Special Ed Lawsuit

The Bristol, CT school district is being sued for the way they handled a nine year old boy's placement.

Suit Filed After Bristol Special Ed Placement

By DON STACOM | Courant Staff Writer July 11, 2008

BRISTOL — - The family of a special-education student is suing the city, claiming it is entitled to legal fees after hiring a lawyer to challenge a decision about where the boy should attend class.

The school system this week filed court documents to contest the family's claim, indicating it intends to fight the case.

Details about the issues are scarce. The federal lawsuit was filed in April under the name "Mr. and Mrs. T" to keep the boy's identity secret, and schools Superintendent Philip Streifer on Thursday evening said that the matter had been turned over to city attorneys and that he would not comment on it.

The suit says the boy, a 9-year-old at Stafford Elementary School, was suspended from school last fall because of "a number of behavioral incidents." The suit says the boy suffers from hyperactivity, but did not describe the incidents or say whether they involved violence or threats. The schools provided two hours a day of home education for the boy.

The boy's parents took the school system to hearings before the state education department last winter, accusing the schools of violating the boy's right to attend classes in the least possible restrictive setting. According to the suit, a hearing officer sided with the parents, and ordered Bristol to hire an aide, train staff to work with the boy, provide psychological counseling and pay for a home-school, behavioral training program.

The family is suing for reimbursement of an unspecified amount in legal fees.

In a response filed Thursday, the city denied many of the claims and said the suit was premature because it is appealing the hearing officer's decision.