September 22, 2004
Chief, Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services Florida Department of Education
325 W. Gaines St., Room 614 Tallahassee, Fl 32399-0400

Dear Ms. Amy or anyone else who at this time may accept a complaint in the Florida Department of Education and answer it.

I am filing a formal complaint against the Manatee County School District on behalf of all the children of the district. I am doing this as a concerned citizen of the State of Florida. I am asking that you investigate if children in Manatee County School District who are diagnosed with ADHD are being singled out because they have ADHD and being denied all their rights under IDEA because they are diagnosed with ADHD.
I read a news paper article on September 22, 2004 on the internet. The article is:

Suit seeks special ed for child
By TIFFANY LANKES
tiffany.lankes@heraldtribune.com

MANATEE COUNTY -- A mother suing the School Board for failing to provide special education to her son will try to force the district to provide services while her case is under way.

Parent Joanie Derry is suing the district because it ignored an administrative judge's order to provide special education for her son, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The district appealed the judge's ruling in June, arguing that the child's condition is not affecting his ability to learn.

Derry's lawyer, Timothy Weber of St. Petersburg, said the two cases could drag on in court for years.

In the meantime, Derry wants the district to fulfill the administrative judge's order and provide special education for her son.

"They're in contempt of court and they know it," she said.

A judge will hear both sides of the case during a hearing at 3 p.m. Thursday in a federal courtroom in Tampa.

Weber said he wasn't sure how long it would take the judge to make a decision on Derry's request. If the judge denies the child services, Weber said he'll push to move the two cases along more quickly.

"If they're not going to give him (special education) now we're going to be kicking and screaming for this to go through," Weber said.

Attorneys for the school district could not be reached for comment.

School officials decided to appeal the judge's ruling because they said providing services to Derry's son would open the door to special education for thousands of children with ADHD diagnoses, forcing the district to spend millions.
The district has already enlisted the services of four lawyers to help fight the case, with contracts as much as $50,000.

"How much money does the district intend to spend to make sure this kid doesn't get an education?" Weber said.
I have the following concerns I would like investigated as a system wide systemic problem in the Manatee County School District.
1. The following statement:
"School officials decided to appeal the judge's ruling because they said providing services to Derry's son would open the door to special education for thousands of children with ADHD diagnoses, forcing the district to spend millions."

I believe that the school officials are discriminating against children who have been diagnoses with ADHD. They are admitting they don't want to provide services to children diagnosed with ADHD. They are admitting they don't want to address these children's unique needs because it may cost them "...millions."

2. ADHD falls under Other Health Impaired as a classifiable disability under IDEA:
Sec. 300.7 Child with a disability. (c) Definitions of disability terms. The terms used in this definition are defined as follows: (9) Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that-- (i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia;
The school staff is admitting they don't want to provide "...services to Derry's son would open the door to special education for thousands of children...". Right now "...thousands of children who are diagnosed with ADHD are not even being considered for special education services according to Manatee County School District staff. These are already diagnosed children with no IEP's to address the unique needs of their disabilities.

3. We have diagnosed children with known behaviors that without interventions, modifications and behavior plans are most likely facing school discipline policies with a disregard that their behaviors are a manifestation of their disability. Each time one of these diagnosed children faces a discipline action against them their rights to a manifestation determination hearing is being violated. As already diagnosed children they are already identified as having a disability but I suspect the school district is not giving them their rights to a manifestation determination hearing each and every time the child is facing detention and suspensions from school.

4. If this school district has a Zero Tolerance Policy these children are denied their rights because they are not provided the protections of IDEA and 504 as identified disabled children.
I am also stating I do not want anyone in the Florida Department of Education who is involved with the Weatherly Law Firm investigating this complaint. I find great concern that the statement:
"School officials decided to appeal the judge's ruling because they said providing services to Derry's son would open the door to special education for thousands of children with ADHD diagnoses, forcing the district to spend millions."

Since this statement sounds so much like the following:
"You pay that price for one child, 10 other parents are going to line up for that same service," says Weatherly." As one of their clients was noted in a news article:
"Other school districts, such as Knox County, Tenn., have faced criticism for paying Weatherly's high fees. But they have vehemently argued that he actually saves taxpayers' money in the long run. His firm specializes in cases where children and their families claim districts should pay for expensive special education services or private school placements. The districts argue that paying for a special service once sets off a chain reaction, where other parents ask for the same thing.

