So the way to change playground behavior is to sue????  God, am I ever glad
this life ends at some point!  What a society...

-----Original Message-----
From: Yvonne Craig [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2000 11:41 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Teen with cerebral palsy awarded $300,000


This was posted to another list I am on. Thought you might find it =
interesting.

Yvonne

***************************************************************************=
**************

The Associated Press

SEATTLE (August 15, 2000 9:02 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - A jury =
ordered a school district to pay $300,000 to a student with cerebral palsy =
who was subjected to physical abuse and teasing by a fellow student for =
years.
School personnel in the Stanwood-Camano district were negligent in
supervision and caused Taya Haugstad, now 19, emotional distress by =
failing to do enough to protect her from harassment, a U.S. District Court =
jury
decided Monday.
Testimony indicated that the boy used obscenities and insults like =
"retard,"
blocked Haugstad as she tried to pass in her wheelchair and rammed the
wheelchair into walls.
The result was a hostile learning environment that hurt Haugstad's
education, damaged her self-esteem and left her with post-traumatic stress
disorder, her lawyers said.
According to the lawsuit, the boy began tormenting Haugstad in 1993, when
she was in the fifth grade, and continued until May 1997, when he was
arrested for investigation of harassment.
An out-of-court settlement was reached with the boy's family.
"School districts need to be accountable," Haugstad's mother, Karrie, said
after the verdict. "There are a lot of kids out there who are being =
harassed
and tormented all the time, but they don't make big waves. It has got to
stop."
Mark Northcraft, the school system's lawyer, said the case would be
appealed.
"I believe this was a sympathy award," Northcraft said. "All of the people =
I
have dealt with at Stanwood School District are good, quality, caring
teachers. Every time something was brought to their attention about Taya =
and (the boy), they dealt with it."
The jury also awarded Haugstad's parents $10,000 for the impact on their
relationship with their daughter but rejected claims under federal and =
state
laws against discrimination based on disability.
Cerebral palsy is a condition in which a brain injury affects muscle
control, including speech and movement.