A Weimaraner? ROTFLMAO. It's not a pit bull, it's a hunting dog. Very gentle... unless you're a pheasant I guess, but even then they only find them, point them, and retrieve them (in most cases).
The weapon in question.
Posted on 08/05/2004 12:01:14 PM PDT by freeeee
Here in NJ a parent who refused to 'classify' their child, in other words, have an IEP, was told that the school could and would initiate a process to remove custody of the child from the parents.
You really need to get out more. My daughter (who owns a Weimaraner, BTW) teaches third grade and has about a quarter of her kids classified as special needs in one way or another. And that doesn't include what passes for "normal behavior" by the "regular" students. Cheyenne and Mikki's situation is mild in comparison to about half the kids she deals with daily. The problem is not with this child or dog; it's with the system. And until the system is fixed, I would submit that the addition of Mikki to the classroom as a better than even chance of actually improving the situation.
In the meantime, the parents seem to have given adequate advanced notice to the school and those who will dealing directly with the situation. If I were a betting man, I'd say somebody who works miles away from this classroom is seeing a budget bump that almost got away.
Good point :)
"I'm dain bramaged? Let me introduce you to my trained epilepsy rottweiler Spot..."
They should leave NJ immediately.
A freeper family refused to give their child a hepatitus innoculation and they too were threatened with removal of the child rom custody.
Seemingly, even our children belong to the state.
And a special thank you and a blessing to your daughter.
Ahd shouldn't they be? If I were a school principal being forced to take on the costs and liability of having this child on my campus, I'd want to make sure that the school was compensated for it too. The first time that dog bites someone, even just a nibble, the school will get sued. The first time some kid has an allergic reaction to dog hair, the school will get sued. The first time some kid freaks out about a dog being at school and has a nightmare ("psychological trauma") the school will get sued.
Can anyone really blame them for not wanting the dog around? Personally, if I were the superintendant, I'd only allow it in if the owners family signed the legal papers to assume all legal liability. If the school gets sued, the family should have to pay.
Maybe it's just me, but I always thought such drastic measures should be the last resort, used only under the most extreme circumstances.
Looks like NJ plays that card first. Of course separating a child from family is far worse than not enrolling in an IEP. But if the state threatens separation, they'll get their way. And to some petty king in his litte feifdom, that's what really counts.
In the post to which I replied, you stated you had no problem with the dog being there. I have no position on the 'dog issue' at the moment.
From what the article said, this little girl would 3 to 5 times a week would get up unannounced, lay on a mat, and have a seizure. After which she would get up and continue in the classroom setting, assuming her post-ictal recovery is quick.
If her presence in the classroom actually proves to be disruptive, it is my understanding that the school district has the right to ask that she be removed from the class. However, the district doesn't appear to be stating this, and this can be determined on the actual merits of the situation rather than yours and my deductions. Instead, the district is disagreeing with the dog's presence, not the student.
My conclusion at this point is: Given the overwhelming benefit of the doubt extended by federal law, this child is legally entitled to be mainstreamed. It is my assumption that after the first couple of weeks of these events that her classmates would accept these seizures as a fairly routine event and learning time would only experience minor interruptions. If the disruption stays extreme, then the school district can petition to have this child removed from this class.
As for familiarity with seizures, I am aware of what are now called tonic-clonic seizures. And I am aware that the subject of this article has these seizures.
Most parents of classmates can use this as a teaching moment to talk about 'real life' with their children, acceptance of others with disabilities, and to clear up misunderstandings about seizures.
Other parents will be upset, and they have the right to send their child to a private school. As a child, I was scheduled to be bused a long way to elementary school as a result of a program here in California. My mother decided this was not in my best interest and enrolled me in a private school for that year.
You'd think he'd check the law first, then take any actions allowed under it. Or just stop being such a Clymer in the first place.
I don't see where she, the mother, is asking for any special services. Just allow her daughter to have the dog with her. The dog will take care of the services she needs. That being the whole point of having the dog.
Sounds like the district just wants to be able to make their rice bowl just a little bigger by hiring an extra person.
Just to clarify/correct myself, you said you didn't care about the dog in the original post to which I replied -- in this latest reply I said you wrote you "had no problem with the dog being there." These aren't one and the same, so this may not be correct, and is not my point of contention with you -- I don't have an opinion on the 'dog issue.'
A Weimaraner? ROTFLMAO. It's not a pit bull, it's a hunting dog. Very gentle... unless you're a pheasant I guess, but even then they only find them, point them, and retrieve them (in most cases).
The weapon in question.
back in the day. I saw and heard our PE teacher take several strips off some of the bully/teaser types for making fun of the special education students. They had their own classroom, but shared the other school facilities with the (more or less) "normal" kids. He was a male PE teacher, more common in elementary then than now, and those guys didn't bother the special ed kids ever again, AFAIK. They were way more afraid of him than they were interested in picking on the less fortunate, way more. He'd have followed through with much unpleasantness too. Corporal punishment was allowed in those days, and he wouldn't have had to get permission from the principal either, although he would have granted it in a heartbeat. Both PE teacher and principal were "nice guys", but you didn't mess with them either. OTOH, my Jr. Hi. principal was a "guilty until proved innocent" Cylmer.
I agree with you. I have a daughter with brain damage. She has an IEP. It's for the school and the girl's best interest to have the IEP.
My daughter went through the testing to have an IEP. It is no big deal. Kids are used to testing at school. In fact, most of them love it because they get one-on-one attention instead of being bored in the classroom.
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