Principal called police because our 9 year old rode his bike alone

[Mamabun]

Just want to let you know I’m so sorry your son and you are having to endure this. I‘ve shared this type of problem, and with lots of work, persistence, and kindness it did get better - I pray it does for you as well.

 

[Cloudy]

As the mother of a 25 year old severely autistic son, I have empathy for your situation. Been there. I am not going to offer much advice other than have you had your son evaluated by a Childrens Hospital Developmental Clinic for a diagnosis or a non-diagnosis?

 

[DVCcurious]

As the mother of a 25 year old severely autistic son, I have empathy for your situation. Been there. I am not going to offer much advice other than have you had your son evaluated by a Childrens Hospital Developmental Clinic for a diagnosis or a non-diagnosis?

Yes we've had him looked at by 2 qualified people and each said he does not have ASD.

I'm cutting my original response because I think I've become too emotional and argumentative. I appreciate all the feedback I've received. As of now the school claims they never reported us to CPS. We have the email where their story is different than the story they gave us Friday. If CPS does show up I'm going to share this email with them in case the story they gave CPS is different than the story in the email and I'm going to share the email where the school claims to have never contacted CPS. While CPS will probably not tell us who submitted the complaint the CPS person will know and the CPS person will see that the school called CPS and then denied that to the parents. I have no problem letting CPS come in to the house and talk to my two kids. We have nothing to hide. And maybe I can discredit the school a little bit with the school's own emails.

I think that we'll just have to keep dealing with the district in the best way we can. And we can continue to help our child the best way we think, which is through the private tutoring service at the learning center we signed up for.

I know some of you believe we should allow the school to intervene. And maybe you're right. But we did that for 3 years and were not happy with the results and we didn't like the people we were dealing with. So for the time being we are going to try something different.

When I was in college my roommates were all engineers and we all played D&D and Magic the Gathering. We were all strange people. I believe my son is very much like my friends in this group.

 

[crazylady]

What does your son say about the "good samaritan"?

 

[Sjm9911]

I wouldn't get into an email war with the school or anyone else. Once cps is called they have to run there investigation, that will take as long as it takes. It usally involves a few unannounced visits. They want to see the child in the home as they would be normally. If they tell you they are coming, people have time to clean up, buy food etc. As long as you are not doing anything wrong i would not worry on it. They will call and interveiw the teachers, docter, etc to see if the child has had any known issues. Once thats done and your clear, they may show up again in about 6 months to follow up. At least thats how it worked in nj. My experience was baised on my divorce. And my wifes trying to gain custody, through any means nessassary , of my daughter.

 

[DVCcurious]

What does your son say about the "good samaritan"?

He said someone was bothering him at the pond so he rode his bike to the school to get away from them.

 

[DVCcurious]

I wouldn't get into an email war with the school or anyone else. Once cps is called they have to run there investigation, that will take as long as it takes. It usally involves a few unannounced visits. They want to see the child in the home as they would be normally. If they tell you they are coming, people have time to clean up, buy food etc. As long as you are not doing anything wrong i would not worry on it. They will call and interveiw the teachers, docter, etc to see if the child has had any known issues. Once thats done and your clear, they may show up again in about 6 months to follow up. At least thats how it worked in nj. My experience was baised on my divorce. And my wifes trying to gain custody, through any means nessassary , of my daughter.

Yeah we're done emailing the school people. We've said what we have to say. If CPS shows up unannounced there's a very high chance my son won't be here. He has many after school activities. So I guess they'll have to come out many times before they catch him. Thanks for the tips.

 

[LovesTimone]

My Brothers grand-daughter ( my great niece) who they help raise... they had been fighting the public school system for 2 years...then covid hit which was a complete disaster for her and them... It has been an absolute nightmare...
She too has a speech therapist, who some how managed to keep working with her, The therapist is a saint... and has done wonders for her... she also has severe anxiety, which leads to melt downs, due to the fact she can't get the words out... they too put her is special needs classes..

Now that she is back in school, they changed her special needs teacher who has been there long term, and replaced her with a brand new out of box school teacher, with no classroom experience at all... and things are a even worse...

My Sister in law, tried talking to her about her grand-daughter, and had a folder from the previous teacher... to which the new teacher wanted nothing to do with, and told my sister in law... that she would do things her way, and she was lied to about this job, and she was suppose to have 2 to 3 assistants to do the hands on with the kids...and that wasn't really her thing... so along with a bunch of other parents going through the same thing, the school board got involved, drama and more drama. The classroom has been nothing but absolute chaos at school for my niece.. She told my brother that the teacher is mean, and yell's, and turns the lights off all the time, which means no talking... and they just sit in the dark classroom, and the teacher is on her phone...

