ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 2, 1996 TAG: 9607020060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
THE PARENTS of student Nathan Amos were attempting to have the school help pay for their son's private counseling.
The parents of Nathan Amos, a Roanoke special-education student who was mistakenly placed in regular classes for three consecutive years, have failed in their attempt to force city schools to help pay for counseling for their son.
Myles Hylton, a state-appointed administrative hearing officer, has rejected the contention by David and Lee Ann Amos that the schools should be required to help pay the cost because they were not informed of the alternatives on counseling services for Nathan.
The parents sought private counseling for their son because they said they were not told that school counselors or psychologists could provide the services.
Hylton ruled that the parents had signed an agreement that relieved the schools of any obligation to help pay for private counseling.
The father and mother claim they were misled into signing the document because they were never told that federal and state regulations require the schools to provide counseling for Nathan if it is necessary for him to benefit from schooling.
The schools have refused to pay several hundred dollars in counseling fees for the boy, an eighth-grader at William Ruffner Middle School who has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.
David Amos said Monday he will appeal Hylton's ruling and go to court if necessary to try to force the schools to help pay the bills.
School officials said they were not required to help pay for counseling because it was not part of Nathan's individualized education plan as a special education student.
The agreement that was signed by David and Lee Ann Amos was designed to settle several issues in a complaint over their son's education.
But at a recent hearing, the parents said they were led to believe that funds for counseling were only available through a federal and state community services program. Their request for payment of the counseling bills was denied by the program.
"We believe our son needs counseling because of what school officials did - putting him in the wrong classes - but they said they did not have the funds to pay for it," David Amos said.
According to his parents, the wrong placement caused psychological problems for Nathan because other students made fun of him after he was moved to the learning-disabled class. He became depressed and lost his enthusiasm for school, David Amos has said.
"Our son needs a lot of help. We expect the schools to let us know of all our options," Lee Ann Amos said. "If we had known what our options were, we would have not signed the agreement."
School officials recently agreed to provide counseling for the 13-year-old student, although they have refused to pay the earlier bills.
"If there was a misunderstanding about the agreement, it was because they parents assumed some things," said Williams Parsons, School Board attorney. "They have a responsibility to make sure they agree with something before they sign it."
While the amount of money in the dispute is not large, Parsons said, the case involves an important principle and could have implications for future complaints.
In the earlier settlement, the schools agreed to provide Nathan with tutoring, more access to computers and other aid to help meet his educational needs.
Despite reports by two professional counselors saying the boy was experiencing stress because of problems at school, Parsons said the parents have not proven that counseling is required for their son.
School officials have now taken a "more lenient" attitude and agreed to provide counseling, he said, but he argued that there is still no legal obligation for the city to provide the service.
The boy's father said his health insurance company has paid several thousand dollars in counseling fees and he is asking the city to pay the remaining few hundred dollars.
"Had school officials suggested that school counselors or school psychologists could have provided the service, we would have taken it, " she said. "No other options were offered."
The parents said their son's test scores in writing and English are below grade level and they have blamed the schools. They said he was placed in the wrong classes and this caused him psychological problems.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. Nathan Amos, 13, is a specialby CNBeducation student at William Ruffner Middle School in Roanoke.
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