Single dad with special needs son sued by Virginia school district for $600,000
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- čas přidán 19. 04. 2024
- A single dad is fighting for his son, a sophomore with special needs at Staunton River High School.
"I just kept noticing things that continued to show falling behind, falling behind and QRI testing just kept showing that he's falling further and further behind," parent David Rife said. "Every time there's been an issue they've just come after me and never helped him."
Rife said his son's reading level is five years behind.
How that became a problem that ended in the district filing a lawsuit: wcyb.com/news/local/single-da...
Update: czcams.com/video/UMqeJFjoM7E/video.html
How can a governmental entity sue citizens for pressing them to do their job?
they don't like it when people call them out for their incompetence.
He’s being sued for swearing??? What happened to Freedom of Speech
@@HummaKavula-DontVoteForStupid well he definitely can say his first amendment rights were violated. Let them try and shake that one off.
@@bored1ca so basically, the school board’s chief only complaint, is while he’s fighting for his son, he did it with vulgarities and obscenities? That’s ridiculous. Their very lawsuit is an affront on the first amendment. You may not like profanities and vulgarities coming from people, but they have a constitutionally protected right to say what they have to say.
@@HummaKavula-DontVoteForStupid that's exactly my point - they can't enforce a policy that violates a person's first amendment rights. The father should be able to say what ever he wants and if the school board doesn't like it, well that's just too damn bad.
Over half a million for "offending" some school employees? WTF? This is obviously a pure harassment suit and should be thrown out with all legal costs paid by the school!
just another inclusive democrat run school system
Schools should not even be able to authorize this kind of suit. If the parent did something illegal they can report it to the police. Otherwise they are meant to do their jobs or resign.
think how obviously stupid this situation is.
THEN think how maga believe fed gov is hyper-competent and are ALL (2million people, coordinated) training their efforts on "exposing" trump for everything he has already confessed to.
School districts are government agencies and as such, "the people" are entitled to redress their grievances directly to the offending agency.
Not school employees, the school board. Entitled boomers whose feelings are as fragile as their broken brains. That's why they feel harassed when a parent holds them accountable.
Counter sue for 200 million in damages slander and defamation and for refusing to adhere to the required educational needs of special needs students!!
The possibility is very high for a win... because it violates federal law and if a jury hears it... all over, game over man.
Actually, he CAN sue for violation of his rights. Redressing our government is a protected activity and he may do so using any "language" he chooses. You don't have to be nice. So what he can do is file a federal lawsuit claiming retaliatory prosecution.
@@saltyolbroad2962he needs to. I've never heard of a school suing a parent for anything like this 😂
@@Steve.._. this is what happens when we don't keep our government in check. It no longer understands its role.
Also add “Malicious prosecution, abuse of civil process, retaliatory action, negligence, ADA violations, nuisance, intentional infliction of emotional stress…”
No school board ever calls out parents who are too lazy and indifferent to be involved. They only target those who want accountability.
It's disturbing how true this statement is.
No, they call out people who are abusive. And yes they do call out the indifferent ones. I know of many times they called Protective Service on parents. You don't know what you are talking about.
@@ohana8535The school BOARD does that?? No those actions are done by kind hearted teachers/staff and of their own volition. School boards are generally self-interested and primarily concerned with obtaining more funding for themselves, rather than trying to optimize the welfare of their students & teachers
@afghanistananies how would the schoolboard know without someone bringing it up to them?
@@afghanistananies They can be, but I have seen many good ones. Remember, there are thousands of them. Your statement is way too general.
Sued for swearing??? They need to sue the majority of the student body
depending on the school most times students work in the office & answer phones. when i answered phones you would not believe what the parents were saying over the phone
@@hannahyoung6762 I agree, there's nothing to gain by being a foul mouth. Sorry you had to hear that.
and fire all staff
@@kevincourtney7312 There's also nothing to be gained by not doing your job required BY LAW , but they didn't and went after the Dad.
He should counter sue. This is what being in a Republican led area does to ppl
The school district is failing the child and they're suing dad because he doesn't like their failure? Hard to effing believe.
NOT the schools’ fault that HIS kid is EXCEEDINGLY SLOW!!!!!
