Waldorf also has agreed to review and revise its non-discrimination policy, provide training for all employees on addressing reasonable accommodation requests,
TRENTON - The Waldorf School of Princeton will pay the parents of a learning-disabled student $58,000 to settle a civil rights claim brought after the private school expelled the girl because of her mother's aggressive advocacy on her behalf, authorities said Monday.
Waldorf also has agreed to review and revise its non-discrimination policy, provide training for all employees on addressing reasonable accommodation requests, and modify the school's records to remove any indication the girl was expelled, according to the Attorney General's office.
The girl will also be allowed to participate in alumni events with the classmates that would have comprised her eighth-grade graduating class, according to a release.
"If a school determines that a parent is requesting too many accommodations, it should tell the parent why it finds those requests to be unreasonable, and engage in a meaningful discussion of possible alternatives, rather than simply expel the unsuspecting student before her final year," Craig T. Sashihara, director of the Division of Civil Rights, said in the release.
Officials from the Waldorf School could not be reached Monday. The school is on winter break until January.
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The girl's parents told investigators they were initially attracted by Waldorf's emphasis on practical and fine arts. They enrolled their daughter as a first-grader in 2005 and moved to Princeton from Union County to be closer to the school, the release said.
The girl was diagnosed with a learning disability in the third grade. For the next three years, her Individual Services Plan - under the supervision of the same classroom teacher each year - included accommodations such as "seat student near source of instruction and visual displays" and "allow extended time" for both classroom and standardized testing, the release said.
The girl advanced each year. The girl's classroom teacher at one point thanked her mother for "working so hard with me to make her successful," the release said.
"By all accounts the child was well-liked by teachers and classmates, and universally praised for her work ethic, classroom citizenship and artistic talent. She had no disciplinary history or record of failed academics, and required fewer accommodations in the eighth-grade than in past years," Sashihara said in the release.
That changed when the girl got a new teacher in the sixth grade and there was less communication - particularly face-to-face communication -- between the student's mother and the instructor, the release said.
The girl continued to advance, despite some concerns noted by her new teacher regarding areas in need of improvement. The girl had positive overall assessments at the end of both her sixth and seventh grade years. The girl's teacher said she had done well with vocabulary testing, continued to improve in math and was "incredibly artistic." She finished the seventh grade with a B average, the release said.
Despite the overall success, tensions grew between the girl's mother and the Waldorf staff, the release said.
Waldorf officials said the girl's mother overstepped her boundaries and said communication from her was occasionally disrespectful, even abusive, the release said.
The mother was disappointed in the reduction of staff communication, a lessening of regard for her concerns, and a diminished amount of attention focused on her daughter's needs, the release said.
Then in May 2012 Waldorf said the girl would not be invited back for her eighth grade year, saying the school was "not the appropriate environment'' for the girl, based on assessments by "outside evaluators," according to the release.
There also was a reference to a "history of an unproductive relationship" with the girl's mother, and a "lack of consciousness about appropriate boundaries" on the mother's part, the release said.
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The girl's parents offered an extensive list of proposals for to make the situation work, even offering to "remove ourselves from the scene" in favor of an appointed educational guardian, the release said.
Waldorf declined. School officials sent an email to the parents of the girl's classmates announcing the decision, the release said.
The parents subsequently filed a formal complaint with the Division on Civil Rights alleging that their daughter had been expelled in retaliation for their advocating on behalf their disabled daughter, a protected activity, the release said.
"It appears that Waldorf engaged in a good faith interactive process with complainants for six-and-a-half years until May 2012, when it unilaterally determined that a limit had been reached, and that no further accommodations of any sort would be provided," Sashihara said. "Perhaps a different conclusion would have been reached if the school had refused to provide additional accommodations, explained why those requests were unduly burdensome, and given the parents the option of accepting the status quo or withdrawing their child. But that is not what occurred."
The girl is now enrolled in a public school system, where she has completed the ninth-grade with an "A" average, the release said.
Keith Brown may be reached at kbrown@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBrownTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
