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Georgia Grand Jury Orders
School to Review Access
by Beth Warren, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
September 5, 2002
For more articles on disabilities and special ed visit
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and www.ican.com.
A grand jury wants Gwinnett County, Ga., school officials to
take steps to make sure students with disabilities aren't
short-changed.
The panel released its recommendations last week after hearing
testimony from school officials, fire officials, a retired
fire marshal and parent Fabiola Armitage, who had brought a
complaint to the grand jurors.
Armitage launched a campaign in January for better access for
her son, Jason, who uses a wheelchair. Jason, then a
sixth-grader at Dacula Middle School, had been put in a
seventh-grade resource class because a class on his grade
level met in a trailer.
The school system said the boy was getting the same
instruction as other sixth-graders. However, they moved
Jason's class and teacher into the school's main facility in
March, a week after a state official recommended that Gwinnett
schools accommodate the boy in "the spirit of accessibility
laws."
Grand jurors, who also reviewed documents, found that school
officials and the mother could have done a better job of
resolving the conflict. They also said Armitage "omitted
material facts and information pertaining to her complaint
during her testimony" and didn't follow the proper procedures
in making her complaint to school officials.
They also pointed blame at schools Superintendent Alvin
Wilbanks, who they say is responsible for compliance with
state requirements and successful complaint resolution with
Armitage.
County public school administrators should review each
school's compliance and make the reviews available for public
inspection, the panel's presentment stated.
The Gwinnett County fire marshal's office should also inspect
county schools annually to ensure state standards are being
met, grand jurors determined.
"The grand jury strongly recommends that future grand juries
inquire to ensure that these recommendations have been carried
out," the panel wrote.
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