@@traybern it is the school's fault for not providing proper education and amenities required by federal law for special needs students
Bet they flew their pride flag
So the DOE says.
@@TheLeadZombie every district needs a school for all these “special needs” children! It’s ridiculous to expect a teacher to know how to accommodate them. If your child is falling that far behind maybe one should look in the mirror! Every day it’s someone wanting extras for their “special needs” child! If the country is so run over with so many “special needs” children maybe they should look at the parents and see what they were doing that created so many of these children all of the sudden! It’s becoming the excuse for some parents who don’t want to parent their children! “My little Susie or Tommy can’t help they are disruptive and don’t follow rules themselves a special needs”…
Being non-compliant with an IEP is against the law
democrats are above the law
Yep this is nothing new....IEP are nothing new (atleast here in Ontario Canada) I had one since the mid-late 90s till i graduated high school in 2009.....and this was in the Catholic school board as well lol....
@@Shifty51991 I had one all my life even through college. I have multiple learning disabilities and developmental delay caused by pre-natul drug use and prematurity. I was born two and a half months early and was 5.5 pounds, plus both birth parents were intellectually disabled and physically disabled. I was always so thankful for my IEP and services.
Most IEP's are ridiculous, just a waste of paper.
@@AnnieBananie-nm8yn never not once experienced this. In America a school can be charged if they do not comply. It is against the law for a school to not comply with an IEP. I never even ever heard of a school being noncompliant until now.
That sounds like retaliatory, vexatious and excessive litigation on the part of the school district. A countersuit needs to be filed by the Dad that includes attorneys fees and compensation for his son who has not been properly evaluated and placed within the school 😢
There’s a word for it - SLAAP
Californiadreamer2508, You are absolutely right!
@@lq7777 SLAPP : Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation
Throw in First Amendment violations. That ought to just brighten their day!
@@lq7777 luckly for him virginia has anti SLAAP protections hopefully this lawsuit should get tossed out and maybe he can countersue as well
Trying to sue him for 600k for being angry and cussing them out for the school not doing their job? Yeah, okay, school board is off their rocker.
That's just it. There's no checks and balances system in place to prevent off-their-rocker people from running schools
Americans fight so hard for the 2nd and then never use it.
@@AdrianDWolfe I think this all the time
@@AdrianDWolfeDo you know what using it entails?
@@MCNarret Do you?
$600,000 for "swears"?
Welcome to the United States of Sensitivity.
@@TaxTheChurches. Neither example you gave would result in a $600,000 lawsuit...
Well...
A successful $600,000 lawsuit... it is the Suenited States of America... where anyone can sue anyone as many times as they want for anything.
@@TaxTheChurches. You do not understand what Freedom of Speech is. And church can rightfully remove you for swearing because they are not a government entity. Your boss can fire you because he/ she is not a government entity. Police can do nothing about any language you use and if they attempt to, then the law suit will be against them. Freedom of Speech simply means you cannot be punished by any government entity for speech. That's it. Next time you try the whole "try it here" bit, at least give examples that are in line with the original argument.
@@TaxTheChurches. the church could tell you to leave but they can’t sue you for your language you waste of space
@@TaxTheChurches. thinking there is any justification for this lawsuit based on someone’s language is absolutely absurd.
@@TaxTheChurches.Fuck off.
See, nothing happened.
It's words
bedford schools about to cost the taxpaying residents a whole bunch of money when they literally could have just done their job in the first place!
Right! They have enough money to pay this dad when he prevails in court but not enough money to comply with the laws. SMH at this level of dumb.
Americans with Disability Act
Wrong. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is what this falls under.
It would fall under both.
Don’t forget Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as well.
@@betsywilliams3666 ADA is physical accommodations. IDEA is educational. This issue is educational services.
@@atheisthumanist1964 WRONG!! YOU'RE JUST WRONG FOR BRING WRONG!
Their lawsuit is frivolous
Sounds like the School Board knows it's in the wrong and will settle out of court if he keeps quiet and moves away
Bedford County needs to be taught a lesson. Time to contact my state representative.
Too late now. Now everyone knows Virginia school board is incompetent.
