Amesbury schools dispute value of 'true friend' in lawsuit response

Jim Sullivan, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·4 min read

Aug. 7—AMESBURY — The Amesbury School Department is appealing a recent state decision in favor of parents of a special education student, with the city questioning whether the value of a "true friend" is enough to require Amesbury to pay for a student's private schooling.

Braintree-based Sankey, Meinelt & Fisher, LLP filed a complaint in U.S. District Court on behalf of the Amesbury Public Schools on Wednesday, Aug. 5 disputing a recent decision by the state Bureau of Special Education Appeals.

According to court records, the case deals with an eighth grade special education student who attended Amesbury Public Schools from preschool until the end of seventh grade. The girl, who is identified in the court documents under the pseudonym "Uma," made progress and functioned well with the support of a one-to-one aide in elementary school but had difficulties with the transition to the Amesbury Middle School in fifth grade.

According to the complaint, the district director of student services Dr. Lynn Catarius created a new, self-contained Life Skills Program at the middle school focused on academics, pre-vocational experience and social skills development after spending a day shadowing Uma when she was in sixth grade.

Six students were selected to take part in the new Life Skills Program which began in late January of 2019, but it was rejected by Uma's parents, who were concerned about structure and content interfering with their daughter's ability to function as a full member of the community.

Uma responded well to the curriculum when she attended the extended school year services in the Life Skills Program during the summer of 2019 but her parents continued to reject placing her in the program while she was in seventh grade.

Uma's parents placed her in the private Merrimac Heights Academy during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and did not ask that the district fund the special education summer program prior to placing her there, according to the complaint.

The student remained in an extended evaluation period at the Merrimac Heights Academy during the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year due to Amesbury returning to a remote start of classes, all while the district continued to recommend that she be placed in the Life Skills Program.

But the parents, once again, rejected the new program and placed Uma at the Merrimac Heights Academy while asking the Bureau of Special Education Appeals to be reimbursed for the cost of the placement in November of 2020.

The Bureau of Special Education Appeals held a hearing in March 2021 and the hearing officer found that Merrimac Heights Academy was only serving a total of seven students, four of whom were between the ages of 18 and 21, giving Uma a lack of opportunity to interact with non-disabled peers. But the state also added that Uma would not have access to a peer group to help her develop her skills at Amesbury Middle School between November of 2020 and the end of the most recent school year.

The Bureau of Special Education Appeals also stated that Uma's parents failed to meet the burden of proof that the Life Skills Program was inappropriate but also found that they are entitled to reimbursement for the student's placement at the Merrimac Heights Academy where Uma has "found her place socially" and "developed her first true friendship."

According to the district, the hearing officer applied an incorrect legal standard when implying that Amesbury must ensure that Uma has a "true friend" in school in order to receive a free, appropriate public education.

"The hearing officer held the district to an inappropriately high and impossible standard," the complaint reads.

The district also claimed that Uma spends 40% of her school day with one adult and had no access to peers while at the Merrimac Heights Academy, while Amesbury offers her more than enough peer group interaction and is now disputing the hearing officer's decision.

A spokesman for Sankey, Meinelt & Fisher, LLP said the firm did not comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Special Education Appeals said the department had not been notified of the complaint and does not comment on pending litigation.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.