Five year battle for a disabled child’s right to an education continues to escalate…
Sedona AZ (April 29, 2015) – With a heavy heart, Matthew Oskowis, announces that on Monday, April 27, he filed his second federal complaint at the United States Arizona District Court in Phoenix against the Sedona Oak-Creek Unified School District (“SOCUSD”) on the behalf of his son. This is another administrative appeal of an impartial due process hearing decision brought pursuant to the civil action provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the law that governs a District’s obligation to its most vulnerable students.
This is the second federal lawsuit against SOCUSD that has been filed by either an attorney or lay advocate since the SOCUSD inception nearly twenty five years ago. Mr. Oskowis plans to announce his filing publicly at the SOCUSD Governing Board meeting scheduled for Monday, May 4. “It has been a constant challenge with the SOCUSD since my disabled son started at West Sedona School in March 2010”, Mr. Oskowis stated, “We have only asked SOCUSD to be accountable to the commitments in which the District had already agreed to”.
“It is frustrating when you have a dispute with a public entity, you choose to be cooperative with that public entity, you come to an agreement with that public entity, and then you have to go back and remind that public entity of what they agreed to repetitively because they’re not in compliance with their obligations.”, Mr. Oskowis continued.
The decision to file was not only based on a less than satisfactory ruling by an Administrative Law Judge, but a large factor continues to be the District’s apparent apathy in honoring prior legal agreements and the malevolent attitudes Mr. Oskowis continues to experiences from District administration regarding his continual pursuit for the rights of his disabled son.
“The most upsetting thing is that the school is willing to spends tens of thousands of dollars defending itself, whereas we were asking for only what would translate into several thousand dollars in compensatory education services for our disables son”, Mr. Oskowis added, “It doesn’t make any sense other than the District doesn’t want to appear in the wrong in any way. Although the Arizona Department of Education has found them non-compliant numerous times, the District continues to insist they have not done any wrong at an inordinate cost to the District itself.”
“Hopefully a federal judge can enjoin SOCUSD to fulfill its obligations towards my son’s education”, Mr. Oskowis concluded.
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Having been experiencing the APATHY of the environment as a whole, Board Members, Administrations, some teaching staff, lots of parents, and especially the community at large being is no one really seems to ever care enough to get to the bottom of a conflict with Transparency, therefore genuinely a address a problem at hand making a problematic outcome for all concerned. Then others, whom care not at all can be so absolutely opinionated having little to no facts to substantiate their findings or conclusions…and I have found most of humanity at most times seeking the end road of non accountability throughout their days spent as they priorities their lives excluding what’s important, honesty or truth…the TRUTH in all endeavors or pursuits…most persons still tell those little white lies, “oh, I never got that message,” or “thought it was so and so that was supposed to…”, again, or “I only did this…not, and/or it wasn’t me…” People really simply don’t care to really deal with truths or honesties. They seem think people will feel less of them, see them differently or their public figure or character will be ridiculed… Anyways, most live in complacency and apathy to the rest of all outside their own little ‘bubble’. Most find it of their ‘right’ to be opinionated, casteth judgement or condemn or simply just complain about what they do not know or understand. They do not realize to warrant such viewpoints and have valid or valued input is to have a genuine transparency to all, if not, most all the details and or facts about any given scenario to have an opinion of merit or righteous strength to their conclusions. It’s interesting how people cast options or votes or complaints without basis of facts. I always told my Mother as an adult with many children myself…Mom, yes, your opinions and the ‘your, should haves or would haves’ are important, as I am your child and respect you have a say and rightfully so…BUT, how can you weigh in with such demand that what you believe to be true, is, especially if you are only always are dealing with 7-10% of the actual information or facts…always, there’s a much bigger picture, genuinely another 90+%…so, those whom have no real genuine insight of anything positive or true, well then your opinions do not mean very much in the scheme of things, unfortunately…so, please feedback that’s helpful for families that are dealing with such concerns, provide some genuine input of value otherwise utilize your time and energy elsewhere where your viewpoints can have a good intention vs a bad…think about it…if you do not know…how can you even fathom an opinion, especially if you have no shared applied experience, because it’s obvious to any reader those whom have no real idea why it’s like to be blessed with such challenges and what beauty is brought into your lives and what you are actually missing out on simply because you just do not understand…those in humanity that are actually tending to the work that’s really import find themselves constantly needing to have patience and forgiveness for those whom are ignorant and unkind… Believe me you, the truth is out there…documentations themselves stand alone without a shared word of input…just need to ask…