"WARNER ROBINS --The mother of an autistic 7-year-old in a long-running dispute with the Houston County Board of Education was arrested Friday for failure to comply with the state's school attendance law, her attorney said.
Betsy Loiacono of Warner Robins turned herself in to the Houston County Sheriff's Office on Friday and posted an $1,100 bond, said her attorney, Hatcher Graham.
...Loiacono said she requested hospital/homebound instruction for her son in May of last year on the advice of his doctor, who diagnosed the child as having post-traumatic stress disorder and needing home instruction.
The boy had been verbally abused on the school bus by the driver and bus aide May 8, 2006, Loiacono said, and had earlier come home with unexplained bruises on his arms and chin."
You know what rings so very true with me about this? The fact that Ian had the same type of trouble on the school bus when he was in kindergarten. They don't supply bus aides on "regular" buses, so that wasn't an issue, but every day the idiotic bus driver would put Ian in the center of the bus, next to big kids who picked on him, then yell at Ian when he acted out because he was over-stimulated and abused. His Special Ed team repeatedly tried to get this lack wit to move him to the front seat next to his best friend, but she refused. We were lucky. I wrote an email and cc'd the Principal, Special Education Director, and the Head of the Bus Drivers stating that I felt my son wasn't safe with that bus driver and either they needed to comply with the recommendations made by his special ed team or a different bus driver needed to be found for Ian's route.
I got an email back the next day from the Head of the Bus Drivers all about "of course we'll make these changes, she really is a kind and caring bus driver, and this was the first he'd heard of this problem." My ass. Anyone who continually stands in the middle of a crowded, noisy bus and yells at a 7 year old autistic kid and expects it to have any positive effect is a) an idiot, b) a sick, cruel, bastid, and c) should't be allowed in the public school system. But then I feel that way about most of the public school system, so I may be biased.
at 10:32 AM :: ~#~
