LITTLE ROCK — A mother's plight in showing that a Hot Springs school was inadequate for her autistic son led to a state Department of Education investigation that found numerous violations of state and federal standards.
A report released Thursday said the Vista Alternative Learning Environment, a school for special-education students and students with behavioral problems or mental illness, has improperly trained staff and substandard facilities. It also keeps students in the school without evaluating whether they could return to a regular school, the report found.
Document
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Vista is now under state supervision. The state set deadlines for specific improvements such as revising policies and training staff. If the school fails to get into compliance, the state can withhold funds.
"It's a throwaway school for throwaway children in Garland County," said Karen White, the parent whose October complaint launched the inquiry. Her son, now 13, attended Vista for a little more than two years, where she said he languished.
The Vista school, which serves about 60 special-needs students from seven Garland County districts, is run by the Hot Springs School District.
School officials acknowledged problems but took issue with the state's assessment that there are "systemic issues that require monitoring."
"We're only talking about one student that they looked into, so I don't know why it was systematic practice because we were only talking about one student," Superintendent Joyce Craft said.
Nevertheless, she said, the district is going to work to meet the state deadlines.
"We can make these adjustments relatively simply," she said.
There are no other investigative reports on Vista, said JulieThompson Johnson, spokesman for the Education Department. She declined to comment on the inquiry.
Vista serves the most challenging special-needs students in the Hot Springs district, said Bobbie Morrison, the district's special education supervisor.
The district contracts with Therapeutic Family Services to provide on-site case management and counseling.
But the staff, at least in the case of White's son, did not develop a behavioral plan that met state and federal standards.
"He was dragged from the classroom on more than one occasion and forced into a holding room where it was held shut," White wrote in her complaint. She provided a copy to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The investigation found her son was placed for longer than 30 minutes in a time-out room with a concrete floor, graffitied walls and a steel door, a tactic not approved by White or outlined in a behavioral plan as required by the state.
White also detailed instances in which her son was bruised, scraped and bloodied after staff tried to subdue him. She said she didn't think the injuries were deliberate but were caused by the staff's negligence.
The state report does not address those allegations but says the boy had frequent outbursts and disrespected staff.
White said she wrote letters and intervened in person whenshe saw troubling situations at the school.
But Craft said White's troubles with Vista were news to her.
"No, we didn't have any knowledge of any kind of trouble with this student," she said.
Another finding of the investigation was that the staff automatically re-enrolled specialeducation students into Vista at the end of each school year, meaning they were not evaluated to see whether they could fit into mainstream schools if given the proper resources.
"The individual needs of the student are not taken into consideration," the report said. "This pattern and practice is in direct conflict with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."
White was able to place her son at Oaklawn Magnet School for fifth grade, where she said he made the honor roll. He's now at Hot Springs Middle School.
"My biggest reason for doing this is because there are still children over there," she said about pursuing the investigation.
State finds violations A state Department of Education investigation revealed numerous federal and state violations at the Vista Alternative Learning Environment campus run by the Hot Springs School District. The campus serves special-needs students from seven school districts.
The department launched an investigation after a parent of a child with autism fi led a complaint.
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE REPORT'S FINDINGS:1. The district failed to properly train staff about autism.
2. The district failed to develop and implement an appropriate individual education plan for the student.
3. The district failed to develop and implement an appropriate, individualized behavioral plan that meets state and federal special-education regulations.
The woman's son was placed in a time-out room without parental authorization. The district was directed to cease use of the timeout seclusion room until staff is trained and meets state standards.
4. The district failed to ensure the program meets the suggested guidelines for an Alternative Learning Environment campus.
5. The facility does not meet state standards. "All special education facilities located in the Vista ALE building are inadequate with regard to size, location, accessibility, quality, and health and safety standards, as required by special education rules and regulations." 6. The district failed to ensure students with disabilities could not learn in regular classes with the use of supplemental aids and services before placing them at the Alternative Learning Environment school. The practice of placing students in special education without proper assessment is in "direct confl ict with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 12/12/2008