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Public commenter alleges discrimination in special-education placement; speaker urges investigation
Summary
During the second public-comment period, Kathy Little alleged that the district denied her son appropriate educational options when he was in crisis and alleged discriminatory treatment; she urged an investigation and said she would cooperate. The remarks were made during the March 5 work session and were recorded in the public comment minutes.
At the March 5 Haverford Township SD work session, public commenter Kathy Little used her allotted three minutes to allege that her son, William Neely, was improperly placed and denied home-education options while in crisis and that the district's treatment was discriminatory.
Little said she believes district staff and others conspired to "derail" her son's education and that she would assist any lawfully conducted, unbiased investigation into the matter. She asked for subpoenas, phone/email records, and other records to be collected. Her remarks were framed as allegations; there was no administrative response recorded on the meeting record.
Board policy and state and federal special-education law govern Individualized Education Program (IEP) placements and Least-Restrictive Environment (LRE) determinations. The allegation made at the meeting is a public- comment accusation; it was not addressed with a substantive response on the record, and administrators did not provide additional detail during the session.
What happens next: The district has not publicly announced any investigation on the record at the meeting. Members of the public, including parents who raise complaints about special-education services, should expect district procedures (including any steps required by state or federal law) to govern complaint resolution. This article reports the allegation as stated at the public record and does not make any findings about the claim.
