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Parent tells board district has not followed up on special-education concerns for nonverbal 10th-grader
Summary
A parent told trustees she has not received district follow-up about free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for her nonverbal son with an IEP, described repeated long meetings involving attorneys, and urged accountability.
Christina Donaldson told the Caledonia Community Schools board on May 19 she remains without a district response after previously raising concerns in March about whether her nonverbal, 10th-grade son with an individualized education program is receiving a free and appropriate public education (FAPE).
Donaldson said she requested a follow-up from the district after her March public comment but has not received one. She described repeated meetings over multiple years — “over 25 meetings, often scheduled for up to four hours” — that included a large team of staff, administrators and district legal counsel. Donaldson estimated the cumulative time spent by staff and legal counsel at around 1,000 hours and said that attorney hourly rates she referenced reached as much as $400 per hour.
Donaldson said that although “some progress has occurred,” the family and district “remain challenged in finding common ground in a number of areas.” She described a recent meeting in which a district administrator addressed her in an elevated tone of voice and said meetings have shifted from being student-centered to feeling “like a courtroom drama.”
She also cited remarks from a recently resigned local special-education teacher who warned that overburdening teachers isolates them and undermines students, and referenced commentary that described school districts “weaponizing” authority against parents seeking services. Donaldson asked that the district hold institutions and individuals accountable and reiterated her request for a formal follow-up.
The board did not record a formal response during the public-comment period beyond acknowledging the remarks. The meeting transcript shows staff and administrators earlier set a public-comment policy that the board cannot accept personnel issues in that forum and that personnel concerns are to be referred to the superintendent for resolution.
Donaldson’s comments were part of the meeting’s public-comment period; she asked the board to review her prior remarks from March and to follow up with the family through the superintendent’s office.