And Manatee County School District is willing to spend thousands of dollars to prevent children from receiving services as this statement states:

"The district has already enlisted the services of four lawyers to help fight the case, with contracts as much as $50,000."

Sounds just like my school district in Highlands County in it's pursuit to evade educating minorities and disabled children and will spend and do anything to evade implementing IDEA. I as a taxpayer in the State of Florida just want to make sure that school districts are not just "bleed...dry" or "tumbled toward bankruptcy" like Palo Alto-Eastern Menlo Park Ravenswood school district in California is facing because they are clients of the Weatherly Law Firm. Their former Superintendent Charlie Mae Knight stated "The majority of the money went to the lawyers. The money for the children was very, very small." I would like to see the money go towards addressing the needs of disabled children.

Since I know that the Florida Department of Education and several school districts in Florida are all co-clients of this law firm I am concerned that Manatee school staff statements quoted in the news article are so much like the Weatherly Law Firm philosophy. James Lobozzo, Jr. our school lawyer in Highlands County stated to me in a letter dated, July 2, 2004 that:

"Mrs. Julie Weatherly has presented materials for instructional consultation to the school board and other Highlands County staff members for annual updates on matters affecting IDEA; payment for such instructional consultation is generally made by Florida Diagnostic Learning and Resource System (FDLRS), serving a four county area, and all of the four counties are joined together for purposes of such presentations."

I believe that all staff in the Florida Department of Education trained by Weatherly Law Firm has been instructed in ways to assist the school districts of the State of Florida to evade implementing IDEA. The school district staff of Manatee County knows they can openly admit they discriminate against diagnosed children with ADHD because they know they can get away with it. I also don't wave the 60 day time line for this complaint. It would be nice if you answer this complaint and comply with the 60 day time line but I don't expect you to comply since you are refusing to answer most of my complaints.

Linda D. Montalbano

Florida School District Drops the Ball on Special Education
Monday, September 27, 2004
Linda D. Montalbano

School lawyers across this nation are getting rich fighting to make sure that disabled children don't obtain a free appropriate public education. Here in a complaint I don't expect the Florida Department of Education to ever investigate and respond to are just a few quotes from the leaders in the movement to make sure that no child receives special education services. Our states return money to the federal government every year because they don't comply with IDEA requirements and must return the money that our disabled children need. While they violate IDEA only about a 1/3rd of disabled children ever obtain some kind of high school diploma. There is money to pay for disabled children's programs but the school districts must write IEP's that are written based on testing and evaluations that show the child needs services. Instead our school districts are busy evading doing testing in suspected handicapping areas and paying their lawyers to justify what they are doing.

Complaints to State Education Departments can be made by anyone from anywhere. In Manatee County Florida school staff admitted they discriminate against children diagnosed with ADHD because it will cost money to address their disabilities. I filed a complaint based on the news article on behalf of all the children of Manatee County. We all know that this practice is all over the country but here in Manatee County Florida the school staff freely admits they practice discrimination against children with ADHD. I am sending you my complaint and in the complaint is the news article.

I believe that all of you who read the article and suspect that your school district is doing the same thing can make a complaint to your state education department cite the news article and my complaint and voice your concerns you believe or suspect it is happening to your child and/or in your school district and/or in your state. You can also file your own complaint against Manatee County Florida by doing an e-mail complaint to: Eileen.Amy@fldoe.org and cc the complaint to the Florida Commissioner of Education: commissioner@fldoe.org .

Maybe if organizations, parents and friends from across the United States make complaints about this open admitted discrimination policy of Manatee County Florida maybe the Florida Department of Education may investigate and order them to stop and implement IDEA services to children diagnosed with ADHD. A little cutting and pasting in an e-mail and you can make a complaint and help me get the message out to the Florida Department of Education that people care about children and are not going to sit back and let people openly discriminate.

