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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Seclusion in Nebraska

An earlier post dealt with a case of seclusion in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The Lincoln Journal-Star offers an update:
A Lincoln couple is appealing a federal lawsuit they filed against Lincoln Public Schools over the education plan for their son, who has autism.
U.S. District Judge Laurie Camp ruled in favor of LPS in the lawsuit filed by Chrissy and Matt McNair.
The couple alleged the district violated federal education law by not adopting a plan devised for their then 10-year-old son, Luke, by experts at a research institute associated with Johns Hopkins University.
Camp found LPS complied with federal law because it took the plan provided by the institute into consideration, even though it didn't adopt all of its recommendations.
But the McNairs argued the district refused to implement the key recommendation: Quit taking Luke to an isolation room when he acted out. The doctors found that Luke liked being by himself and acted out so teachers would send him to isolation.
The McNairs pulled Luke out of LPS and enrolled him at a private school called Prairie Hill in Roca. That school used the plan and had no problems, they said. The lawsuit had asked LPS to pay for past and future tuition to the private school. Because of the cost, the McNairs are now home-schooling Luke, who is 11.