Spokane schools’ special education leader put on leave

The director of Spokane Public Schools’ special education programs has been placed on paid administrative leave at the same time those programs are under federal investigation.

The district wouldn’t say when special education director Laura Pieper was placed on paid administrative leave, or why. Kevin Morrison, district spokesman, said he could not provide details because it’s a personnel matter. Superintendent Shelley Redinger was not available for comment, and Pieper declined to comment.

Since 2006, the office of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction has concluded about a dozen investigations into complaints about Spokane Public Schools’ special education programs. The complaints typically come from parents who say the district didn’t uphold legal responsibilities outlined in their children’s educational plans, which are required for many special education students.

In one investigation concluded last year, a teacher put a weighted vest on a kindergartner to stop him from fidgeting – a practice sometimes used for children with autism. But the child did not have autism, according to the parent, and the teacher admitted she never read the child’s paperwork. The state investigator determined it wasn’t a “systemic problem” and gave the district a warning.

More recently, a complaint from a Spokane Public Schools employee spurred a federal investigation involving “issues of disability discrimination.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opened the investigation on May 29. A department spokesman declined to give details about the complaint except it involves student evaluations, course placement and programs for those learning English or struggling to communicate. He and the school district declined to say who filed the complaint.

Angela Johnstone, the district’s special education programs director, said some complaints may have stemmed from having limited staff. She said some specialists like speech pathologists are especially hard to come by.

“We’re not alone with not being able to fill some positions,” she said, citing similar problems in other school districts.

Morrison said the complaints aren’t surprising given the size of the district and its urban setting, and they’re not limited to special education.

“I don’t think there’s a disparate number of complaints” regarding special education, specifically, he said.

The district has appointed two school principals, Lisa Pacheco of Ridgeview Elementary School and Gwen Harris of the Bryant Center, to lead special education programs next year. Both are leaving their posts as principals.

Parents of special education students suspect Pieper, who took the position a year ago, was not well-liked by her superiors. In a series of videos on Spokane Public Schools’ YouTube channel, Pieper points out apparent flaws in the district’s special education program.

“When I entered the district in July, one of the first things I noted was an absence of curriculum in order for special education teachers to help students meet IEP (individualized education plan) goals,” she says in one video dated Feb. 3, 2015. She goes on to advocate “a relentless focus on reading.”

Several parents said Pieper helped them through difficult situations other district employees neglected.

“People felt like she was being much more sensitive to parents,” said Rosey Thurman, an attorney with the legal advocacy group TeamChild. “And now she’s gone, and things have kind of gone backward real fast, in a big way.”

During the 2014-15 school year, the district’s special education programs had 508 employees and served 4,637 students. That’s about 15.8 percent of all students, up from 13.2 percent last year. The program’s budget was about $40.6 million.

For nearly five years, Mike and Barbara Avila have been fighting a legal battle against the district, which they say blocked their youngest son from receiving special education services.

The Avilas, whose case is headed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, claim Spokane Public Schools refused to provide adequate services for their son despite a pattern of behavioral problems that got him suspended four times.

The first suspension came in October 2007, about a month after their son started kindergarten at Linwood Elementary School. The next one came just five days after he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, an autismlike disorder.

The district placed the Avilas’ son in a five-week program designed to improve his behavior, which he completed in February 2008. But the district refused to assign him an aide in the classroom, even after his fourth suspension in September of that year.

“Spokane’s school district has a history of failing to identify autism and dyslexia,” Mike Avila said, noting he believes the district denies services in an effort to cut spending.

State and federal laws require school districts to consider medical diagnoses as well as suspected disabilities. The Avilas’ son was later diagnosed with dyslexia and writing expression disorder.

“We just want to set the record straight that they’re supposed to do these things,” Mike Avila said. “And they’re not doing them at the detriment of the students.”

Frustrated with Spokane Public Schools, Avila moved his wife and four kids in 2011 to the Deer Park School District, where his youngest son flourished. He initially stayed in Spokane to run his business, but as the case dragged on, that suffered too. The family now lives in a double-wide trailer on an acre of land in Deer Park. Mike Avila commutes to work, and his son will enter high school next year.

“I lost my house and I lost much of my business, but what I did get was my son,” he said. “And that’s what’s most important to me.”

Morrison said in the past three to four years, the district has improved communication among parents, teachers and other school employees.

“I think that we are moving forward,” he said.