Question: If you have to remove your child from public school because of safety reasons

[cpamomfromtexas]

BACKGROUND:

My child has been the victim of relentless and continuous attacks/intimidation for over 9 months from a bully and his followers.

Two days ago his bike tire was slashed at school (first time I've let him ride) since I've been escorting him to and from school since the last assault.

The police say the video in inconclusive. I have yet to see the tape myself.

The biggest problem is the administration of the schooldoesn't seem to understand we DON'T CARE ABOUT THE BIKE, WE CARE THERE WAS A WEAPON AT SCHOOL AND THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO TREAT IT WITH ANY URGENCY.

QUESTION:

If we have to remove him from school because of the safety concerns, can we sue the district for the funds allocated to educate our child to pay for tutors... or should we request teachers from the school, come to our home to teach our children as they do for seriously ill children who cannot attend?

[taterguy]

1. Well gee, anonymous strangers on the Internet are totally reliable for major life decisions

I think it depends on the make and model of the bike as to whether or not you have a cause of action.

[cpamomfromtexas]

2. I can see you didn't read the whole text, the question was clearly not requesting your advice.

[PeaceNikki]

4. OOooh. You want LEGAL advice from people on the internets.

That's much more sensible.

[cpamomfromtexas]

8. I wanted to know if anyone had had an experience with an issue such as this. DUH!

[Chan790]

9. I have but I'm in CT and I'm certain our laws are different and any advice I can give...

beyond call a lawyer is inapplicable at best.

[Bertha Venation]

3. People ask questions like this all the time.

No need to jump down the OP's throat.

[Chan790]

5. Please seek advice from a lawyer knowledgeable about the laws in your state and jurisdiction.

Rather than the buffoonery (myself included) that gives bad advice on the internet.

The recourse and nature of your question is entirely dependent upon the laws where you live...in some places you have no recourse, in others you can make the school district pick up the tab for any private or parochial school of your choosing under the correct circumstances and if you can prove with conclusive evidence both that the abuse has systematically-occurred over a sustained period of time and that it has been ignored by the school district to the detriment of your student. Also, all potentialities of law between those points.

Again, please call a lawyer...if you can't afford one, call your state bar as they can refer you to someone who will take the case at reduced or pro-bono rate. Even if you did have to hire a lawyer, you have the right to seek in court that the school district be compelled to assume all legal fees if you win.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. Why hasn't the bully been the one removed?

Also, in a public school setting I would assume rather than having to tutor at home, couldn't your kid simply be transferred to the next closest public school?

[Chan790]

7. It is TX...

if they're in a rural part of the state with district schools, the next closest public school could be 40-or-more minutes away, one way.

While possible, in those cases often you become responsible for transportation...which might present a hardship.

Edit: Also: Re: bully. I think that's probably her question, as well. Schools are very reticent to expel students now, there have been a number of legal cases over wrongful expulsion and the judgments have been substantial. It's become avoid if-at-all-possible at all costs. OTOH, they're free and clear if she just gets frustrated and pulls her child out and sends him to another school.

[Tikki]

10. There is a private school that borders ....

on the back of our property. The section of the school's
yard that backs up to our fence is supposed to be 'OFF LIMITS'
to the students at recess. A few of the students come over there, anyway.

This one little guy would throw the ball over our fence into our
yard and then scream he wanted it back. A couple times our renters would
throw the ball back. Then it became a game. He would holler and
we would go to his rescue.

Then we stopped returning the ball. Finally one of the teachers came by and demanded we
return the ball.

We firmly informed the school owner that they would have to send a school representative over
to our home on the property to talk about the situation.

Believe me they were not happy that they had to do actual work to end this situation..
but they did and problem solved.

hmm...do Texas schools have School Boards?

The Tikkis

[gmoney]

11. I doubt you'll get funds.

Totally unqualified observation here, but if they've not taken action based on previous complaints about the bullies (I presume you've made administrators aware of the situation), they would simply suggest they are doing what they can within their system.

They're likely to contend that if you the parent feel the school is unsafe, it's your right to remove your child but it's your responsibility to find (and pay for) other ways of meeting the state's educational requirements for your child. Otherwise, parents would be telling kids "hey, taunt the bullies so the state will pay for private tutors."

A bike tire could be cut or torn with a pen or a key or other permissible item that is not a weapon. What's inconclusive about the video? Who the person is, or what was used to damage the tire?

Again, totally unqualified perspective. But it's my hunch that you're not going to get a dime out of them in this situation. Good luck.

[pitohui]

12. get a lawyer to answer legal questions

we have 50 states and god knows how many individual counties and we are supposed to be experts on whether or not the county has a legal obligation to your child?

i would think on instinct you have a good case and should sue, but IANAL and what sounds good based on common sense isn't always the law

get a lawyer you'll need one anyway

to threaten to sue when you don't really intend to can be a crime (extortion), so don't make threats, make a serious investigation of whether or not you have a case

talk to several litigators in YOUR area, not the internet

and good luck, it sounds like your kid is getting a shitty deal but at least you're standing up for the kid

[surrealAmerican]

13. You'll need to ask a lawyer about the monetary issue, but ...

... you should make the decision of what to do for your son's education based on what is best for him, regardless of the school district's financial obligations.

If this school is damaging to your son, and they will not take steps to improve, he shouldn't be there.

[LeftyMom]

14. You called the cops over a bike tire? And they actually went to the school and looked at video?

Wow, nothing must ever happen where you live if they're that bored.

[tigereye]

15. too bad the school doesn't follow anti-bullying policies

good luck to both of you. Maybe it might be best to see if you can find a school where kids are kinder, since you might have to threaten legal action to get them to take this seriously.



btw, didn't you ask about this before? I seem to remember a similar thread...

[noamnety]

16. Now for the world's least popular post

we have had several students at our charter who've come from extreme situations of bullying at our school. In one case, one of the kids had been transfered by their public school to another public school in their district - for emotionally disturbed and handicapped kids. Well, he wasn't emotionally disturbed when he wasn't being bullied!

I don't believe you can make the school give you a voucher for a private school (I'm not a lawyer, mind you), because tax dollars aren't really assigned to educate your specific child so much as provided to ensure all kids are able to get a free education. It's like being in a wheelchair - if a city can't accommodate you on a city bus, they may have to have a handicapped bus that you can call for to get you from place to place. But the city doesn't have to buy you a private handicapped equipped car.

What you might be able to force them to do is pay for transportation to another public school, or pay for one of the online programs if there is a public school option like that in Texas.

I'm not sure if your goal is to get tax dollars to pay for your child to attend a private school (unlikely to happen), or get the bullies under control - in which case a lawyer-drafted letter will scare them into some kind of action. School administrators hate threats of lawsuits and will do a lot to avoid them.