So in January my niece... her mom... decided to look into private schools, she found one that offers what her daughter needs... Speech therapist, child mental health counselor all on staff ... She can't start till August, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel for her... they did a verbal, and written, and audio testing... and they told her she really isn't special needs the she understand and retains just like any other kid that age, that she just needs help with speech and the anxiety ... because she has some challenges she qualified for partial scholarship for tuition... She will be going to summer camp there starting in May...so making new friends and getting her use to the new environment...

You might want to see if any private schools around you offer what your son needs, and see what they offer... if you need it in the way of scholarships, or tuition help...

My DD went to private school 1st thru 8th grade and I was a single mom, and I received help from the church from a anonymous donor to pay for part of the tuition , through a church member who made a private donation for my DD and I every year, or I would not have been able to pay for it... When my DD graduated from 8th grade, a elderly couple came up to us and gave my DD bouquet flowers, which I was kinda shocked by... The man said, when we moved here your grandparents ( which would be my DD great grandparents) welcomed us to the church. He went on to say, I was starting a new business here, and your granddad always sent customers my way and it helped build my business into what it is today..she went on to say that your grandmother welcomed me to the sewing circle even though I was terrible she encouraged me to keep trying, and made it easier for me to make new friends...and helped us become part of the community... Then it dawned on me, they were the anonymous donors... I started to say something, and thank them...she said just a hug, is all we need. Then she asked if I knew someone that needed a bit of help and I did, so I told them about my friend who's husband had just left her with elementary school aged kids.. She called me weeks later and said I can't believe it, someone has chosen me and the kids as anonymous donors for school, so now I don't have to move them.. I never told her that I knew who, or that I suggested them... When the gentleman passed away his wife made a donation so big that it covered all the books to the new library at the school.. they named the library after him... When she passed away a trust fund from her estate was set up for families that needed help with paying for school.. Each year I sent what I can to the fund, so that other kids can go to school there...

I hope that you can get the help you need for your son and your family... Sending prayers and pixie dust your way...

 

[DVCcurious]

Another quick update since I kinda feel like some of you are invested in this story and want to see it play out.

Friday: Principal tells us he called police to report us for allowing our special needs child to ride a bike unsupervised and our son got injured from falling out of a tree

Friday: CPS comes out and takes a picture of the "injury" which is minor scratches that didn't break the skin. He tells us to go to the Dr. Saturday and someone will DEFINITELY be at our house from CPS on Monday. CPS rep reads us a statement with things only the school would know or believe.

Friday: I email the school superintendent and principal and tell them to stop harassing us

Saturday: we go to the Dr. Dr. says there's no evidence of falling out of a tree and writes a letter to that effect.

Monday: Receive email from superintendent with a completely new story that contradicts what we were told Friday (they claim they never called CPS or the police and it must have been a "Good Samaritan")

Monday: I email back and go step by step through their story and show how some of it can't possibly be true. They claim a "Good Samaritan" called police and they had no contact. But if that's true why did CPS show up at our house? How did "Good Samaritan" know who we are or where we live? They claim they had no contact with the police or CPS. But how could CPS have received a statement about our son's academic abilities if the statement wasn't from the school?

Tuesday: receive email from Superintendent but it's a much different tone and looks to me like it was written by a lawyer. Again they state no one at the school called CPS. The email also referred to the "injury" as a "minor scratch" when on Friday and Monday they acted like it was a SEVERE INJURY.

Wednesday: CPS rep calls us. Says she's taking over the case from the guy who came out Friday. Says she wants to make an appointment to see us in two weeks. She says she'll work with our schedule and be sure to call at least a half hour before she arrives.

Wednesday: I called a few lawyers and they all said the same thing: you can't fight the school. You'll never win. Just be calm and relaxed with CPS and everything will be OK. No one wants to take the case because they say this issue with CPS is not a big deal and it's a waste of money for us to pay them to represent us in something so trivial.

My thoughts as of Thursday morning:

I thought CPS's entire thing was they came over unannounced to catch your family as it really is. Do they actually make appointments? It's quite clear the school is lying to us about calling CPS but why would they? I mean CPS is coming out so the school must know they'll look like liars. I know they don't care but still...

So what to make of all of this? I just don't know. Our best guess is the school called CPS and tried to renege their accusation but (as a prior posted said) you can't stop CPS once they've started. So instead CPS must have agreed to ratchet down the accusation level and they'll just come out for a cursory review to check the box.

