March 28, 2008 12:43 PM
Loudoun County Public Schools and beyond: hyper-vigilant school nurses?
I am currently having a problem - ongoing for two years - with one of the five schools my six kids attend in Loudoun County.
This has to do with hyper-scrutiny of one of my special needs kids and way-too-numerous calls generated by the school nurse.
Last year, I had three kids at this school and the calls were so frequent my stomach clenched whenever I saw the number in caller ID (read more at A rant maybe only mothers of kids with special needs will understand and Does this kid look sick to you?).
This year, two of the three kids have moved to two other schools and only one is still there. He has been subjected to so much hyper-scrutiny that Tripp is convinced they are trying to push me into removing him from school. Remember the time they called to say he had thrown up on his clothes and there was no evidence of anything on his clothes?
I am disturbed that I am receiving diagnoses from school personnel that Daniels doctor does not concur with at all. I thought that the practice of school personnel diagnosing medical problems was illegal. And I am concerned that Daniel's and our family's privacy rights are being violated by conversations including school personnel who are not directly concerned with Daniel's IEP-mandated education.
Am I wrong in assuming that I should have the right to attend any such discussions concerning my son?
Here's the kicker: I have not received a single call from the school nurse at either of the two schools my other two guys moved on to. Daniel continues to be singled out for what I believe is more intense scrutiny than the 800+ other students at the school. That's discrimination.
Anyone else out there have similar problems with school nurses in Loudoun County or elsewhere? If so, please share via a comment or email. I'd like to collect more data.
On my way to research the legal side of this issue. . .
Posted in Disabilities, Loudoun County, Public schools | Permalink
Comments
Jonathan's old school, LVHS, used to call me to put me "on notice"...if it looks like he was not going to feel well later in the day. I put a stop to that when I asked them if they were psychics. No one can predict how a student MIGHT feel later.
Oh the webs they spin. And yes, I believe they try and root kids out. Sad but true....I speak from personal experience.
Posted by: suzanne | March 28, 2008 2:32 PM
Well, I obviously have no experience in this, either in having special needs kids or in the Loudon County school district, but I think it's pretty obvious that this a is a form of discrimination. Maybe even harassment.
Posted by: Michelle Potter | March 28, 2008 3:41 PM
I always wondered why so many Australian schools don't have school nurses, although having just read this it could actually be a blessing in disguise!
Posted by: Rhiannen Louise | March 29, 2008 5:42 PM
I was actually directed to this entry because a friend say my entry that was very similar. I get the same thing. I am called repeatedly about tiny knicks and questions about anything. At one point I was questioned about a very small scratch on my son's chest, in the dead of winter, when my son was wearing layers. There was no way the nurse could have seen this scratch had she not been inspecting him. When I challenged the school on this, they just gave me this talk that the nurse does a daily look-over of the kids to make sure they are not sick. Well, "look-over" includes a strips search?
I am so sorry you are going through this, and I can totally relate to your misery. I actually talked about how parents of SN kids are treated differently than NT kids here: http://lotsofkids.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/all-the-harder. However, I also believe a huge factor is the fact that we have large families too. I think that most people feel we *must* be poor parents and neglectful, because we have too much on our hands, and having a SN kids just tips the scales.
Posted by: Mirz | April 5, 2008 8:42 PM
