Williamson County family claims school violated law with 11-year-old daughter

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Williamson County family claims a school refused a special education meeting back in May.

Advocates say it’s against the law, and the family feels the school is failing their daughter.

The mother, Ana Carter, says it took months to get an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting, which is a necessary plan to meet a child’s specific and unique needs.

Eleven-year-old Tess Carter relies on those IEP meetings to receive the best education possible.

Tess has Down syndrome and goes to Bethesda Elementary School in Williamson County, but this year hasn’t been the best experience for Tess.

"We finally got a meeting scheduled for May 3," says Ana. "So, we had this meeting scheduled, and finally figured out a time everybody could be there."

Ana decided to bring an advocate with her to this meeting.

The Carter family had been waiting at the school for about 20 minutes when they say the principal came out and canceled the IEP meeting, with administrators saying it was because the family brought an advocate.

This is a small portion of the conversation recorded by the advocate.

Administrator: It’s that I’d feel better having I guess someone from Central Office from student support services here to keep an eye on things.

Parents: Keep an eye on what? We’re her parents. Do you have the power to meet with us right now?

Administrator: I mean I’ve been told

Parents: No, it’s yes or no. Do you have the power to meet with us right now? It’s yes or no, like do you, or don’t you?

Administrator: I guess no? You guess no? I don’t know if it’s a yes or no answer.

According to the family’s advocate, the school’s refusal violates The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which says a parent may bring “other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child.”

“It was very frustrating and not only frustrating but scary because I even asked her, ‘Do you have our child’s interest at heart?’ And she said ‘Oh 100 percent absolutely.’ But then I said, ‘No you do not because if you did, we’d meet.'"

Ana asked for an investigation into the matter.

Emails sent to FOX 17 News by the mother from Superintendent Jason Golden show his apology and assurance that the allegations against his staff are fully investigated and appropriate action is taken.

An assistant superintendent sent the family back a response saying that administrators could use discretion about proceeding with the IEP meeting which was appropriate under IDEA, and then goes on to say “it is my opinion that while it was within her discretion to cancel the IEP, it was not the best decision to make on behalf of the IEP team or Tess.”

But this isn’t the only issue the Carter family has had, including Ana’s belief there’s been a decline in her academic progress and claims Tess' IEP is not being followed.

“We’ve noticed on her history logs on her Chromebook that a lot of that time, she’s actually spending on her computer playing games or watching PBS shows like Daniel Tiger,” believes Ana.

An email from Tess’s teacher shows Tess is supposed to spend around 30 minutes a day on TechTown Basics, a special education learning platform.

But records Ana sent to FOX 17 News shows Tess only spent a weekly average of 29 minutes on this platform.

“It’s scary when you have a child who cannot verbalize 100 percent exactly what’s going on,” says Ana.

FOX 17 News reached out to the district to ask at least three times if they are able to confirm an IEP meeting scheduled for May 3 was canceled because the family brought an advocate.

The response we received from a spokesperson says, “I do not have any information regarding the IEP meeting you are asking about, sorry.”

That’s when FOX 17 News submitted several public records requests for emails related to this incident, and several personnel files.

We are waiting to get those documents.

In the meantime, the district sent Reporter Amanda Chin a response saying in part, “I can tell you that our special education teachers and staff work each day to provide the best educational opportunities for each child based on that child’s needs. We are proud of our special education teachers and staff and the services they provide.”

Ana says she decided to speak up because she hopes this creates change within the district. She also wants to help other special education families understand that this behavior is not okay.

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