WRDR

Georgia school districts are spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on legal battles to fight parents of disabled children over special education evaluations. District records, uncovered by Atlanta News First Investigates, reveal proceedings have more than doubled, costing both families and taxpayers. Seven-year-old Cylus Fears is a third grader in Gwinnett County who is on the autism spectrum. His mother, Teresa Fears, said he has trouble with reading comprehension. “We’re working on assignments, and he’s in tears because he’s not understanding the work,” Fears said. “He was not understanding what he was reading. He was reading just to read, but he wasn’t understanding.” School records show the district knew about Cylus’ autism diagnosis and that he “struggles answering comprehension questions,” according to the records. Fears asked the Gwinnett County School District to place her son on an individualized education program (IEP), a plan tailored to help students with disabilities learn. After meeting with school administrators last year, the district said Cylus didn’t need the IEP and denied Fears’ request for an independent evaluation for a second opinion