@@SheilaR.08 Is Bedford County always thinking way with its school system? Because this is shocking.
They’re punishing a child because they don’t like his father. Disgraceful.
No because they don't like that the Dad held them accountable for not doing what theyre required to do by law, now it's all out in the open they made themselves look even worse.
@@rottierumbles9451 we said the same thing. I just said it with less words.
They don't like the child either.
They did the same to me. My dad and grandma fought for me in school because my teachers wouldn't help me at all. Because they were always talking to the teachers and principal, they started treating me like trash. I wasn't allowed to go outside for recess, I had to sit in the classroom alone in the dark. They still didn't help me no matter how much my family tried. They even put me in detention a few times because I "asked for help too much". I learned absolutely nothing and I dropped out in 6th grade. My disabilities got dramatically worse so now I need a service dog and a family member with me at all times or I can not function. I'm currently training my next prospect since my service dog will be 6 this year. I'm also working on passing the HISET so I can go to college when my puppy is trained, which will be about 1-2 years. I'm 18 and I feel like a complete failure, I can't even do simple math no matter how hard I try. My school failed me completely, now I will never be able to succeed in life.
My son has special needs and had an IEP and 504 plan throughout school. At 18 he was in the 10th grade and reading on a 4th grade level. Every meeting to discuss his educational deficiencies and frustration it was deemed a parenting issue or behavioral issue. I withdrew him from school and within 2 years he was reading anything and everything, his vocabulary increased exponentially, his mathematic disability disappeared, his confidence grew leaps and bounds and now at 30 years old there's not much he can't do. School is not for every child, especially a disabled child.
Sue the school for the same amount for negligence in their duties to provide proper education services
Not to mention an obvious ADA violation
Yeah, let’s start suing everybody who doesn’t accommodate the child in most cases who doesn’t want to learn. So sick of hearing all the “my baby a special needs”. When in most cases it’s due to lack of discipline and lack of accountability…..
Sue them for 3x the amount
@@thesun-N-moon8885 ooooooooooookkkkkaaaaaayyyyy
@@thesun-N-moon8885 You clearly didn't watch the video. The Special needs child has a special education plan that is MANDATED by FEDERAL and STATE LAW that the school refused to follow. He had to go above the district to the state to get the school to follow the law. now the school is mad and retaliating against him. This has nothing to do with "my baby's special and needs special treatment" and everything to do with school administrators not wanting to follow the law.
It should be illegal for a school district to sue a parent.
I hope he counter-sues.
The district is NOT taking responsibility for the child's education, nor are they try to help. SUE THEM.
If the child is special needs district is BY LAW is to provide for that child's needs.
What a disgrace to our already poor educational system.
Schools should be a lot more concerned with teaching normal kids. Special needs should have to go to private schools, IMO. The special needs kids take up all the time of the staff and the normal kids suffer because of it.
@@davidgray1515they go to their local schools simply because if the sent them to a special needs school they would have to set it up as a boarding school for each state there are not that many in any given area to have a special needs school for every school district. You can’t have special needs children living all together away from their families as they need their family for support. Not all special needs children take up the staffs time but the other reason not to send them to special needs schools it makes them isolated. By letting them to go to school with normal children helps the normal children to be aware of the needs of others around them.
My brother was sent to a special needs school for years and when they closed down the school and he had to go to a normal school he felt isolated because of this. By sending them to a standard school they are with the same students from kindergarten through to high school and they do make friends with normal students.
There are so many different types of special needs children, not all of them have learning disabilities, some are in wheelchairs, some need walking aids, some like my friend at school only had two digits on each hand, some children were born with missing limbs, then you have the conjoint twins who are not able to be separated at an early age should not go to school. Or children who have dyslexia like me should also be sent to these special schools. So IYO your stating ALL SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN would include these children as well, oh what a wonderful stepmother you would make with your intolerant opinions. There is a reason that all children are sent to normal schools, it helps them to be part of their society in age groups. If you sent all of these children to a “Special School” the message you are sending to those children is that they cannot be part of society because of all of their special needs.
It sounds more like you don’t want them around simply because YOU don’t have the patients to deal with these children nor do you want them around because of their lot in life gave them the short straw.
