FORT WAYNE – An Allen County couple sued East Allen County Schools in federal court, alleging the district violated their son’s rights under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Filed last week by John and Stephanie Thompson on behalf of their son, the lawsuit appeals a decision by the Indiana Board of Special Education Appeals, which upheld the district’s decision not to provide special education for their son before Oct. 7, 2009.

Messages left at East Allen County Schools seeking comment Wednesday were unreturned.

The student, identified only as “J.T” in court documents, suffers from an “emotional disability based on his attention deficit disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome as well as other demonstrated behavioral needs,” according to court documents.

The parents allege that the student, a 10-year-old third-grader, has always had behavioral issues, which escalated at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year as he entered the second grade. The parents asked for an evaluation for special education, which was refused, according to court documents.

His behavior problems escalated, and he was suspended and removed from class.

But in 2008 and 2009, the district did not evaluate him for special education services, according to court documents, and his parents pulled him out of school in November to home-school him.

Unable to continue home-schooling the boy, who misbehaved when presented with any academic task, the parents put him back in the school district for the 2009-10 school year, asking for an evaluation for special education.

The district agreed to evaluate him, but the evaluation included no cognitive, sensory or health testing, nor did it include a functioning behavioral assessment. In October, the district found he was ineligible for special education in spite of his “daily meltdowns and his failing grades,” according to court documents.

In November, the district suspended him.

The boy went to another school, but the placement was “inappropriate,” according to court documents. In January, he came home and told his parents he had been locked in a closet. An independent hearing officer then allowed an emergency change in placement.

At issue is when the boy qualified for special education as a student with disabilities and what services are appropriate for him, according to court documents.

While the hearing officer found the district should have found the boy eligible for special education in October, when he was initially denied, the family had not met the burden of proof to convince the school board before October.

In their lawsuit, the family said they did meet that burden of proof. They are asking a court to rule that they did meet the burden of proving eligibility for special education services.

Along with attorney fees, the family wants the court to order compensatory services for the boy, according to court documents.

rgreen@jg.net