Submitted photo In the photo, protesters show support for Joshua Ortiz, a Brocton Elementary School student with autism who has been repeatedly disciplined for his behavior at school.
BROCKTON — Any good parent will stand up for their child. Clarissa Ortiz is doing it to defend her son Joshua’s treatment at Brocton Central School.
Ortiz claims her son, Joshua, is not receiving the treatment he needs as a second-grade special education student at Brocton Elementary School. Ortiz said her son has Level 2-3 autism. According to the three levels of the autism spectrum, people who are classified as level 3 require a lot of support and have difficulty self-regulating.
Ortiz attended a recent school board meeting and brought his concerns to the forefront. She told the school board, “I know this district is promoting the Brockton Story narrative and supporting our students in every way. So I’m here today and I want to share with you the past two years of Joshua’s life. I’m going to tell you the terrifying Brocton story.”
Since kindergarten, Joshua has exhibited behaviors that require unique care and compassion. Instead, Ortiz claims her son’s behavior has led to him being labeled a “problem child.” Ortiz claims her son received about 70 disciplinary recommendations last year and was suspended for the fifth time since he started kindergarten this year.
In Ortiz’s view, the district was not providing qualified support staff to adequately address her son’s needs. She characterized the staff as “untrained” and “inexperienced” and also claimed that she assigned three different teaching assistants to guide him throughout the day.
Ortiz said he was fired after one of his aides filed a Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) complaint against the school district after recording Joshua’s actions and sending the video to his father. claims. Ortiz claims the same aide was also seen handling Joshua “aggressively” in the school hallway. Ortiz also claims that the next two aides assigned to her son did not properly engage with him.
Ortiz said after her son was suspended in February, he was moved from his previous special education classroom to a secluded classroom, and Ortiz is not qualified to work with special education students. There are some teachers who claim that. As a district employee herself, Ortiz witnessed and documented many situations in which she felt her son’s well-being was being compromised. When she submitted evidence to the district superintendent and director of special education, she claims the response did not address what was seen on the video, but rather criticized her for recording it while on the job. .
“No one believed me, so I was recording it so I could finally show the proof,” Ortiz said.
Joshua Ortiz is now the fourth designated support staff member, an occupational therapist. His mother believes that the situation has not improved enough and continues to look for solutions in other ways. Ortiz made several other efforts to meet her son’s needs, including believing that a transfer to the Dunkirk City School District would be a good fit because of her past experience working in Dunkirk. He claims to have presented an idea. However, she claims that the only option given to her by the school district is to transfer to BOCES, but she is reluctant due to fears of developmental regression.
Following his fourth suspension, Joshua Ortiz and his mother had a hearing with the district administration. Prior to the hearing, Clarissa Ortiz tried to persuade the elementary school principal to issue a suspension, but her request was denied. Ortiz believes her son is being unfairly punished because of his ethnicity, claiming that white students in his general education classes have been suspended from school for similar violations, but not for in-school suspensions. are.
“My son is autistic and Latino, so he was kicked out of school for five days,” Ortiz said. She also claimed that one of the allegations against her son was exaggerated and defined it as a “defamation” of her son’s character.
Ortiz called the disciplinary action against her son “embarrassing” and defined the school district as “a laughing stock” for the way it treats its students, especially those with special needs. She said Brocton lacks common sense and empathy for students.
Brockton Police Officer Jason Delcamp responded to Ortiz’s claims in a statement to the Observer.
“Due to laws protecting student and faculty confidentiality, we are unable to comment on specific student circumstances. However, the Brockton Central School District is committed to providing appropriate educational programs and services to all students. We are also committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students and staff. We will always comply with district policies and procedures and educational laws.”
Mr. Delkamp also spoke about what he believes to be true about the treatment of staff and students in the Brockton Central School District.
“As superintendent, I have witnessed a caring and caring staff respond to the needs of our students,” Delcamp said. “I am proud of the professionalism and care that our staff consistently demonstrates. Our top priority is to ensure that each student has the support and services they need to ensure continued educational success. It’s about being able to receive it.”
Ortiz launched a petition on change.org on September 26th with a goal of 500 signatures calling for action through the state Department of Education. Three weeks after the petition was launched, it had gathered nearly 350 signatures. The petition can be found at change.org/justiceforjoshuaortiz.
Protests were also organized in support of Joshua and the care he deserves. After Joshua was suspended for the fifth time earlier this week, Clarissa Ortiz began asking the district for an attorney to represent her son, but one was not immediately available.
“Enough is enough! I think it’s time to do the right thing and give Joshua justice,” she said.
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