Linda D. Montalbano
October 25, 2004

Dear Mr. Carter:

The Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services is responding to the electronic mail you sent on October 12, 2004, regarding issues raised regarding the Highlands County School District. The Bureau has devoted staff, time, and resources to respond to numerous concerns raised by you, your advocate and other parties through various communications that were directed to us in the last year. The Florida Department of Education has conducted multiple investigations of issues raised regarding the Highlands County School District, including a systemic review which is in the final stages of approval. The results of these investigations are released in official bureau determinations that describe the data and documentation that were collected from a wide variety of sources, the conclusions that were reached by a team of professional educators who carefully analyzed that information, and when appropriate, the actions that the district should take to improve its provision of special education and related services. The Bureau has also consistently communicated additional resources to you, such as the Office for Civil Rights, for you to contact regarding those issues out of our jurisdiction.

We hope the information provided will assist you in resolving your concerns. We wish you and your family well as you transition to another state. If this office can be of any further assistance, please contact Mrs. Allison Cruz-Mitchell, Program Specialist, at 850-245-0476 or via electronic mail at allison.cruzmitchell@fldoe.org.

Sincerely,

Bambi J. Lockman, Chief
Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services

cc: Connie Tzovarras, Highlands County School District
Shan Goff, Florida Department of Education
Eileen Amy, Florida Department of Education
Patricia Howell, Florida Department of Education
Allison Cruz-Mitchell, Department of Education

----------------------------------------------------------------------
October 30, 2004

Mr. Carter sent me a copy of your e-mail that clearly shows your mockery, disparage and ridicule of his defense against Highlands County who discriminated and violated his child's and families rights. I am concerned with the following:

"The Bureau has devoted staff, time, and resources to respond to numerous concerns raised by you, your advocate and other parties through various communications that were directed to us in the last year. The Florida Department of Education has conducted multiple investigations of issues raised regarding the Highlands County School District, including a systemic review which is in the final stages of approval. The results of these investigations are released in official bureau determinations that describe the data and documentation that were collected from a wide variety of sources, the conclusions that were reached by a team of professional educators who carefully analyzed that information, and when appropriate, the actions that the district should take to improve its provision of special education and related services. The Bureau has also consistently communicated additional resources to you, such as the Office for Civil Rights, for you to contact regarding those issues out of our jurisdiction."

Look back at our complaints you chose not to respond to and/or rewrite. We have you documented showing your perverted, distorted attempts to assist Highlands County discriminate and abuse minority and disabled children which includes the Carter's child. There is a clear pattern of discrimination and violations of IDEA. Florida DOE has knowledge of what is going on in Highlands County. You responded to only the few complaints that you reworded.

We find in your responses to our reworded complaints it is OK to refuse to evaluate children for more then a year. Connie Tzovarras evades sending information on children she chose not to evaluate. She sends information on 45 children who she proudly admits they declassified within a year of entering the school district. 100% of her examples are declassified and no one in the Florida DOE sees anything wrong with this. It is amazing that children from other states and counties could not cure children within a year of identifying their disabilities as Highlands County School District does. Are Connie Tzovarras responses to your reworded complaints a flagrant falsification and omission of facts accepted by Florida DOE to keep the status quo? Is it a passing faze that has become a way of life in Florida education?

Threatening, intimidating and harassing parents who dare to stand up for their child's rights you approve and accept as a right of the Highlands County School District. Mr.& Mrs. Carter and Dr. & Mrs. Reff are victims of the Florida DOE's refusal to stop the abuse and discrimination actions of Highlands County School District. These families are now safe in other states. Their children have been evaluated by the new school districts and have been found to have disabilities that parents voiced concerns about while the children attended Highlands County. These parents find out what it is like to be in an IEP meeting with school staff that is there to address the needs of their children and not an agenda to evade educating minority and disabled children.

I attended IEP meetings for the Carter's child in Florida and the new state they are in now. The speech therapist in the new school districted stated in the IEP meeting "I don't understand why they have articulation for the letter "S" on the IEP? I don't see any problem with any articulation." She then asked the teachers working with the Carter child if they hear any articulation problems with the letter "S". The teachers responded with no. Then the speech therapist stated "I see a need for receptive language therapy and there is nothing on the Florida IEP regarding receptive language." She went on to explain her testing showing the need for receptive language therapy and write a goal and objectives on the IEP. She wanted to know why we wanted the articulation for the letter "S" on the Florida IEP.

