Sarasota Schools To Pay $250,000 Settlement To Student: Report

SARASOTA, FL – Sarasota County Schools will pay the family of a student misplaced in a program for students with severe cognitive disabilities for nearly 6 years $250,000, the Herald-Tribune reported. A portion of these funds will for the family’s attorney and advocate fees.

In the settlement, the school district also agreed to pay up to four years of private school tuition for “DJ,” the now 18-year-old boy.

DJ struggled academically as a third grader and in 2012, despite not having a severe cognitive disability, he was placed in the Access Points program, reports said. The program’s curriculum is designed for students with extreme mental disabilities. These students also don’t participate in state testing.

He earned straight As during his six years in the program. DJ was even inducted into the Junior National Honor Society, reports said. But his family didn’t realize that the material was designed for a first or second grader.

He was moved to standard classes at Riverview High School and began failing, realizing he was behind, reports said. The stress was too much for DJ, who threatened suicide, so his mother took him out of the school.

DJ’s case led to a state investigation of Sarasota’s exceptional student education program. It found that more than 100 students might have been miscategorized and placed in the program, reports said.

The district could be open to additional lawsuits. A judge ruled that the regular statute of limitations don’t apply in this cause due to the district misleading parents, reports said.