School Officials Extorted Parents
Parents of special needs children often wonder how best to obtain the additional care and specialized eduation their children need. In Irvine, California, the answer apparently is by coughing up bling:
To get proper care for their severely autistic son, an Irvine couple say they were forced to shower employees at his elementary school with $100,000 in diamond jewelry, Coach bags, Chanel perfume and other lavish gifts, according to a legal claim filed this month.
Thomas Lin, a pediatrician, and his wife, Liya, a homemaker, also purchased and furnished a condo that a teacher’s newlywed daughter and husband lived in rent-free for a year before moving out with the furniture, according to the claim filed Nov. 2 against the Irvine Unified School District and the Orange County Department of Education.
County Supt. Bill Habermehl said he was told the Lins were not pressured to give gifts in exchange for educating their 7-year-old son, who could not speak and was not toilet-trained, but county education officials have launched an investigation. (Source: Mercury News.)
The parents claim that when their gift-giving waned, school employees actually began calling to demand specific gifts. Meanwhile, school officials deny it… but apparently have no explanation for the twelve “Thank You” notes written by employees to express their gratitude for the Lin’s gifts.
I can’t wait to see what the EducationWonks think of this one.
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I work in a public school and have for years. Perhaps this is an anomaly of only Orange County-white bread proportion because it would be simply unheard of here several counties away. Special Ed students are qualified through testing and subsequent Individualize Education Plans (IEP’s). These are legally binding and must be followed. If they are not, parents can readily bring grievance and/or suit against the school district. Special Ed students are pretty much treated with kid gloves not only because of their varying needs/fragilities but also because the more severe the disability the more money brought into the district (sad but true). If these people really felt they had to resort to such ridiculous measures to ensure their child’s education, then they were fools to enter into such a game. If this was something of their own doing, then they are even greater fools. There was no need to resort to such behavior. Checks and balances do exist and resorting to bribery isn’t one of them. Obviously, the teachers involved in accepting such ‘payoff’ should be stripped of their credentials.
All of which makes me wonder:
1- they were ‘forced’ to do this? by whom? why not go to the authorities immediately? why not pull their child out of the school until the situation is rectified?
2- this went on for at least a year? why? there is not only a district to make noise to but a legal system that frowns upon extortion.
If my pediatrician were weak enough to allow himself to be suckered into such a demand, I would change pediatricians.
Bottom line: this evidences the continuing beauty of homeschooling.
That it does, and yet I do need to point out these folks were immigrants from Taiwan where gift-giving is part of the culture. I doubt they realized, at least at first, that they not only weren’t obligated to give presents but that it was wrong for the school officials to accept them.
Understood re them being immigrants. Unfortunately, they encountered the worst kind of vultures scum. Its a shame they didn’t have a clear understanding of the availability of legal defense provided them because he is a special needs child. And the worse part of the debacle is that parents who have a fragile child and obviously wanted him in the best place possible and got him in the best place possible discovered that like so much in life, nothing is what it appears to be. I will be curious to see the outcome of this suit.
I’m always amazed when a new acquaintance suddenly brags that she is a teacher in government schools. They actually expect me to be favorably impressed.
If ‘Brett’ is directing his comments at me, all I can say is I’m always amazed when a new acquaintance doesn’t read posts thoroughly and misstates them. I did not state I was a teacher. And I’m sorry to further disappoint you but I have no interest in attempting to impress anyone. I’ a grownup, not in high school!
p.s. you should also visit Mr. Webster and read thoroughly the definition of “brag”…just so you can be clear on that, too.
Is This How EduCorruption Smells?…
If true, this story will likely end the careers of several employees of one large southern California school district and may blow the lid off of even larger levels…