And I just wish people would stop calling children kids, they are not blooming goats.
@@davidgray1515 Not true at all. The special needs students have specialized teachers that are separate from the main teachers. That's how it's been for AT LEAST 20 years. (I grew up in Public Elementary School 2002-2008.)
Suing a single parent with a special needs child...those ppl should be ashamed of themselves and other parents should demand personnel changes for non performance from school officials.
When you fear integrity and accountability, you are NOT the good guys
I’m so lucky, my daughter was diagnosed with autism at four, which female’s that’s pretty rare to diagnose, but with our school system, they have a great IEP program and now she’s on her second year of college. She just has problems with social interaction and that’s something she’s just gonna have to learn how to deal with has she gets older on her own. This guy is a good dad. It’s hard being a parent, already, but have a child with problems, it becomes twice as hard. And of course he’s getting frustrated and angry and lashes out, what parent doesn’t do that, but for the school to sue him on top of that, Wow, what a bunch of dicks.😐
Yes, you were VERY lucky, that is not the norm. But I’m so glad you both had a positive experience ❤️
Our family was lucky too. Diagnosed with a learning disability in first grade, now he is in grad school.
SOUNDS LIKE ABUSE TO A DISABLED CHILD FROM STATE.
This will get thrown out and he will be able to sue them for punitive.
Had these teachers done their job properly he would not have needed to take them to court in the first place. What a bunch of losers.
He’s not taking them to court, they are taking him to court.
Special Ed teachers are “usually” hardworking, amazing people. It’s the layers of government bureaucracy that need to go. Typical government agencies.
This is nothing more than a case of retaliation from the school board for not doing their job. He didnt threaten anyone or make any calls to violence.
Sadly, this is about the level of duty and care that I’ve come to expect from our public servants in Virginia, based upon my living there for over 50 years. They won’t do what they’re supposed to for a child, but they’ll put 100% effort into punishing a parent over their words. It’s a disgrace.
There is nothing illegal about cussing y'all out for not doing your jobs and failing this child
democrats are allowed to make up laws and prosecute anybody with a law that does not exist
These are teachers not strippers!
@@lemondropkid6175 What are you talking about? And do you know what a school district is? Why are you talking about teachers or strippers for this vid or my comment
@@NopeUghUghAbsolutelyNot do you know what a parent is? The kid is failing in school and instead of spending time with HIS OWN CHILD he bad mouths the teachers!!!! The school district is NOT a parent, the CHILD needs a parent not a lawyer.
I can post on whatever comment I want. 😅
Here’s something you might not know unless you have a kid with special needs. First off, the more severe the label the school can put on your child, the more funding the school will get. However, they school doesn’t have to spend that money your kid. It’s a racket. I was shocked a few years ago when my grandson started first grade and discovered the school was playing the same games with him that they played with my youngest son 25+ years ago.
The attorney that filed this lawsuit needs to be disbarred for filing a frivolous lawsuit.
Corrupt school board and high school, with officials who need to be held legally accountable. There is no excuse for the way he and his child have been treated.
Sounds like there needs to be an Audit on the school district. Show where is the money is going if not to and for the services for the children.
Our educational system beyond broken!! So many kids not at grade level in reading or math. Need to change the system. Hope this Dad prevails. ❤❤
So the school district violates this man's civil rights and then sues him? This district should be counter- sued for their civil rights violations in an amount at least 10 times their suit.
How does a judge even allow the government to file suit against a citizen who has broken no laws? Absolutely ridiculous.
Does the school district think they are going to win that lawsuit? Whoever their lawyer/s is needs to be fired and disbarred immediately.
We see you, David. We see a dad doing everything he can for his child. You will not be silenced.
When guilty, flip the script!! -the corrupt playbook
Classic Lawyer games... the preemptive strike... I think it's time to counter-sue for serious damages on deriliction of duties and legal violations grounds... but make it bigger... for the same reason this one was filed.. scare tactic...
My heart goes out to this man and his son. Same experience I had, as far as when I advocated for my at the time elementary school aged AuDHD son, I was treated as a problem. I have homeschooled him since 2019 bc the fight was useless and his continued trauma was not worth trying to make them comply.
