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Parent tells board her 10-year-old with diabetes is being harassed by a teacher
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Summary
During public comment, Melody Morrison said her 10-year-old daughter, who has type 1 diabetes, is being harassed by a teacher; she said the family has followed the chain of command, is in state mediation, and expects legal counsel if the situation is not resolved.
Melody Morrison told the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District board that her 10-year-old daughter, who has type 1 diabetes, is being harassed by a teacher and asked the board to remove the child from that classroom and to reassign the teacher for the following year.
Morrison said she had followed the chain of command "starting with teachers all the way through administration, superintendent" and that the family is currently in state mediation. She said the district had told the family it could not remove the child from the classroom because doing so would 'disrupt another classroom.' Morrison said she does not want that outcome and said she and her spouse were prepared to pursue legal steps if necessary.
"I'm asking you as board ... I need her removed from the classroom, and I need these teachers not to be her set of teachers next year," Morrison said, adding that the child relies on a phone so Morrison can monitor blood-sugar numbers and has reported spikes when "things are going wrong within the school." The complaint was made during the public-comment hearing; no formal personnel action was announced at the meeting.
The board did not announce specific follow-up at the public meeting; Morrison said the next steps included state mediation and possible legal action. The administrative record may include confidential personnel procedures not discussed in public session.
Next steps: Morrison asked the board to contact the family and to provide an update; the family said they already are in state mediation and that lawyers may be the next step.
