Now We Get To See Why Kids And Parents And Public Education Lose

Public Education is nothing if it isn't about big money. Bottom line.

Defending this money is a paramount goal. Statistically, the public systems protect each other. They have unlimited resources and expertise in strategies. What seems to never be of concern is that there is more to life than money. But at a $200,000 liability cap for public school systems, that is as insignifant as hiring a consultant.

I write frequently about the abuse of power by public school employees. They are afforded protections that most people don't get.

In this case, the charges against a teacher seem to fit with the physical signs of the kids. Goose egg lumps, busted lips, extracted teeth, and bruises are hard to fabricate.

I am not surprised in the least at how the defense is shaping up. It is the nature of the defense culture for public schools.

Another story is here :

Click here: HeraldTribune.com - News - News stories about Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties in Florida, from the newspa

We have a time line:

"Two aides in Diana O'Neill's class started documenting instances in which they believed she abused students as early as October 2007. But it was three months later -- after more than a dozen instances -- before the police and the state Department of Children and Families were notified"

Some one had concerns, but if it isn't on paper, it didn't happen: "Police records also indicate that O'Neill, 45, had been "talked to" in the past for her behavior with her profoundly disabled students. But there is no record that any concerns were ever reported to the police or the school district to investigate."

We have a kid who has no chance of telling the truth so how could anyone believe anything about her wasn't done by herself:


"Tara, who cannot walk, talk or see, has been in O'Neill's class for eight years.

During that time she often came home with bruises, prompting Hatfield to go to the school and question the teacher. Every time, O'Neill had a different explanation that ranged from other children hitting her to her falling out of her wheelchair, Hatfield said."


A few details by the aides:

"Police identified four of O'Neill's five students as victims. With one child, aides reported that O'Neill parked his wheelchair against a wall and watched as the boy hit his head against it, sarcastically telling him, "Don't hit your head."

Aides also reported that O'Neill had kicked one girl in the legs, hit her in the head with objects, pushed her to the floor and used a "weighted blanket" and a "body sock" -- two therapy tools that restrict movement -- to punish her."

Setting up the need for understanding a unique situation:


"Educators and parents alike complain of little support from the rest of the school system, and even fewer resources. It is a pressure cooker that can pit teachers against parents, or unify them in the face of shared challenges.

Despite efforts to include students with disabilities in the regular school setting, at most schools these small classes stay clustered together, sharing resources and working as teams, creating a tight-knit community.

It is also a place where teachers employ unusual techniques to control their children's behavior and help them develop physically and mentally."

And then we have common place actions:

"For example, the aides reported an episode where O'Neill shoved a cloth into a child's mouth and then pulled it out so hard the child's tooth came out.

But Sloan said this is a common technique used to build the biting reflexes of students with disabilities. In this case, O'Neill accidentally knocked out a baby tooth, Sloan said."

And I wrote previously about how the system will make sure no one speaks out without themselves becoming liable:

"School Superintendent Gary Norris said the district would review not only the allegations against O'Neill, but also how the other employees responded."



And here comes the "defense of professionals":
"These charges were observed by aides who are not sufficiently trained to work with handicapped children," Sloan said. "This woman is completely professional.""

There is the "culture of defense" in a nutshell.

If these aides are lying, our kids will suffer yet another setback.

If these aides can not prove they are telling the truth, our kids will suffer another setback.

Afterall, it is about numbers. The fact that this is an isolated incident eases our anxiety.

Unless it was your kid.

But in that case, you would just be a parent.

Maybe It's Just Me

While my local school system is in the public throes of who is really running the show, I get stuck on the meaning of words.

Now that freedom of speech issues have finally reached the point that the HCDS police are called to action, I wonder where has everyone been all of these years.

I will always vividly recall the day at Mann Middle School when I was told by the principal that if I came on campus without checking in to her office first, I would be charged with trespassing.

The fact that I was making a big squawk about my repeated attempts to address issues with my son’s education and the fact that this threat came the day after I wrote a complaint letter gave me reason to believe that the 3 months of previous same actions on my part were now under a different line of scrutiny.

At least I didn’t have the security called on me. Instead, I called the Director of ESE while sitting in the office. I had the number saved because I used it a lot over the years. This may have saved my immediate arrest. It was a gutsy move on my part, because Directors have as much say over what a principal does or does not do as I did. But there is something to say about safety in numbers, and how many people know.

I was not accustom to this type of treatment, or rather, the treatment was getting worse. I did not think the setting was safe for my son. So when I said I was keeping him home until we could have another of those countless meanings, the veiled threat of truancy was thrown out. Knowing the absolute power of the school District, I made sure I obtained a Dr's excuse to protect me.

As the days and weeks played out, since I had become learned in the ways of paper warfare, my documentation along with proof that “they” had changed theirs, probably saved me from the usual bulldozed flattening that most parents end up with.

Taking on the system means that you must have documentation and make sure some one else has a copy of it too.

Yesterday I posted the link to some probable cause affidavits.

One of the sentences struck me as odd, so I revisited it today. On page two, it says that the teacher’s strikes (to the kid who was an “equivalent 11 to 14 month old reference motor skills”) “were often prompted by an incorrect answer to a question, not any disciplinary problem or wrong doing. In that sense, there was no legal justification for her to strike the child.”

And then on page 3, we find: the teacher’s statement of “you gonna kick me, I’m gonna kick you (pg 2),” “implies revenge as a motive and a desire to hurt of cause pain to … rather than any educational purpose.”

