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For one Long Island, New York, father, an issue that has been building
for two years appears to be headed to a dramatic head on his son's first
day of school.
Christian Killoran of Remsenburg, New York, wants his 12-year-old son, who has Down syndrome,
to attend the same middle school as his friends and siblings, but says
the Westhampton Beach School District will not let Aiden Killoran in.
But his dad says he plans to show up at the school on the first day,
Wednesday, with Aiden and supporters. The school had requested a
temporary restraining order to keep the Killorans off school property.
In U.S. District Court on Monday, the family and the school reached an
agreement that a restraining order would not be needed.
"They [the Westhampton School District] has never in history allowed an
alternately assessed special education student to attend its middle
school," Killoran told ABC News of students with disabilities whose
performance is evaluated in ways other than traditional testing.
This would include students with cognitive and other disabilities.
Killoran said denying Aiden entry is a violation of his civil rights
and that if the school is going to deny him entry, "they should have
the b**** to look him in the eye and tell him he is not wanted."
In the past, according to Killoran, students with certain special needs
have instead attended a nearby school but he said because "99 percent"
of graduates from Remsenburg-Speonk elementary school go to Westhampton
Beach Middle School, Aiden should be able to as well.
Christian Killoran said he has reached an agreement with the
Remsenburg-Speonk School District that Aiden would return to his same
elementary school this year. However, the family has reportedly filed a
discrimination lawsuit against the Westhampton Beach school district,
alleging that the district does not want to educate certain special
needs in its middle and high school. The lawsuit is pending.
In a statement to ABC News, Superintendent of Westhampton Beach School
District Michael R. Radday said, "In accordance to New York State and
Federal privacy laws, the district is legally prohibited from discussing
individual student matters and cannot comment on pending litigation."
The president of the Westhampton Beach Board of Education responded to ABC News' request for comment. But in a letter sent to The Southampton Press
by school board member Suzanne M. Mensch and obtained by ABC News,
Mensch wrote she was "extremely disheartened by the Killoran family’s
repeated public efforts to bully the Westhampton Beach School District
into developing an educational program for their son" and that
"Westhampton Beach has not been a party to this discussion" regarding
Aiden's placement.
“On July 22, the superintendent of Remsenburg notified Westhampton Beach
that a resolution had been reached that did not involve Westhampton
Beach and that the child would be attending Remsenburg-Speonk for the
2015-16 school year,” the letter states. “Why would the Killorans
willingly enter into such an agreement with Remsenburg-Speonk and then
threaten legal action about the placement they agreed to.”
She added, “The challenge we have faced is that oftentimes the numbers
of students with similar educational needs within a specified age range
is very small. In these cases, students can be better served in
specialized placements at a partner district or the Board of Cooperative
Educational Services.”
The district has reportedly told the family it does not have the
programming to teach Aiden, and they should consider other districts.
According to Christian Killoran, however, the conversation regarding
Aiden's placement in middle school was started with the Westhampton
Beach School District two years ago. Killoran told ABC News he was told
that because Aiden was, at the time, enrolled in the Remsenburg-Speonk
School District, the Westhampton Beach School District could not discuss
the issue. Remsenburg-Speonk does not have middle and high school
schools so its students feed into neighboring Westhampton Beach schools.
"We told them two years ago we would not be victimized by their culture
[of not allowing certain students with special needs entry] and wanted
to develop a plan," Killoran said.
Professor Sue Buckley, director for Science and Research at Down
Syndrome Education International in Portsmouth, U.K., said in an email
to ABC News, "I am appalled and saddened that any school should prevent a
father and child from entering the grounds by law. All the research
studies show children with Down syndrome achieve more in inclusive
education – better reading, maths and spoken language outcomes, more
socially mature and fewer behaviour challenges – yet many US school
districts seem to ignore this information. All children should be
welcomed in their local community.
“What message are the educators giving all the other children in their
school if they exclude a child with Down syndrome? I agree this is a
clear case of disability discrimination," added Buckley a leading expert
on inclusion for students with Down syndrome.
In Mensch's letter, she takes issues with the Killorans's account of the
situation. "As a parent, I continue to be disappointed in the
Killorans’s unwillingness to be completely honest about their situation.
I am particularly outraged by Mr. Killoran’s suggestion that he will
bring his son to the Westhampton Beach Middle School on opening day
knowing full well that he is enrolled as a student elsewhere."
But Killoran said Aiden has a right to attend the same school as the
kids he has known all his life and not be discriminated against because
of his diagnosis. Aiden, who he called "incredible" is the first student
with Down syndrome to graduate from Remsenburg-Speonk elementary. "If
you ask the community what they want, you'd find they also want Aiden
included. Everyone benefits from his empathy and kindness. We have faith
in the school, teacher and staff to provide him with a great education
and are committed to changing this."
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