They will also claim that the parents/student are crazy/menace/troublemakers/unreasonable. The first thing they do is make you think you’re the crazy. Even many, many years later it is clear to me that process must be taught in Education Administration 101. Rules of engagement: deny, obfuscate, meet complaints with steely silence, claim there’s nothing they can do, blame the victim and then offer pity. Once parents are wild eyed and crazed with frustration and anger, dismiss them as wackos. Case closed.
If they likewise get run over by the zero tolerance, no-excuses, everybody-gets-punished-the-same-regardless system, well...maybe that's a good lesson they need to learn.