We have decided on a new family policy: no contact with the school, ever. No parent/teacher conferences, nothing. If I get a call I'm going to ask if I'm legally required to talk to them and if they say no then I'll tell them politely that I choose not to talk to them and then hang up.

 

[Sjm9911]

It sounds like cps knows its no big deal now and are just trying to close out the case. They saw the scratch and did interviews allready and decided there are more pressing matters. Like i said they need to do the follow up. If it was something they were worried about they would do it diffrently. The School dosen't care one way or the other, and cps dosen't either. As someone above stated, they may be required to report it. Who cares who called, as it is in the process now. the process has to run its course.

Your over the hump now, and your initial thoughts of worry turn to anger on who could have did this to your familly. Its a normal reaction. And this will pass, life will move forward......

 

[DVCcurious]

So the latest update:

Today we were informed by CPS that they are going forward with an Indicated report for Neglect.

However this is not about the bike incident which they admit is not a problem. Instead the school claims we are guilty of neglect because we denied Special Education Services. It's a total bait-and-switch operation. So CPS is finding us negligent for educational reasons. We are planning on appealing and telling the appeals area that we are using a private tutoring service after school rather than the school services.

Legally a parent can reject special education services, but apparently CPS can still find you responsible for neglect if you do reject the services.

We had an attorney write a cease and desist letter to the school district so we're hoping that may make them think twice before harassing us again. But frankly I don't think anything will stop them. They are mad with power.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

So the latest update:

Today we were informed by CPS that they are going forward with an Indicated report for Neglect.

However this is not about the bike incident which they admit is not a problem. Instead the school claims we are guilty of neglect because we denied Special Education Services. It's a total bait-and-switch operation. So CPS is finding us negligent for educational reasons. We are planning on appealing and telling the appeals area that we are using a private tutoring service after school rather than the school services.

Legally a parent can reject special education services, but apparently CPS can still find you negligent if you do reject the services.

We had an attorney write a cease and desist letter to the school district so we're hoping that may make them think twice before harassing us again. But frankly I don't think anything will stop them. They are mad with power.

praying

 

[Tigerlulu]

So the latest update:

Today we were informed by CPS that they are going forward with an Indicated report for Neglect.

However this is not about the bike incident which they admit is not a problem. Instead the school claims we are guilty of neglect because we denied Special Education Services. It's a total bait-and-switch operation. So CPS is finding us negligent for educational reasons. We are planning on appealing and telling the appeals area that we are using a private tutoring service after school rather than the school services.

Legally a parent can reject special education services, but apparently CPS can still find you responsible for neglect if you do reject the services.

We had an attorney write a cease and desist letter to the school district so we're hoping that may make them think twice before harassing us again. But frankly I don't think anything will stop them. They are mad with power.

That’s just unbelievable. I’m so sorry.

 

[olwyngdh]

So the latest update:

Today we were informed by CPS that they are going forward with an Indicated report for Neglect.

However this is not about the bike incident which they admit is not a problem. Instead the school claims we are guilty of neglect because we denied Special Education Services. It's a total bait-and-switch operation. So CPS is finding us negligent for educational reasons. We are planning on appealing and telling the appeals area that we are using a private tutoring service after school rather than the school services.

Legally a parent can reject special education services, but apparently CPS can still find you responsible for neglect if you do reject the services.

We had an attorney write a cease and desist letter to the school district so we're hoping that may make them think twice before harassing us again. But frankly I don't think anything will stop them. They are mad with power.

Get a Lawyer and an Educational Advocate involved right now before your family is torn apart and your son is really harmed. I am so sorry this is happening to you. Kids are neglected and harmed and killed but CPS does nothing. You are advocating for your child and they are turning you into a criminal.

 

[DLgal]

Your poor son. I don't even know what else to say other than school districts do NOT want any more special ed kids than absolutely necessary. They do everything they can to keep kids from receiving services, so if the school district is fighting this hard for a special ed placement and CPS agrees with that, it seems more likely than not that your son has needs you are not adequately meeting, and a charge of educational neglect is likely going to stick.

You'd better lawyer up fast.

 

[DVCcurious]

Your poor son. I don't even know what else to say other than school districts do NOT want any more special ed kids than absolutely necessary. They do everything they can to keep kids from receiving services, so if the school district is fighting this hard for a special ed placement and CPS agrees with that, it seems more likely than not that your son has needs you are not adequately meeting, and a charge of educational neglect is likely going to stick.

You'd better lawyer up fast.

Our son told us he was abused by the special education teacher at his previous elementary. We requested and were granted a move to another elementary in the district, we pulled him out of special education services at the school and we are now doing private tutoring Monday and Wednesday after school. We are not disputing he "needs" help, we are getting him help from a private organization.

