By Debra Shepherd Santa Monica
I am an avid reader of the Santa Monica Daily Press. I enjoy your paper and I look to it for valuable information about our community. I must say that I am very concerned about your coverage of the outgoing district superintendent, John Deasy. I hoped that your paper would interview at least one parent about this matter.
I have two children in the SMMUSD. We’ve been part of this district for the last four years. My oldest daughter is a student with special needs. I have encountered nothing but problems in dealing with the individuals that are responsible for providing her services that the law provides for her. I’ve been lied to by the district coor-dinator for special education services for John Muir School. Members of the school and district staff have fraudulently altered my daughter’s records. My daughter was counseled by a therapist from the Santa Monica Family Service Agency without a release from me and a false allegation was made against me to Child and Family Services. The services that were agreed to in my daughters IEP have yet to be enacted. The icing on the cake was an assault made on my daughter by a male student. He was sent to the “reflection room.” This is the district in which we reside. I want to know if anyone, including this publication, has an interest in the rights of disabled individuals in this district?
I am available to be interviewed at any time, because unlike some people, I’m not afraid of John Deasy or any of his imps.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 3, 2006. Read the original PDF.