The Disability Rights Center of Arkansas said Tuesday that monitors visited the Hazen School District last week after parents complained about "unsafe and unsanitary conditions" at a house that serves as a classroom for about eight to 10 developmentally disabled students.
Investigators with the agency reported that students at the Prairie County school had been moved about a year ago to a house across the road from the school campus. The report said the home was "dirty, in disrepair and lacked basic safety protections, including adequate means of ingress and egress for students in wheelchairs. The yard and property around the house was in a similarly poor and unsafe condition, including open sewer pipes and rusty nails on old pieces of wood in the yard."
"We examined the facilities, and it was just not adequate by any means. Those facilities were in pretty dire straits," said Justin Nickels, a spokesman for the Disability Rights Center of Arkansas, which has federal authority to enter and investigate facilities that serve people with disabilities.
Repeated phone calls to Hazen School District Superintendent Nanette Belford, as well as School Board President David Strohl, were not returned as of late Tuesday.
Lynn Shuck, the mother of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, said Tuesday that she and other parents have made repeated pleas to the school district to remedy the situation. When those concerns were not addressed, Shuck said the parents filed a complaint with the Disability Rights Center of Arkansas, as well as the Arkansas Department of Education.
"There were certain things I complained about over a year ago. They told me they would get them fixed. They had a whole school year and a summer to get it done. It never happened," Shuck said.
Shuck said there is no fenced-in yard on the property nor playground equipment appropriate for the developmentally disabled.
"My child is completely disabled. Where they had to change her, there was broken ceramic tile. It can cut you like melted butter," Shuck said.
Education Department spokesman Kimberly Friedman said Tuesday that the state's special education unit first became aware of the concerns on Aug. 14 and visited the classroom that same day.
"After conducting research, the concerns were reported to the superintendent on August 27, and a follow-up technical visit occurred on August 28," Friedman said in an email.
When asked Tuesday for further information, including a copy of the report and the specific concerns reported to the superintendent, Friedman said she could not immediately provide answers.
Friedman could also not immediately say whether the school is now in compliance with the department's requirements or whether further monitoring would occur.
Christian Adcock, an advocate with the Disability Rights Center of Arkansas who conducted the inspection of the Hazen classroom, said he learned Tuesday morning that the students had been moved from the classroom to a building that once housed the school's cafeteria.
"Some problems have been fixed with the move to the new facility, but there are some new problems there, as well," Adcock said.
Nickels said the new location lacks hot water, does not provide privacy for students who need assistance with toileting and has deadbolts that require a key to open doors.
Shuck said Tuesday, however, that her daughter was still attending class in the house across the street from the school.
"They're in the process of moving, but they haven't completed it yet," Shuck said.
Adcock said Belford and other school personnel have been "very cooperative" in attempting to resolve the issues. The district moved the program to the old home because it had bathrooms and a kitchen that could be used to teach life skills, Adcock added.
"It looked like it was half classroom and half storage area. They said that a lot of the issues are because of the beginning of the school year, that things are going to be cleared out," Adcock said. "We understand. That's not out of the realm of possibility, but it still doesn't explain why this has been a problem for over a year."
The Disability Rights Center of Arkansas is working on a plan for compliance and continued monitoring with the school district, Nickels said. The agency also wants to review the educational programs being provided for the students, he added.
Nickels said that if the district fails to adequately address the issues, the agency will file a claim with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.
Shuck said she was pleased that everything has "started falling into place," but she and the other parents will not be satisfied until the district brings the facility into full compliance for their children. The parents are meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the DeValls Bluff Community Center to discuss the issue, Shuck added.
"The whole school is under some serious construction. There's a new gym," Shuck said. "If everyone else is getting these nice buildings, why are these children not receiving what they need?"
Metro on 09/03/2014