Yes, we reported the abuse. Yes, the previous school's principal investigated herself and her friends. No, they were not found guilty. As the current school's principal told me in January when I told him we were rejecting his offer of special ed due to the abuse my son suffered "some times kids make up stories".

 

[ford91exploder]

Your poor son. I don't even know what else to say other than school districts do NOT want any more special ed kids than absolutely necessary. They do everything they can to keep kids from receiving services, so if the school district is fighting this hard for a special ed placement and CPS agrees with that, it seems more likely than not that your son has needs you are not adequately meeting, and a charge of educational neglect is likely going to stick.

You'd better lawyer up fast.

Ok this is a double edged sword, one schools do not want to provide special education services to students. Two they want as many kids as possible LABELED as special education students because it turns on the state and federal money taps.

So by saying no to having your child labeled. You probably ‘cost’ the district $100,000 per year in extra revenue. So yeah you were gonna get the hammer dropped on you.

Yes the special ed business is very profitable for everyone but the kids involved.

I hope you did not get ‘a’ lawyer but a good criminal lawyer with experience dealing with the so called ‘family services’ mob because now you are now looking at losing your kids and both of you being sent to prison for 10-20 years.

A strategic divorce may also be called for but that would be up to your lawyer to decide.

 

[ford91exploder]

Our son told us he was abused by the special education teacher at his previous elementary. We requested and were granted a move to another elementary in the district, we pulled him out of special education services at the school and we are now doing private tutoring Monday and Wednesday after school. We are not disputing he "needs" help, we are getting him help from a private organization.

Yes, we reported the abuse. Yes, the previous school's principal investigated herself and her friends. No, they were not found guilty. As the current school's principal told me in January when I told him we were rejecting his offer of special ed due to the abuse my son suffered "some times kids make up stories".

this is why Bureaucratic organizations are dangerous in that their only goal is to preserve themselves and their members and increase the scope of their power and influence. The purpose for which they are chartered for becomes secondary or tertiary to their main mission preserving themselves.

 

[DLgal]

Our son told us he was abused by the special education teacher at his previous elementary. We requested and were granted a move to another elementary in the district, we pulled him out of special education services at the school and we are now doing private tutoring Monday and Wednesday after school. We are not disputing he "needs" help, we are getting him help from a private organization.

Yes, we reported the abuse. Yes, the previous school's principal investigated herself and her friends. No, they were not found guilty. As the current school's principal told me in January when I told him we were rejecting his offer of special ed due to the abuse my son suffered "some times kids make up stories".

What does this have to do with anything? Yes, this happens. It's unfortunate. That doesn't mean that Special Education is inherently bad. Teachers abuse general ed students all the time too.

It is always a parent's right to pursue private educational placement or homeschool. However, if you INSIST on sending your child to free public school, and you refuse special education services when they are indicated, the state can absolutely come after you for educational neglect, as you are failing to provide for the child's needs and the schools legally CANNOT provide any additional special assistance or services to your child under the general education placement. An IEP or 504 plan needs to be in place in order to provide services that require additional funding.

 

[ford91exploder]

What does this have to do with anything? Yes, this happens. It's unfortunate. That doesn't mean that Special Education is inherently bad. Teachers abuse general ed students all the time too.

It is always a parent's right to pursue private educational placement or homeschool. However, if you INSIST on sending your child to free public school, and you refuse special education services when they are indicated, the state can absolutely come after you for educational neglect, as you are failing to provide for the child's needs and the schools legally CANNOT provide any additional special assistance or services to your child under the general education placement. An IEP or 504 plan needs to be in place in order to provide services that require additional funding.

The general case is if you allow a bureaucratic organization to investigate itself it will inevitably result in a whitewash. As exemplified by Catholic Church, Boy Scouts and too many government agencies to count.

Until it gets so bad it explodes and thats not where we should be with our kids.

up here we had a ‘grooming’ problem at one of our high schools, they suspended a student for going to the police (supposedly for filing a ‘unfounded’ report) unfortunately for the school district did this to the wrong student the family was both wealthy and well connected with federal law enforcement they promptly hired a ‘white shoe’ law firm to sue the school district as well as get about half dozen govt agencies looking into the administration. Turns out the groomer had been bounced from school to school to cover up their activities. The feds are still looking into every nook and cranny and dragging more stuff into the light of day.

Because this girl’s family had ‘juice’ she got so called justice but she had to leave the school abd her friends because even with the feds being like white on rice the administration continued to retaliate against her.

Whose only crime was be desired by a school official.... and go to the proper channels for some relief.

Imagine if this had been a poor person of color...