Tuesday, August 9 2005
TAMPA - Five years ago, a Valrico couple won a $650,000 settlement from Hillsborough County schools
after the district failed to give their son one weekly hour of private speech therapy.
That therapy, which would have cost the district about $40 an hour at the time, ultimately cost taxpayers
more than $1 million, including the school district's attorney's fees.
Now, after a complaint by the same mother on behalf of other families, the state Department of
Education has determined some Hillsborough students still are not getting the therapy they need.
The state's random sampling of 35 of the 976 students who were supposed to receive occupational or
physical therapy during the 2004-05 school year showed a ``systemic violation,'' including that:
* 82 percent had not received occupational therapy services according to their individual education plan.
* 64 percent did not receive physical therapy services according to their individual education plan.
* Therapist or student absences, meetings, training and hurricane days were included as reasons for
missed therapy.
* Not all of the parents whose services were reduced received proper written notice.
* The district acknowledged that personnel shortages resulted in the failure to provide the services.
``The fact is, we don't have enough OT and PT therapists,'' Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said Monday,
responding to the state findings. ``It's a national issue and one that's not going to go anywhere easily.''
It's also an issue that affected Hillsborough parents might not be aware of, said Nikole Whitehead, the
mother who fought the district with her physician husband for eight years before winning the $650,000
settlement on behalf of her son, Andrew.
Whitehead remains active through the Statewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities Inc., helping families
navigate the complex state and federal systems that serve children with disabilities.
Official Complaint
In May, Whitehead filed a formal complaint with the state Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student
Services, charging that Hillsborough had violated federal and state laws by failing to provide
occupational and physical therapy to students with disabilities even though it was called for in their
individual education plans.
In addition, she wrote, not all of the parents were given proper notice that services had been decreased
or discontinued, as required by federal law.
``I knew if I could get the state to pull the records, it would validate my suspicions,'' Whitehead said.
Tampa mother Tish West was one of the parents Whitehead said she had in mind when she filed her
districtwide complaint.
West's 8-year-old daughter, Caroline, did not get the physical therapy she was supposed to receive for
the greater part of the 2004-05 school year, and it was sporadic the previous year, West said.
``I'm the type of person who likes to work with the system,'' said West, who was PTA president last year
at Grady Elementary, where her daughter has attended school since prekindergarten. ``I love that
school. I love that staff.''
Still, she said, she filed her own complaint with the state last spring when Grady staff said there was
nothing they could do to help her daughter get physical therapy.
``They sent a letter to parents saying there was a critical shortage of therapists,'' she said. Meanwhile,
the progress of her daughter, who has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, slowed when she didn't
get physical therapy twice a week for 30 to 45 minutes, West said.
Caroline has continued to get her occupational and speech therapy, but the physical therapist had been
helping her walk, West said.
District Plan
In response to the state findings, the district submitted a plan, which the state will monitor through the
2006-07 school year.
In addition, the district will determine whether compensatory services are needed for students who
missed therapy sessions.
``We knew we had challenges in therapy,'' said Ed McDowell, the district's director of exceptional
education.
The district already uses outside contractors to boost the services provided by its own therapists, he
said. On Friday, he met with 12 more private therapists to gauge interest.
A task force, including district staff, parents, teachers, STAND members and community professionals,
will meet Friday, he said.
``We have to look at different ways of providing therapy services,'' he said.
McDowell noted that other complaints of Whitehead's, including alleging that unqualified personnel were
providing services, were not backed up by the state inquiry.
Meanwhile, Whitehead said she has written a letter asking for an investigation by the U.S. Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education. She is asking for a
review of the money the district accepted for therapy services not provided and what the consequence
is for failing to follow federal regulations.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education said the letter had not yet been received and that
the federal agency works with the state on those issues.
McDowell said the district receives about $40 million in federal grants for students with disabilities but
that it is not designated to be used for specific services. State taxpayers pick up most of the costs for
students with disabilities, although the federal government issues the regulations.
Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069.