Mrs. Carter and I responded that it is all Highlands County would write a goal for and that they refused to address receptive language even though the independent testing showed receptive language therapy was needed. Then Mrs. Carter gave the speech therapist a copy of the 2003 Florida independent testing that Highlands County IEP team refused to consider even though they had paid for the testing under a due process hearing settlement agreement. The speech therapist reviewed the Florida 2003 independent speech evaluation in the IEP meeting and said yes these are the same findings she found during her testing. A year of Highlands County School District articulation therapy for the letter "S" did nothing to improve the child's receptive language disability but the child's IEP is an appropriate Florida IEP according to you people in the Florida DOE.

You know that Highlands County School District refuses to do any speech therapy except what they call "articulation". Dr. & Mrs. Reff's child needed pragmatic language addressed in speech therapy but articulation for the letter "R" is the goal on their child's IEP. Now in another state the child who was only classified for speech impairment has goals and objectives to address pragmatic language and social skills. Also that child is now classified under Autism. Unlike Florida where Law Judge Holifield made a ruling that Aspergers is not Autism. (NOTE: 49 other states recognize a child identified with Aspergers is considered for classification under Autism.)

The new school district reviewed all the Florida testing including the independent testing (NOTE: Independent testing I am a witnessed never reviewed or considered in a Highlands County IEP meeting for the child.) and found based on the Florida testing the child has Autism. Now the child has an IEP with social skills and services that address the needs of a student with Autism which Highlands County refused to address and the Florida DOE refused to investigate and respond to complaints. Law Judges refused to hold due process hearings when the parents requested due process hearings. Law Judges made decisions that the Highlands County School District's IEP was appropriate based on information provided by the school district, made a ruling in favor of the school district and denied the parents rights to due process. Can anyone in the Florida DOE figure out how many violations of law were committed against the Reff family? (HINT: Look up under ADA, 1983, 504, IDEA)

In the Carter's new school district's IEP meeting the occupational therapist informed us he could not write "peg boarding" as a goal or objective on the IEP. The child needed therapy in fine motor and he is writing a goal with objectives that address hand writing skills. He explained to us "peg boarding" is one activity he may use to address the child's disability that is impeding the ability to write. He wanted to know why we would want "peg boarding" as a goal on an IEP. I explained to him we had no input or control on what was written on the IEP. I told him that in Highlands County School District the occupation therapists only do distant classroom observations and call them occupational therapy evaluations. Therapy in school is only to be provided to a child to access the classroom environment. He did not understand that. He kept explaining the need to provided therapy so that the child can learn to write and have independent skills to succeed in and out of school. He could not understand how you can do an occupational therapy evaluation without sitting next to the child doing standardized hands on testing. He could not understand any of the testing from Highlands County. I explained how it is required to go to due process hearings to get that kind of testing in Highlands County Florida. Just like Dr. Crum-Norris had to for her child and a Law Judge Wetherell ruled it only applies to that one child. We all know that the State of Florida does not want to do any kind of Norm Reference Testing that identifies children's disabilities and justifies providing them with therapy. Just as you know that John McClure school lawyer for Highlands County explained in a due process hearing:

3/4/03 page 263, lines 19-24, John McClure, Highlands County School District lawyer explaining that the school is doing: Mr. McClure: "Well, Your honor, the whole objection here is whether or not functional assessment is appropriate or whether or not the Norm Reference Testing is appropriate. That's exactly were I'm headed. I'm laying a predicate for that."

I have written a complaint about only providing therapy for a child to only function in the school district environment. This is a total disregard for addressing a child's needs to generalize skills in the home and community so that someday a child can function as an independent adult. You have refused to respond to my complaint. Your refusal to respond to my complaint confirms my belief that you don't expect school districts in Florida to provide services to child to help them someday be independent adults in our society. You want disabled children to end up on social services and incarcerated in government supervised housing.

