Carol and Kevin Laughlin's son has a long history of emotional and behavioral problems. He has been in therapy and has attempted suicide more than once.

Slowly problems began to filter into his schooling, affecting his grades and ultimately his ability to learn.

Finally it came to the point where his parents had to make a choice: continue his tortuous experience in middle school or send him to a therapeutic boarding school in North Carolina.

They chose the latter. But when they returned home their problems only began to escalate.

Since their son, Matt, had attended Summit Middle School, the Laughlins asked the Southwest Allen County Schools district to modify his IEP (individual education plan) – which was already in place from having been identified as a special education student – to include his attendance at the boarding school. His father proposed that the school district would pay for Matt's schooling and he would pay for the boarding and therapy.

The school district, which would not comment about the debate to The News-Sentinel, said “no” to the offer.

Unsatisfied with the response, the Laughlins took the matter to due process in hopes of overturning the district's decision. They're awaiting a decision.

“The two most painful experiences (in my life) have been finding a placement for (Matt) and doing the due process,” said Carol Laughlin, who is also a SACS teacher.

A mountain to climb

In elementary school, Matt, now 13, was getting reasonably good grades. His parents said he struggled with reading and identifying colors, but tutoring seemed to help with that.

As time went on, though, problems began to increase as his IQ didn't.

“(At the end) of fifth grade, things started to fall apart for him,” Kevin Laughlin said.

His psychologist recommended that he only attend half-days, and the family began working with the school to develop a specified education plan for him and eventually an IEP. But by the end of his sixth-grade year, there were talks of suicide and a couple of attempts.

It was then that his doctor recommended a residential program.

“That was really kind of a shocker to hear that,” Kevin Laughlin said. But they weren't ready to send their son away for treatment – that was until the shoe hit the window.

As a part of Matt's IEP, he was able to spend some of his time in the “emotionally distressed” room for more direct supervision. But one day – in what his parents suspect was his way to gain attention – Matt threw a shoe at the window, breaking the glass. A suspension and a police call to their home sent the Laughlins looking for a better alternative.

The first stop was the SUWS of the Carolinas, a temporary therapeutic wilderness program in North Carolina. Matt was there a little more than two months toward the end of the 2008-09 school year.

“They work with these kids to help them make better choices,” Kevin Laughlin said. “It's an amazing, amazing thing. We never knew places like this existed.”

The Laughlins said their son was improving by leaps and bounds, but they weren't sure what would happen when the temporary program completed.

“We talked to (SACS) about what do we do when he gets back,” Kevin Laughlin said. “They said, ‘Go back to Summit.'

“That didn't resonate with us. That didn't seem like the right thing to do,” he added, and Matt's doctors agreed. They thought the boy would regress after only being in the program for a short time. They said he needed a full-time residential program.

“The day of his graduation ceremony at SUWS we still didn't know what we were going to do with him,” Kevin Laughlin said. “In your heart, you know you don't want to do it, but in your head you know it's right.”

A couple of days later on June 11 Matt started at Stone Mountain.

Stone Mountain, also in North Carolina, is a “long-term residential school in an outdoors environment that is geared to help families of boys with emotional issues or behavioral problems,” as described on the school's Web site.

The school gives Matt individualized attention in a small-class setting. He is able to work at his own pace and is rewarded for positive behavior with phone calls and visits home.

“He's doing very well (there),” Kevin Laughlin said, adding Matt has already earned 20-minute phone calls and two visits home.

But as beneficial as the program is to their son, it is also quite costly for the family at $6,400 per month in addition to the $42,000 that it cost to send him to SUWS.

A plea to the school district

Due process was not the first choice for the Laughlins, but it ended up being what they felt was their only option. They needed help and they needed an unbiased third party to decide if they were going to get it. “We want this residential placement put into his IEP,” Kevin Laughlin explained about their goal for the hearing, which would provide monetary help for the family.

Due process is complicated and, as the Laughlins described, draining.

SACS Superintendent Steve Yager said due process is like a low-level court hearing with witnesses, evidence and, essentially, a judge. The parties – the school and the parents in this case – meet over multiple days and present information to a hearing officer appointed by the state.

“The hearing officer will then come down with an opinion in favor of the school or the parents or somewhere in between,” Yager said. In this case, some time in early December.

The Laughlins hearing lasted five days and included witnesses from both sides and a total of 5,000 pages between the parties. Attorneys were present and each side argued what they thought was best for Matt.

“They think his IEP just needs to be tweaked,” Kevin Laughlin said. “We're out of time with these tweaks. We need to get a couple steps ahead of him.”

The hearing concluded Nov. 10, but the Laughlins were told they would have to wait about a month for a decision. But even when the decision comes down in December, both the school and the Laughlins have the right to appeal it to the Board of Special Education Appeals. From there, either party could take the matter to the state or federal district court system if they believe the situation is still not resolved.

“How it's going to end up, we don't know,” Kevin Laughlin said.

“(But) regardless of the outcome, we have no regrets,” Carol Laughlin added. “They cannot accommodate everyone's needs in a public school. In my opinion, Matt slipped through the cracks. We need to not let that happen to other kids.”