A Massachusetts autistic teenager who refused to attend public school for eight months suffered a panic attack after a judge ordered her to return to class.
Samantha Frechon, 14, was taken from East Middle School in Braintree to a local hospital on Tuesday. It was only her second day at public school.
He signed up earlier this week at the urging of Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Catherine Ham. This transition marked the first time Samantha attended a non-specialized institution since she was eight years old.
After the teen, who has multiple disabilities, was hospitalized, Ham issued a modified order that will no longer require her to attend public high school.
The judge did not honor a request from Samantha and her mother, Alicja, who had asked that the teen return to her previous private school at the expense of Braintree Public Schools.
Samantha Frechon, 14 (pictured with her mother Alicja), suffered a panic attack two days after returning to public school.
The Massachusetts teen, who is autistic and has several other disabilities, had not attended a non-specialized school since she was eight years old.
Before enrolling at East Middle School (pictured) at the request of Judge Catherine Ham, Samantha had spent eight months out of school.
However, Ham ordered the district to send the student to a cheaper private school geared toward working with disabled students.
Samantha had not attended a single day of school since the beginning of the academic year before enrolling at East Middle.
He previously attended Fusion Academy, a private school in Hingham that bills itself as “the most specialized school in the world,” according to its website.
Braintree covered the cost of Samantha’s seventh-grade education under federal special education law, which requires public school districts to cover the costs of private tuition when they fail to meet a student’s needs on their own.
Despite excelling academically and socially at Fusion Academy, the district decided not to re-enroll her for her eighth grade year. Rather, they gave him only one option: receive daily tutoring at the city library.
The girl’s mother has continually clashed with the Braintree school district, demanding that they help her daughter meet her academic needs.
But in his order, Ham wrote: ‘It is clear to the court that the mother only wants her son to succeed in Fusion, and only in Fusion.’
According to the judge, Braintree had argued that Fusion could not meet Samantha’s special education demands.
Frechon was enraged when the district refused to foot the bill for her daughter to return to Fusion Academy, a private school specializing in individualized instruction.
The district argued that Fusion Academy (pictured) couldn’t meet its needs, but amid an $8 million budget shortfall, tuition of $90,000 a year would have added more financial strain.
Frechon argued that the district had failed to honor Samantha’s rights to “remain in place” by refusing to re-enroll her in that school or her previous placement.
“The Court does not want the child or the school to have to deal with another similar episode, the one that occurred on Tuesday,” Ham wrote.
Braintree is facing an $8 million budget deficit, and cuts are likely.
Appearing at a school committee hearing last month, Superintendent James Lee said the district’s $75.5 million budget had grown to nearly $84 million.
To close that costly gap, the beleaguered district is considering a number of options ranging from laying off teachers to closing some elementary schools entirely.
Samantha’s education would only put more financial strain on the district, as tuition at Fusion costs approximately $90,000 a year.
Ham held a conference with district attorneys Thursday afternoon.
During the meeting, a lawyer attributed Samantha’s problems to her mother, the family lawyer and a Boston Globe reporter who followed the teenager during her first day.
Frechon previously alleged that the district violated her daughter’s rights to “remain in place” by refusing to re-enroll the teen at Fusion or her previous placement, South Shore Educational Collaborative.
Those protections allow a student to remain in their current accommodations while school administrators and parents resolve a dispute over a possible change.
Under modified order, Samantha will receive ‘online tutoring and services’ from public school district
Starting next week, you can choose to continue your online tutoring or enroll at High Road School of Massachusetts (pictured).
“What is happening here is a crime against my family, and it is our country that is failing us,” Frechon wrote in a Facebook post.
Under Ham’s amended order, Samantha will receive “online tutoring and services” from Braintree Public Schools.
Starting next week, the teen and her mother will be able to choose between virtual tutoring or placement at High Road School of Massachusetts in East Bridgewater.
On its website, the school describes itself as “an out-of-district placement for students with a wide range of disabilities who have not been successful in the traditional school environment.”
The fee Braintree would have to pay for High Road School is about $50,000, almost half of Fusion’s tuition.
Han’s order is in effect until the end of the school year or until the Office of Special Education Appeals issues a decision in Samantha’s case. The hearing is scheduled for May.
Amid growing interest in her daughter’s case, Frechon wrote on Facebook: “The horror for my family continues.
‘Going public exposed us to all those bullies and lawsuits, but it was also a relief that I no longer need to pretend that everything is fine. “What is happening here is a crime against my family and it is our country that is failing us.”
In a later post, Frechon clarified that Samantha was the one who finally made the decision to publicize her own case.
“I support your decision and hope that we open the door to all those children who are suffering the same abuse,” he wrote.
‘I know it’s not just us and I’m very happy to be able to be the voice for all those who are afraid. I’m also scared because of the harassment that comes with it, but the cause is bigger than my fear.’