When it came in the new school districts IEP meeting to write objectives for Mr. & Mrs. Carter's child's needs to learn money and time to only 75% mastery they asked us why only 75% and not 100%? They found the child has little to no knowledge of money and time at 9 years old with 4 years of education in Florida. I responded I wrote complaints that these kinds of objectives should be at 100% mastery and the Florida DOE has refused to respond to my complaints. I told them maybe in Florida 75% mastery of counting change back to a customer and knowing how to be at work on time are not important life skills. Besides they are not necessary needed skills to function in a school environment which is the only reason for special education. We all know that from Rebecca Johnson explaining in a due process hearing:

3/4/03 page 264 lines 2-20, Rebecca Johnson assistant ESE coordinator being questioned by John McClure: "When I said briefly, we don't need the whole history. All I really need is what is educationally relevant therapy in a nutshell. A. The educationally relevant therapy that we provide for our students allows our students, allows us to look at how our students function, how the student functions in the environment. The school environment consisting of bathroom, lunchroom, moving around campus, transportation, playground. All of those environments and areas that the student would operate within. And the therapy is designed to assist that student to access special education if they are needing and requiring therapy to be able to function in their Special Education program. We focus on the outcomes that are desired for that child for the goals. WE look at what that student needs to achieve and what that student needs to operate within the school environment. And those goals are determined by an I.E.P. team. If a student requires and needs therapy-"

Most of all the school staff in the new school district told Mrs. Carter the child is "emerging 2nd grade levels" in academics and is only a site word reader. One school staff said that the Florida testing is "fuzzy" because Highlands County School District sent testing results showing the child on 3rd grade level in academics and reading on a 3rd grade level. The school district testing in the new state did not come out any where near those academic levels and it is "confusing". We responded that this is what Florida school districts do in their testing to justify refusing to provide extended school year services and to write goals and objectives on an IEP. School staff in the IEP meeting looked at us and questioned us about our response. I told them that the Florida DOE knows all about the school districts refusal to provide appropriate services to the child. We explained and showed them some of the complaints. We said you can see the IEP from Florida in your hand we did not write it. For the first time Mrs. Carter experienced an IEP meeting where she was treated as a team member. Her concerns were listened to and addressed. Her child's new IEP in the new state address her child's disabilities. After 4 years of education for the first time the Carter child has an IEP that address identified disabilities.

The Carter's child can't do the academics that according to Highlands County School District testing they claimed she can do. The new school district in another state did their own testing and proved that Highlands County School District testing is not accurate. Could telling Mr. Carter if he did not stop making complaints and fighting for his child's rights he could end up being found hanging from a tree the way the Highlands County School District figured out how to dispose of the Carter child before they were exposed with the fact that the child can't do the school work that they claimed she can do? So the Carter family were driven out of their home and moved to another state to protect their family and get help for their child. Is the reason you don't want to investigate the Carter complaints and my complaints is because we now have independent testing from another public school district that you have no control over exposing the discrimination and violations of IDEA that Highlands County School District was committing against the Carter's child?

I attended the IEP meeting as the Carter's person of knowledge. I spoke freely as a member of the IEP team. I was not told the police are going to be called in to arrest me if I spoke as Connie did to me on May 21, 2003 before the start of the Carter's child's first IEP meeting in Highlands County School District School. Kathy Nelson and Mary Asciutto threaten me with arrest if I spoke during Dr. & Mrs. Reff's child's IEP meeting in April 2004. In the new school district school staff asked me questions and no one threatened or told any school staff not to speak to me. Unlike my experience in Highlands County when Rebecca Johnson threaten school staff in Dr. Crum-Norris child's illegal declassification meeting of December 12, 2001. Unlike Mary Winter's child's law judges ordered staffing eligibility meeting in July 2003 where James Lobozzo school lawyer threatened Dr. Crum-Norris and I that we are the "person's of knowledge" and any one being a person of knowledge in the State of Florida can be reported to the Florida Bar for Unauthorized Practice of Law as James Lobozzo filed a complaint against me. You know all this because it is in many complaints and the Florida DOE refuse support the parent's rights to a person of knowledge. You support the Florida Bar's position that a person of knowledge has no first amendment rights and anything that can be done to impede parent's rights to due process is the goal of the Florida DOE. You should be ashamed to hear and see how a school district will make excuses to defend the tactic that they used to justify and prevent children from learning.