TAMPA - Five years ago, a Valrico couple won a $650,000 settlement from Hillsborough County schools
after the district failed to give their son one weekly hour of private speech therapy.
That therapy, which would have cost the district about $40 an hour at the time, ultimately cost taxpayers
more than $1 million, including the school district's attorney's fees.
Now, after a complaint by the same mother on behalf of other families, the state Department of
Education has determined some Hillsborough students still are not getting the therapy they need.
The state's random sampling of 35 of the 976 students who were supposed to receive occupational or
physical therapy during the 2004-05 school year showed a ``systemic violation,'' including that:
* 82 percent had not received occupational therapy services according to their individual education plan.
* 64 percent did not receive physical therapy services according to their individual education plan.
* Therapist or student absences, meetings, training and hurricane days were included as reasons for
missed therapy.
* Not all of the parents whose services were reduced received proper written notice.
* The district acknowledged that personnel shortages resulted in the failure to provide the services.
``The fact is, we don't have enough OT and PT therapists,'' Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said Monday,
responding to the state findings. ``It's a national issue and one that's not going to go anywhere easily.''
It's also an issue that affected Hillsborough parents might not be aware of, said Nikole Whitehead, the
mother who fought the district with her physician husband for eight years before winning the $650,000
settlement on behalf of her son, Andrew.
Whitehead remains active through the Statewide Advocacy Network on Disabilities Inc., helping families
navigate the complex state and federal systems that serve children with disabilities.
Official Complaint
In May, Whitehead filed a formal complaint with the state Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student
Services, charging that Hillsborough had violated federal and state laws by failing to provide
occupational and physical therapy to students with disabilities even though it was called for in their
individual education plans.
In addition, she wrote, not all of the parents were given proper notice that services had been decreased
or discontinued, as required by federal law.
``I knew if I could get the state to pull the records, it would validate my suspicions,'' Whitehead said.
Tampa mother Tish West was one of the parents Whitehead said she had in mind when she filed her
districtwide complaint.
West's 8-year-old daughter, Caroline, did not get the physical therapy she was supposed to receive for
the greater part of the 2004-05 school year, and it was sporadic the previous year, West said.
``I'm the type of person who likes to work with the system,'' said West, who was PTA president last year
at Grady Elementary, where her daughter has attended school since prekindergarten. ``I love that
school. I love that staff.''
Still, she said, she filed her own complaint with the state last spring when Grady staff said there was
nothing they could do to help her daughter get physical therapy.
``They sent a letter to parents saying there was a critical shortage of therapists,'' she said. Meanwhile,
the progress of her daughter, who has cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, slowed when she didn't
get physical therapy twice a week for 30 to 45 minutes, West said.
Caroline has continued to get her occupational and speech therapy, but the physical therapist had been
helping her walk, West said.
District Plan
In response to the state findings, the district submitted a plan, which the state will monitor through the
2006-07 school year.
In addition, the district will determine whether compensatory services are needed for students who
missed therapy sessions.
``We knew we had challenges in therapy,'' said Ed McDowell, the district's director of exceptional
education.
The district already uses outside contractors to boost the services provided by its own therapists, he
said. On Friday, he met with 12 more private therapists to gauge interest.
A task force, including district staff, parents, teachers, STAND members and community professionals,
will meet Friday, he said.
``We have to look at different ways of providing therapy services,'' he said.
McDowell noted that other complaints of Whitehead's, including alleging that unqualified personnel were
providing services, were not backed up by the state inquiry.
Meanwhile, Whitehead said she has written a letter asking for an investigation by the U.S. Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education. She is asking for a
review of the money the district accepted for therapy services not provided and what the consequence
is for failing to follow federal regulations.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education said the letter had not yet been received and that
the federal agency works with the state on those issues.
McDowell said the district receives about $40 million in federal grants for students with disabilities but
that it is not designated to be used for specific services. State taxpayers pick up most of the costs for
students with disabilities, although the federal government issues the regulations.
Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069.