Keep Fighting! Leventry vs Hoover BOE

I told you I'd let you know when it happened. Well it finally happened. Two weeks ago we received word the federal judge finally ruled after 2.5 years in our favor. 3.5 years ago we were dealing with a 15 yo who was struggling to be in school due to severe anxiety. Mostly the anxiety was due to her mother but whatever, it was still happening and she needed help with being in school. We asked through our lawyer about getting her an IEP. That is an Individual Eduacaton Plan for those who are blessed not to know what that is. Many kids have them. They have IEP's for ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, and other handicaps that can hinder a child's ability to learn. IEP's as we learned during this process for kids with mental handicaps such as depression, anxiety and other mental issues are not as easy to get.  We had no idea we were entering uncharted territory. So, here we were about to embark on a journey that would take a long time. We asked for the IEP and we were denied it. We felt strongly she needed an IEP and not a 504 plan.  Did you know you are entitled to your due process? Well you are. So we went ahead with the hearing. It was two weeks of teachers and a counselor and other people talking about her story and what she went through. There was testimony from the child psychologist who had been seeing her and there was evidence of a video of the child's mother who was still teaching at the school of her being physically abusive towards her.  Finally in the end, the hearing officer ruled in our favor and said absolutely, she should be evaluated by an outside professional for her IEP. Yay! We won and we were confident we were on the path to helping her, getting her the plan she needed so she could continue with her education. But wait....We were so naive to believe HCS would just comply, I mean why wouldn't they?  With in days, the board of education the Hoover Board of education appealed it. So, there we were. Once again halted. And once again the child was left behind. So, we waited. We waited and waited. We waited over 2 years for the federal judge to rule on the appeal. 2 years! We, Rick and I believe the school system wanted us to go away. To stop fighting, to give up. It is exhausting, and it can be expensive  and time consuming. I think a lot of people give up. And, I get that. But, that's not our nature. We weren't about to give up now, we had come too far. Let me tell you during these two years, the child we were fighting for struggled. It wasn't pretty and it was really really hard. But also know during this time while we were fighting for her we also had celebrations of graduations and success with our family. By God's grace we managed to live and find joy in the mean time. I never want you to have the thought that we just moped around while we were waiting because we didn't. But we did find ourselves frustrated at times. Frustrated that Leventry VS the Hoover Board of Education was just sitting in a pile of papers somewhere on a desk waiting to be mulled over and ruled on. Finally, we got the call that the federal judge ruled and she ruled in our favor! Yay! Huge win!!!!! Twice, we beat Hoover Board. It's a big deal. It's big for kids who need help and a plan for their education when they have anxiety issues or depression. I personally have a sister who would have absolutely benefited from an IEP for her panic disorder. That was twenty years ago. Had there been a team for her at her public school working in her favor,  life might have been different for her in school. I heard from friends and people in our school system of how they asked for help for their child who suffered with anxiety and depression. They needed something in the school to help and it wasn't there.  They thanked us for fighting! This ruling will potentially help kids who struggle in school due to emotional issues.

I do want to make note here that we have never had an issue with our teachers in our schools. We have amazing educators in HCS and they truly care about the kids. The teachers we had during this time did their best with what they were given. Their hands were tied and they tried their best. Rick and I are thankful for them. Our issue has always been with several administrators.

Last week we learned the Hoover Board will be appealing the ruling. That is after the super intendant said they would comply with the judge's ruling. So here we are... Once again waiting. Why won't this board just comply? Why are they fighting so hard against this child? The money HCS has spent on this case for their own lawyer to fight against her is a lot, and people should be outraged! Maybe they're hoping they'll get a favorable ruling so they won't have to actually admit one of their own is truly at fault for this mess. Maybe they're hoping they will get a favorable ruling so they won't have to pay our lawyer. But good grief, had they just never fought it in the beginning they wouldn't have had to pay either lawyer. They would have actually been helping a child who desperately needed a plan in place an individual plan for her to get through school when her life was literally upside down and inside out.

Rick and I have learned to trust God's perfect timing through this wild journey. We are happy to know our fight for this will help future kids. Maybe school systems will employ school psychologists to help counselor's and teachers with kids who have emotional issues. When we told her the judge ruled in our favor AGAIN she cried. She didn't cry for herself. She cried knowing her battle will help others.