{"id":108,"date":"2008-10-30T21:32:09","date_gmt":"2008-10-31T02:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/?p=108"},"modified":"2020-01-24T12:32:16","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T16:32:16","slug":"when-evaluation-shows-a-disability-school-says-child-is-lazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/when-evaluation-shows-a-disability-school-says-child-is-lazy\/","title":{"rendered":"When Evaluation Shows a Disability, School Says Child is &#8220;Lazy&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_pop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/gallery\/share-button-gray.png\" style=\"border:0px\" alt=\"Share\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_icon_type = \"labels\";var hupso_background=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_border=\"#FFFFFF\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"wrightslaw\";var hupso_url=\"\";var hupso_title=\"When%20Evaluation%20Shows%20a%20Disability%2C%20School%20Says%20Child%20is%20%22Lazy%22\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><blockquote><p>We receive many questions about violations of IDEA. The children&#8217;s names and dates of birth change but their stories are similar.<\/p>\n<p>The child shows clear signs of a disability. The school may have an evaluation showing the child has a disability &#8211; a learning disability, ADHD, anxiety disorder, or another disability.<\/p>\n<p>The school district fails to tell parents about their child&#8217;s rights under IDEA, or their parental rights.\u00a0Instead, the district tells the parents &#8220;Your child is lazy &#8211; she is <strong>choosing not to learn<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This was an issue in <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/ussupct.carter.htm\">Florence County School District IV v. Shannon Carter<\/a><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright alignnone\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px 7px 5px 7px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/images\/shannon.interview.jpg\" alt=\"Shannon Carter being interviewed after oral argument before the Supreme Court\" \/>The school system evaluated Shannon when she was in the sixth grade. This evaluation <em><strong>clearly<\/strong><\/em> showed that Shannon had learning disabilities in reading and math. The school told the parents that Shannon was lazy, unmotivated. Her parents were advised to pressure her to work harder.<\/p>\n<p>The school did not advise the parents that they had any rights.<\/p>\n<p>Relying on the school&#8217;s advice, Shannon&#8217;s parents pushed her to work harder. Regardless of how hard Shannon worked, she could not teach herself to read, write or do math. The situation came to a head when her mother realized that Shannon was seriously considering suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Shannon&#8217;s dad testified: &#8220;The school psychologist said Shannon&#8217;s learning problems were her fault, that she was lazy and unmotivated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We pressured her to work harder.<\/li>\n<li>We didn\u2019t allow her to watch television or listen to the radio.<\/li>\n<li>We didn&#8217;t allow her to go out with friends.<\/li>\n<li>Homework took hours to complete, even when we helped her.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;She became terribly depressed. We didn\u2019t know what to do. We didn\u2019t want to raise a lazy child.&#8221; (from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/Carter_The_Untold_Story.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">The Untold Story of <em>Shannon Carter v. Florence County<\/em>)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To learn more about blaming children for learning and other school problems, read Pam&#8217;s article, <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/ALESSI1.html\">The Blame Game! Are School Problems the Kids&#8217; Fault?<\/a> <\/span>at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/ALESSI1.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/ALESSI1.html<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"border: 1px solid black; float: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/nltr\/img\/pete.shannon.cr.jpg\" alt=\"Pete and Shannon after Oral Argument before the Supreme Court\" width=\"159\" height=\"217\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Pete recalled,\u00a0&#8220;<em>The fact that the school blamed Shannon after they failed to teach her to read hit the judges hard, especially at the Fourth Circuit level.\u00a0I&#8217;ll never forget those three Judges sitting up there as the implications unfolded before them.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;The judges looked beyond me to Emory, Elaine, and Shannon Carter, faces wet with tears.\u00a0When I saw the judges watching Shannon and her parents, not looking at me, not listening to me, I knew we had prevailed<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>This was one theme in oral argument before the Fourth Circuit, and the beginning of my oral argument before the U. S. Supreme Court in Shannon&#8217;s case.<\/em>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/Carter_SupCt_Oral_Argument.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">oral argument before the Supreme Court<\/span><\/span><\/a> at <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/Carter_SupCt_Oral_Argument.html\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/Carter_SupCt_Oral_Argument.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court ruled <span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/ussupct.carter.htm\">9-0 in Shannon&#8217;s favor<\/a>. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/ussupct.carter.htm\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/law\/caselaw\/ussupct.carter.htm<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This theme resonates with many Hearing Officers and Judges. They can empathize with parents who are told that their child is &#8220;lazy&#8221; or &#8220;stubborn,&#8221; especially when they learn the school had reason to know the child&#8217;s problems were caused by a disability.<\/p>\n<p>When parents learn that their child is not stubborn, lazy, or unmotivated, but has a disability, many are consumed by guilt. If you&#8217;ve experienced these feelings, it&#8217;s time for a reality check.<\/p>\n<p>What happened to Shannon? How did things turn out for her?<\/p>\n<p>The New York Times decided to find out. Read <span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2002\/01\/05\/opinion\/editorial-observer-how-the-clip-n-snip-s-owner-changed-special-education.html\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">&#8220;How the Clip &#8216;N Snip&#8217;s Owner Changed Special Education&#8221;<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2002\/01\/05\/opinion\/editorial-observer-how-the-clip-n-snip-s-owner-changed-special-education.html\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2002\/01\/05\/opinion\/editorial-observer-how-the-clip-n-snip-s-owner-changed-special-education.html<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>You may be able to use this article and the lessons in Shannon&#8217;s case to create the theme of <strong>your<\/strong> case.<\/p>\n<p>Pete<\/p>\n<p>P.S. You can read the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/Carter_The_Untold_Story.html\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span style=\"color: #0066cc;\">Untold Story of Shannon Carter<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0at<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #0066cc;\"><a style=\"color: #0066cc;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/Carter_The_Untold_Story.html\">https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/advoc\/articles\/Carter_The_Untold_Story.html<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We receive many questions about violations of IDEA. The children&#8217;s names and dates of birth change but their stories are similar. The child shows clear signs of a disability. The <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/when-evaluation-shows-a-disability-school-says-child-is-lazy\/\">Continue Reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,5,6,1364,136],"tags":[1309,210,1293,1294,41],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eligibility","category-idea-2004","category-legal-decisions","category-school-administration-school-culture","category-strategies","tag-fape","tag-florence-county-v-shannon-carter","tag-idea-2004","tag-legal-decisions","tag-parental-rights"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25534,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/25534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wrightslaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}