Being a mom. With special needs child , this is what we deal with both in school settling and after your child leaves the school system. Dealing with this right now with my son day program.
The young man school want to use this family as an example by suing him to keep other families from expressing and getting what the child is entitled to get.Shame on that school
He needs to file a multi million dollar lawsuit on behalf of his son whose education has been neglected.
600k for swearing??? Frivolous and harassing. The poor taxpayers are going to cut the bill for the school’s arrogance.
Counter sue. Demand Jury Trial. That child will be able to have the best education money can buy after that.
yes. And the top dude making poor decisions at school will get fired
School system: "We're not suing you for what you said. We're suing you for how you said it"...............Absolute insanity while being held accountable...........
Sued for calling out corrupt officials. Insane
Whaaaaaaaat? That must have been hours and hours of the most evil, foul-mouthed threats and intimidation. Wow, he doesn't look like the devil.
This is evil and vindictive behavior by the faculty.
I'd move to new district and sue their doors closed.
Counter sue. And also include the violations to the federal laws of IDEA and FATE. He has the case if he shows request for actions to be had and no growth or development that is expected by his doctors.
I hope he sues the school district. He deserves a hundred million.
On what planet can you sue someone for being rude to you? What the actual trash is this?
Another example of a school board not giving a damn about the students and parents they supposedly serve. Also unbelievable is that an on-air reporter does not know how to pronounce the word lascivious. Perhaps she was educated in this school district.
I agree with your first comment, but "this reporter left out a single syllable of a single a word which is used infrequently in modern speech in an on-air recording, SHE MUST BE AN IDIOT FOR NOT KNOWING OR MISSPEAKING, AM I RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!?" is quite a leap to make. Are you normally so judgemental over trivial errors, or did you just want to feel superior by letting everyone know that YOU know how lascivious is *actually* pronounced?
I noticed her mispronunciation too. There's no excuse for her not pronouncing words correctly. If she wasn't sure she could have asked her colleagues or googled it.
@@belmarmomshe probably didnt even know she misspoke!
So the school is offended for being called out. Nothing new.
No jury in VA will find fault with this man. This is frivolous and the school board should be heavily fined by the courts.
The attorney whoever filled the suit against this guy made a such terrible and a rookie mistake…
If the school had followed the IEP and provided the services required by Federal and state law, the cost would be less than the amount they are spending to sue the father, the legal fees to fight the counter lawsuit and whatever the court awards the father and son.
I guess he needed to be a single mom
This needs to be shared and he needs to be supported
This is disgusting! If they put half as much effort into teaching this kid as they do in suing his poor Dad, the kid would be a rocket scientist!
I didn’t realize there was a law limited HOW you communicate your dissatisfaction with any government agency. If they can sue him for swearing, I would consider such a lawsuit to be an attempt to try to limit his speech - akin to manipulating the legal system to do an end run around the constitution & attempt to violate his constitutional rights.
and another lawsuit about the school district failing to adhere to federal and state regulations with regard to special needs education.
He’s being sued for swearing??? What happened to Freedom of Speech
there are limits to it. You can't cuss in front of kids, and it looks like virginia changed that law back in 2020. So this case should be interesting...
The Constitution doesn’t protect certain language. You can get kick out of any business if you have foul language and the business has the right to do so. But I don’t think a court will find in favor of this school since the dad is only using that language to get them to do what they are supposed to do.
@@starshine3588 technically, it’s not the language that would get you kicked out from a business, it’s the disturbance. I’ve seen people yelling in businesses, not using profanity, and still getting kicked out, which makes me believe it’s the disturbance, not the language, but I get that the language adds to it. And it seems whatever profanities this man’s using. It’s not in a public setting. It’s not like he’s in a crowded room of people spewing profanities.
@@starshine3588unless this is a private school, which it appears it is not, the school is not, in fact, a business, but a government office. As such it cannot infringe on First Amendment rights. If he creates a distraction or disturbance they need to have issues a trespass order. Maybe they did and that is not mentioned here. But jumping to a very big lawsuit reeks of intimidation, notva legit grievance.
@MGower4465 government property can still have first amendment restrictions.
If the school board can individually sue a person, we should be allowed to sue them directly also.
