Is it legal to deprive my son, who has ADD, of an opportunity to learn because he did not bring a pencil to class?
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    Law Curious
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    Default Is it legal to deprive my son, who has ADD, of an opportunity to learn because he did not bring a pencil to class?

    My son is an eighth grade student in Northern Virginia. He has been diagnosed with ADD but does not have an individualized education plan. Presently, he is not taking any ADD medications because he experienced too many side effects. He is enrolled in honors classes as well as Algebra, which is a high school level course. His school has block-scheduling, so each of his classes is 1 ½ hours long and meets every other day. Recently, he was sick and missed two of his Algebra classes. I received a note from his Algebra teacher upon his return. This is an excerpt, “Today he came to class with nothing to write with. As he and I have previously discussed his lack of preparation for class in terms of bringing all of his materials (and I have contacted you about it) I did not provide him with anything. Although he did get to watch the lesson, he was unable to write down the notes or begin the assignment. He did have time to socialize when others were working and thought it was ok since he "didn't have anything to do". I had suggested that he get a book and read but he did not take me up on that.” His teacher had called me once regarding him not coming to class with a pencil on more than one occasion.
    This is a portion of my response to her, “Regarding the times he has come to your class unprepared. He has been diagnosed with ADD. That is not especially atypical for a student with that disability, though I try to encourage him to be responsible and to remember to bring his materials to class. He tends to respond better to positive encouragement when he has made a mistake. He attempted to correct his mistake by asking others if anyone had a pencil he could borrow, but no one did. In this scenario, it would have seemed reasonable for you to have offered to loan him a pencil, given that he has been sick and does have a disability. It seems awfully harsh to have a student sit idle for an hour and a half because he does not have a pencil.”
    She responded, “Thank you for your information, but I am quite familiar with ADD and do not see that as a reason that he cannot bring something to write with to class. I usually stop them at the door and check that they have what they need. He will not get that in a few months when he is in high school. We have many students with that disability who manage to come prepared to class every day. I have offered him something to write with on several occasions in the past- this was hardly the first time this has occurred.”

    Missing even one day's lesson in math can have long ranging consequences. His learning style is not auditory. He has to write what he learns in order to process it. As a result, he essentially missed 3 days of class. Is it legal for her to deprive him of an opportunity to learn?
    Last edited by read2me; 02-20-2012 at 01:54 PM. Reason: took about son's name in my response to teacher

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Is it legal to deprive my son, who has ADD, of an opportunity to learn because he did not bring a pencil to class?

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