Posts Tagged ‘disability rights of children’
San Antonio Texas family sued for truancy after child’s brain surgery
Attorneys are all too familiar with tragic stories of people falsely accused of crimes because they represent clients to see that justice is carried out. As an SEO geek, I deal with sad and disturbing stories only peripherally. But as a mother of three children with disabilities, and, as a long-time disability rights advocate at national level, I have personally dealt with dozens of schools that refuse to help children with a disabilities. Unfortunately, too many cases involving a child who cannot attend school because the school will not provide services end up with parents on the wrong side of the law. When disabled or seriously ill children do not attend schools (for their own safety), schools are often swift to take action against parents. making claims of truancy or child neglect.
In my own limited little world of things legal, I have never seen more blatant disregard and unfair application of the law, than in our public schools. I write to encourage more attorneys to talk openly about such cases so that fewer parents like those of an 8-year-old disabled boy in Texas do not have to fight truancy charges when brain surgery is required.
Austin, Age 8 vs. Uncaring San Antonio School District
San Antonio, TX schools have filed charges against the parents of 8-year-old Austin Besterman. Austin has Arnold-Chiari Malformation, Spina Bifida, and Hydrocephalus. According this his father, William Besterman, “He has a hard time toileting. He has a hard time getting dressed. And he has to have his braces and crutches to walk.” Austin missed school for doctors appointments, surgery to replace a shunt in his brain that drains excess fluid, and because somedays, he just is not feeling well enough to attend school.
This past school year Austin missed 32 days due to his ongoing health battles. Despite documentation provided by doctors, the school claims Austin is just skipping school on many days.
“We do not have sufficient documentation from the parents or the doctor that indicates that this child has this health issue [hydrocephalus],” Pascual Gonzalez refuted.
San Antonio children are permitted up to 20 excused sick days from school each year. But even kids, like Austin, who need an addtional 12 days to have brain surgery and recovery from the procedure don’t get special consideration.
Attorney Hot Topics
If you practice civil rights law, do not forget to write about a year-round hot topic: the rights of students with disabilities and their parents. Public school polices often clash with disability rights laws, and come August, parents will once again be looking to the internet for advice, support, and legal information about their child’s student rights.
Suggested Reading
- Maggie Jane Besterman’s Blog (Austin’s Mother)
- Disabled student’s parents taken to court for school absences
