way and we lose and cant recoup any legal fees.

The settlement gets him transferred to a different school, gets him a competent speech therapist, gets some outside oversight to watch the county and report to us if they aren't following the IEP, keeps the behavior aides that travel with him daily and establishes a fund that we can use to pay for future legal bills, future educational advocacy, outside of school educational programs, etc. This fund was the kicker for us because we now have money to pay the lawyer when, inevitably, the county starts fucking up again and we file for due process next year.

I think we did the best for Max and have set up some things that may be able to make him successful next year. Our lawyer said that the deal we made with the county is better than any deal we could have gotten even if we won the due process hearing.

Basically, this entire year was a waste and Max has seriously regressed in many areas. Fuck Baltimore County Public Schools. I'm happy with the results, but I would give it all back to find one school that knew how to teach my kid and followed the rules.

Sounds like a win to me, even if it may not feel like it right now.

Sums it up pretty well.