ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
SCHOOL OFFICIALS never told them the city was obligated to provide counseling for their son, a special-education student, David and Lee Ann Amos say.
The parents of a Roanoke special-education student who mistakenly was placed in regular classes for three consecutive years charged Tuesday that school officials failed to inform them of counseling choices for their son.
Lee Ann Amos said she never was told that federal and state regulations require the city to provide counseling for her son, Nathan, if it's needed for him to benefit from schooling.
"We believe our son needs counseling because of what school officials did - putting him in the wrong classes - but they said they did not have the funds to pay for it," said David Amos, the boy's father.
Earlier this year, the school system refused to pay several hundred dollars in counseling fees for Nathan, an eighth-grader at William Ruffner Middle School who has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. School officials said they were not required to do so because counseling services were not part of his individualized education plan at that time.
They said the parents also signed an agreement several months ago releasing the schools from liability for counseling fees. The document was designed to settle several issues in a complaint by the parents over the boy's education.
But the parents told a special-education hearing officer Tuesday that they were misled on the agreement and made to believe that funds for counseling were available only through a federal and state community services program. Their request for payment of the counseling bills was denied.
"Our son needs a lot of help. We expect the schools to let us know of all our options," Lee Ann Amos said. "If we had known what our options were, we would have not signed the agreement."
The parents said they asked the schools to provide counseling for their son immediately after they discovered the city is required to do so if special-education students need it for their schooling.
Hearing officer Myles Hylton did not make an immediate decision, but he said he would review the evidence and provide a written opinion.
School officials recently agreed to provide counseling for the 13-year-old student, but they have refused to pay the earlier bills.
William Parsons, an attorney for the schools, argued that the schools are not obligated to pay the bills because the parents should be required to comply with the earlier agreement that was designed to settle their complaints.
"If there was a misunderstanding, it was because the parents assumed some things," Parsons said. "They have a responsibility to make sure they agree with something before they sign it."
While the amount of money in the dispute is not large, he said, the case would set an important precedent. School officials would not have signed the agreement if they had known the parents would fail to comply, Parsons said.
The schools agreed to provide tutoring, more computer access and other aid to help meet Nathan's educational needs.
Despite reports by two professional counselors indicating that the boy was experiencing stress because of problems at school, Parsons said, the parents have not proved that counseling is required for their son.
School officials have now taken a "more lenient" attitude and agreed to provide counseling, he said, but he argued that the city still has no legal obligation to provide the service.
David Amos said his health insurance company has paid several thousand dollars in counseling fees and he is asking the city to pay the remaining few hundred dollars.
"We are made to look like the bad guys, but we are just trying to do what is best for Nathan," Lee Ann Amos said. The parents took their son to a private counselor because they thought that was their only option, she said.
"Had school officials suggested that school counselors or school psychologists could have provided the service, we would have taken it," she said. "No other options were offered."
Hylton, the hearing officer, questioned why school officials would agree now to provide counseling for the boy when they did not offer it earlier.
Robert Sieff, director of special services for the city, said officials believe counseling might be appropriate now to help the boy make the adjustment to high school this fall. They also believe it might be needed during the summer to help ensure that Nathan remains motivated for the next school year.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Nathan Amos.by CNB