For those who don’t know, yes, Portland Public Schools is actually the biggest school district in Maine right now, and it is not part of this Portland Public Schools Special Education Lawsuit which is all over the headlines. What’s this all about though? Well, just so you know, there is a set of parents who say that the district was totally unhelpful in helping kids who are struggling with learning disabilities. Things went even further and that’s why so many parents started pulling out their kids from these public schools and enrolling them in private schools.
The verdict has already come in this case, and sure enough, the state has ruled that the Portland Public Schools will have to pay back to the parents, and how much? Well, that’s a whopping $120,000. But the district? Well, they’re in it for a bit long, you know, they’re taking the fight to federal court now.
Why Did Things Get This Further And How?
Well, this isn’t some new thing, you see, this whole drama actually started way back in 2017. Back then, you see, a little kid enrolled in a Spanish immersion program at Lyseth Elementary, and what then? Well, sure enough, since the kid struggled with reading, the school should have helped him, right? Nah! They just simply ignored that. That’s purely cruel if you ask us. By the year 2022, his parents already had enough and they decided to test their kids, and yes, it turned out, their kid actually needed special education support, and the school straight up ignored that. When all this discussion was going on, the school actually tried to implement something called an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), but again, it didn’t work quite well.
A Pattern of Problems?
Sure, this all sounds wrong and quite messy, but it wasn’t the first time ever this kinda of drama was happening. Really? Yes, back in the early 2000s, a special education teacher named Pamella Settlegoode also went after the district for the same problem, but do you want to know what happened to her? Of course, she got fired for speaking up, that’s what! Though, it was a good thing that Pamella didn’t just sit on it and stay quiet, you know what she did? She actually went on to take this matter to court and yes, she won this case as well. That too with a $1 million. But it looks like, people have forgotten about all that, and now the school and the district is back on track with doing what they were up to back in those days.
Well, Why Should You Care?
See, if you live in the United States, you should pretty much be concerned about this case and whatever is going on in the country. Like, it could be that this same happens with a kid you know personally, what will you do then? It is better to stay aware of these things, ask questions to the schools, and just be a good citizen, rather than taking all these matters to the court every single time.