As an advocate for over 15 years it is refreshing to experience an IEP meeting that is focused on the child's needs. It is a tragedy to the children of Highlands County and the State of Florida that state staff in the Florida DOE can't comprehend it is the needs of the children that parents and I want to have addressed in IEP meetings. Not one state agency employee has shown they comprehend parents need to bring in an advocate to an IEP meeting. IEP meetings where school staff are instructed not to speak or say anything in an IEP meeting with the parent and advocate present. IEP meeting scheduled so that parents and advocates can't attend. IEP meetings where school staff refuse to review independent evaluations and refuse to change the pre-written IEP's and/or address the pre-decided declassifications of the children. In Highlands County School District staff is there for attendance only. In IEP meetings I have attended in Highlands County all decisions are clearly pre-decided before the parent ever enters the room.

What a difference it was to be in an IEP meeting of professionals who were concerned with the Carter's child. The new school district has been informed by Highlands County School District that the Carter's are trouble. I am being nice when I am saying that Highlands County called the new school district and only said the Carter's are trouble. Just speak to Dr. Crum-Norris to find out what the Highlands County School District said and did to try to bad mouth her and her child so that a private school would not accept her child. We all know that retaliation to harm and incapacitate the parent is the norm in the State of Florida towards minority and disabled children whose parents fight for their rights.

After the new school district reviewed the Carter's child's testing, evaluations and the Florida IEP, upset with hearing and seeing proof that has been provided to the Florida DOE and OCR of the horrors committed against the Carters in Florida, school staff at the new school keep telling Mrs. Carter they were sorry she went through so much in Florida. They kept assuring Mrs. Carter they are going to address the child's needs and want to work with as a team. Caring and concerned professionals I met in the new school districts IEP meeting. It would be nice to someday have an IEP meeting for a child in Highlands County with caring and concerned professionals who are thinking of the interest of the child. It is a fantasy we know that is never going to happen as long as you continue to assist Highlands County in their mission to discriminate against minority and disabled children.

Clearly in your letter to Mr. & Mrs. Carter you are tired of refusing to answer our complaints and/or are forced to seek ways to rewrite our complaints in your efforts to help Highlands County School District discriminate against minorities and disabled children. I am sick and tired of being a witness to the victimization of minority and disabled children. I am a concerned citizen of the United States who is knowledgeable of the rights of minority and disabled children. I live in fear of my personal safety because I am a person of knowledge helping minority and disabled children. Parents have a right to have an advocate of their choose provide them with advice and assist them in protecting their children's rights. Your participation in the actions of James Lobozzo to threaten parents with using Florida Statue 57.105(5) and Connie Tzovarras going to the Carter's home to demand they withdraw their due process hearing because all parents who ask for a due process hearing will be sued you know about and supported with your refusal to answer our complaints.

More so your answers to parents and I who called the Florida DOE were told it is the school districts right to send us notices under Florida Statue 57.105(5) when you knew that a decision was already rendered in another county that this statue does not apply to IDEA due process hearings. I made a complaint and requesrted in that complaint since it is a right of the school district to send Florida Statue 57.105(5) notices to every parent who requests a due process hearing then it should be noted in the Procedural Safe Guards given to parents. Parents should know that this is an acceptable intimidation tactic of the school district but it does not apply to due process hearings. You refused to answer my complaint as you accept this as a right of school lawyers in the State of Florida to do to parents who request a due process hearing. How are you protecting the rights of children and their parents when you support and accept this practice to instill fear in parents fighting for their children's rights?

I will continue to be a witness and stand up and not turn my back on the actions of people whose mandate is to help children not hurt them. I will not back down and the Carters are not going to go away after Highlands County School District succeeded in driving them out of the State of Florida with your assistance. It is your job to investigate our complaints. It is your mandate to protect the rights of minority and disabled children. I expect you to do the job you are mandated to do.

The Carter's and the Reff children are safe in other states now receiving the services that were denied in Highlands County School District. Investigate and find out why you and Highlands County School District refused to address the Carter's and the Reff's children's needs while residents of Florida. The Carters and the Reff's demanded their due process rights where many families in Highlands County can't stand up to the abuse, intimidation and harassment of school staff. Children are still suffering in Highlands County School District. Do your job and help those children. Not every family in Highlands County can move out of state to protect their child.

Linda D. Montalbano