School district issued a SLAP lawsuit, nothing more. Threaten to sue him so he gives up.
Free speech
The public school system and the Teachers Union are the two greatest threats to parents in this country. Avoid both. #Homeschool
That school district is tripping balls if they think they'll see a penny from this man
i hope he can sue back this abuse of power should be punished.
He was frustrated with their nonresponse
Every parent has the right to advocate for their child. I would remove the child from that school….they will only harbor ill feelings for that child and end up mistreating him…and I would sue that school for not providing what they are supposed to provide special needs children. Schools get money from the government for every special needs child to apply that money toward services needed….the more services needed…the more money they get. If they aren’t providing what his IEP says to provide…then the school is using that money for something else…and that’s not allowed.
Every time you try to deck the bully, the good guy gets in trouble and the bully walks. BS!
How can a governmental entity sue citizens but citizens can't sue a governmental entity?
They always silence the victims. I would sue the school system for a few mil.
Im confused about why they are coming after them?
Because he went to the state board and the state board found the school was not in compliance and had violated his son's rights under federal and state laws. This means that the administrator in charge who was found to be non-compliant is more than likely on the verge of losing his or her job and this lawsuit was retaliation against the father for going to the state board.
Lisa like he cursed out the board or some teachers or something, "In the lawsuit, the Bedford County School Board alleges Rife used, "obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, and or indecent language when communicating."
@@dasi1009this is a dangerous precedent. And this is precisely why there should be zero legislation regarding “hate speech”
Cause he dared to speak up against "educators" on behalf of his child.
@@highwayxj9397Hate speech has a specific legal definition. Being mad at someone for failing to do their job is not hate speech.
The school district should be ashamed. This man should counter sue immediately. Thats vile.
Take your child out of school , you can educate your child better at home .
Sounds like a case for the Institute For Justice
These school boards allow profane filled books with illustrations in the school libraries and they are sueing this man over a few profane words ...ROFLMFAO .
The sad part about this is that someone who actually graduated from a law school and passed the bar exam thought this was a good idea. And, people charged with educating our kids, who are charged with teaching them skills such as good decision making, thought this was a good idea. No one with the district stood up and said, "wait a minute. What the hell are we doing?
$600k lawsuit for harassment in this context seems out of line, and straight up wrong.
So, they want $600,000 to continue not doing their job? Yeah, he needs to counter Sue for tens of millions!
That school district failed the child and broke every federal law & program under the ADA relating towards special education. Dad and son will win.
They'll label him as a domestic terrorist also.
"SLAPP" is the correct description of the lawsuit
I wonder how many people called in complaining about her inability to say lascivious?
Hold on - how is a Special Needs child supposed to keep up with the rest of his Class? They cannot. This parent is being ridiculous.
I would counter sue them for every last penny they have. Even if they drop the suit, I would still file a personal lawsuit against the individual board members who took part in the original lawsuit.
This sounds like a classic SLAPP lawsuit- "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation." The school district wants to make an example of this guy, so no other parent ever dares complain too loudly.
Who is the scumbag at Bedford school district who brought this case against him? what an absolute waste of tax payers money. They need to lose their job immediately.
yes
"We're sueing this guy because a parent used his first amendment right to redress government actors. He can't do that"
funny thing is that these government actors didn't even bother to follow both state and federal regulations with regard to special needs education.
I want to sue my school district because my son started cursing once he started attending. He got it from the school.😊
good one
Instead of if helping him, the school system is further abusing him.
I was a special needs high school student. My public school district in Illinois paid $100k/year for me to attend a therapeutic day school program.
Thank you for advocating for your son keep doing it he needs it! Don’t let the school stop your son from learning and you advocating for him!
imagine the outrage if this happened in NYC and the student was black
My daughter had an IEP & we were fortunate enough to be friends with her teacher... then she hit high school, not so good there!😢
so an entity that is breaking the law is trying to sue someone for saying "hey you arent doing what you need to be doing". Would be great if the school board cops a 600k fine for trying such a frivolous lawsuit
Disgusting. I hope he sues them and then can get a tutor for his son.
Why isnt the dad taking time out of his schedule to help his kid with reading? Lazy dad.