I am thankful that the writer was able to determine that there was no educational purpose for the actions the teacher took upon the kid. It must have been a tough legal decision to write that out.

Thankfully the Aides finally got the courage

This is not a broad brush attack against teachers.

I will readily agree that this (teacher) is an isolated incident. Obviously, her patterns of behavior towards the kids were not isolated. There was enough of them that some how it overcame what ever barriers the aides had in reporting these events.

I know a lot of people don't believe parents. The principal makes a comment that she doesn't think the aides would make this up. But she likes the teacher and is surprised these events happened. Like being slammed on the head for not answering a question. It's in the reports.

It reminds be of a kid at Randall Middle school who was given 7 felony assualt charges against a school employee. Part of the reason his behavior escalated was he refused to obey an order to stand up. The fact that he had a disabilty to the extent he could not stand up without assistance of some type didn't seem to have much meaning to the authority figures. I never could understand the mindset of an adult who puts themselves in striking range of a kid who can not stand up, other than to prove the adult was the boss.

Sort of that arrogance with ignorance thing. The charges were later dropped, which probably really pissed the teacher off. Upsurped the teacher's authority over noncompliant kids. Tons of CYA paperwork were generated.

On page 16 of the attached link, it states that one parent said there were no other options for her child. I know what it is like to not be heard.

And it didn't happen in my county, so why should I even bring it up.

But I just couldn't help reading the probable cause affidavits

I wonder what the culture of defense is in that county.

I wonder what message the aides will get.

I wonder if they will get accolades for defending the disabled.

I wonder if they will be used as a example that the next time an employee sees something like this, whatever you do, you do not expose the school system.

My comments are not about teachers. My comments are about systems.

Token Newspaper Coverage and "Is There Any Doubt" - Part III

Historically, the media has been a watchdog. We should all know that it can be biased.

We should all understand that the key to success is uniformity and promotion of the common goal. Note that I did not say "common good". Hitler had a following for the common goal, but it was not for the common good.

It is times like this that I wish I had labeled my postings so that one could follow my threads of thought. My belief is that historically, the Tampa Tribune has minimized the plight of the HCPS. My belief was so entrenched that I started the adjacent links to compare with the St. Pete Times. While I have not been 100% dedicated to all links, I was surprised to see that they were about equal.

This blip (thank you Eskay Espresso)may be indicative of a "token coverage of the school board meeting". Buried amongst camoflage, the Tribune can claim that they afforded coverage.

There are so many dynamics to this sequence of events that it is difficult to appreciate the significance of what is happening.

As an outspoken parent of a disabled student within the HCDS, I know what it is like to be discounted because of the manner I objected to what was wrong. “Broad brush attacks”, “Isolated Incidents”, “malcontent” and “personal problems” were a constant barrier to my advocacy.

I will admit that how one presents themselves should not override the substance of what one has to say. It is the reason for this title: "From Emotions To Advocacy". I will also admit that it is our human nature to judge the content of the substance by the manner in which it is presented. Poker players deal with this as a matter of the game.

Ms. Lee Drury de Cesare is one whose presentation may, by common protocol, get in the way of her message. However, if one overlooks the pomp and circumstance and maybe what could best be described as grandiloquence, she, by all accords, must speak the truth. Plus, she is out on the front line, time after time, fighting the fight that other's should but don't.

I have cringed at some of the statements she has made. I agree with a large majority of her perceptions, if not all.

I have written frequently about the arrogance and the abuse of power of the local public education system.

Those who are paying attention are watching how this abuse of power, through ignorance, is manifesting itself.

I implore those who care to realize that this is a deep seated mindset of a system. The fact that it is being exposed should not lead to one thinking that it will not be curtailed and strengthened when it becomes necessary.

As far as "Is there Any Doubt", check out my previous posts about retaliation.

What Should Have Been A Peaceful Valentine's Night

Collateral damage.

People bitch and moan about an unjust war thousands of miles from here.

What about the unjust war against our own right here.

Is There Any Doubt, Part II

Is it a sign of the times, or have the disabled always been victimized?

Is it retaliation against the citizens for the way the public servants are treated?
If so, why do they choose to retaliate against the disabled?

Is it a belief that disabilities are a ruse and that disabled people expect too much?

How come the leaders never know about these things, and when they are forced to face the facts, they spin it to try to convince others that it isn't what it seems?

Does the following sound similar to the type of response one gets when they make an inquiry to the HCDS?


"While we tried to get a written report about the incident, the major who runs the Orient Road Jail told us there is no incident report, because as far as they are concerned, they didn't have a problem with, or cause a problem to, an inmate in a wheelchair." Mike Deeson

Click here for visual effect: Hillsborough County Deputy Dumps Man in Wheelchair

Is There Any Doubt?

What can speak more for an affirmation that the perception of the HCDS is a bully than being found in a Federal Court of law to have retaliated against a parent.

What started out as a IDEA issue, because of the actions of the District, ended up being a civil rights case under Section 504.

State of Florida
The Division of Administrative Hearings
Special Education Hearing

Recently, there was an event at a zoo where some young men taunted and harrassed a lion. Apparently they did it long enough and effective enough that the lion decided it had had enough. The lion probably gained extra motivation and strength from the physical and mental torment that it had endured. The lion jumped over the wall and caught two of his tormenters. Because of the lion's actions, he was retaliated against and was killed.

The lion should and would be alive today. Who started the actions that led to his condemnation?

Where does HCDS fit in the triangle?