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Class action lawsuit filed on behalf of BVSD special education students

Daily Camera - 10/22/2020

Oct. 22--An education attorney has filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Boulder Valley School District, alleging remote learning and current limited in-person options fail to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

The lawsuit seeks to require Boulder Valley to provide full-time, in-person learning as an option for children who receive special education services. Last school year, about 12%, or 3,761, of the district's students received those services.

"Special needs children have unique circumstances that make online learning highly ineffective for them, especially for those kids who are severely impacted," attorney Igor Raykin said in a written statement. "Many special needs kids have gone without services for months."

The lawsuit names two Boulder parents as plaintiffs. The parents are Jon Caldara, whose 16-year-old son has Down syndrome and attends Boulder High School, and Joost Schreve, whose son was diagnosed with low-functioning, non-verbal autism. Caldara is listed in the lawsuit as John Doe but allowed the Camera to publish his name.

The lawsuit argues that both students require full-time, in-person instruction to receive the free and appropriate public education required by law. Additionally, according to the lawsuit, Schreve's son is unable to attend in-person classes because he can't tolerate wearing the required face covering.

The districtwide policies are "a systemic failure to comply with the obligations of the (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)," according to the lawsuit.

Boulder Valley students had been attending school remotely since March, when school buildings were closed in response to increasing coronavirus cases.

Elementary students recently returned in-person four days a week, while middle school and high school grades are being phased in two days and one day a week, respectively. High school students in the district's intensive special education programs may attend two days a week in-person instead of one, according to the school district.

"The Boulder Valley School District has been working exceptionally hard to serve all of its 31,000 students, including those with special needs, during this crisis situation," spokesman Randy Barber said in a written statement. "We understand for many families the pandemic and its impact on schools has been extremely challenging. BVSD remains dedicated to providing students with special needs with a free appropriate public education."

Boulder Valley also provided information about its reintroduction plans for special education students, as well as guidance provided to schools on how to handle special education students who can't tolerate face coverings. Modifications are determined on an individual basis, according to the district.

When Schreve requested an accommodation to the face mask requirement for his son, the lawsuit alleges, the district required his son to go through "mask training" to attend in person. But his parents had already worked extensively -- and unsuccessfully -- with him and "mask training would be a waste of time and would traumatize (him)," according to the lawsuit.

Raykin also is representing Caldara in a separate complaint filed with the state in September alleging Boulder Valley is violating federal special education law by not allowing his son to attend school in person. Caldara said his son, who can't read or write and has speech difficulties, can't access content online and isn't receiving the in-person therapies he needs.

That complaint seeks an in-person private school placement, paid for by the school district, as well as compensatory education services, such as tutoring, to make up skills lost as a result of extended school closures.

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