BY JOHN HILDEBRAND john.hildebrand@newsday.com
June 26, 2008
NewsDay.com
A state review officer has ruled that the Hicksville school system acted improperly in canceling home instruction for a developmentally disabled student whose case became a focus of statewide efforts to improve special-education services.
The student, Billy Schafer Jr., 17, made headlines two years ago, after his parents complained of his detention for misbehavior in a 5-by-6-foot "timeout" chamber at a Nassau BOCES center. The teen had been referred to the center by his home district.
A multimillion-dollar legal action filed by the parents against Hicksville and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services is pending in federal district court in Central Islip.
In their lawsuit, William and Janet Schafer accuse Hicksville of cutting off their son's home instruction and therapy in retaliation for their decision to withdraw the teen from the BOCES center. The son has since enrolled in a private school.
The Schafers also petitioned the state for restoration of educational services formerly provided for their son at home.
Following hearings on that petition that extended over nearly two years, a state review officer, Paul Kelly, granted the parents' request on Friday. Kelly ordered Hicksville to provide the son with three hours of weekly home instruction, along with behavioral, speech and physical therapy.
Hicksville's administrative assistant for community services, Catherine Knight, had no comment on the decision when contacted by Newsday.
Kelly's ruling did not deal directly with the retaliation issue. It did find, however, that the district "improperly removed" home services from Billy Schafer's education plan without advance notice to the parents and without their consent. Hicksville has not yet announced whether it plans to appeal.
The Schafers also petitioned the state for restoration of educational services formerly provided for their son at home.
Following hearings on that petition that extended over nearly two years, a state review officer, Paul Kelly, granted the parents' request on Friday. Kelly ordered Hicksville to provide the son with three hours of weekly home instruction, along with behavioral, speech and physical therapy.
Hicksville's administrative assistant for community services, Catherine Knight, had no comment on the decision when contacted by Newsday.
Kelly's ruling did not deal directly with the retaliation issue. It did find, however, that the district "improperly removed" home services from Billy Schafer's education plan without advance notice to the parents and without their consent. Hicksville has not yet announced whether it plans to appeal.
The Schafers also petitioned the state for restoration of educational services formerly provided for their son at home.
Following hearings on that petition that extended over nearly two years, a state review officer, Paul Kelly, granted the parents' request on Friday. Kelly ordered Hicksville to provide the son with three hours of weekly home instruction, along with behavioral, speech and physical therapy.
Hicksville's administrative assistant for community services, Catherine Knight, had no comment on the decision when contacted by Newsday.
Kelly's ruling did not deal directly with the retaliation issue. It did find, however, that the district "improperly removed" home services from Billy Schafer's education plan without advance notice to the parents and without their consent. Hicksville has not yet announced whether it plans to appeal.
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