| 4th Appellate District Division 1 02/13/2008 Donovan et al. v. Poway Unified School District et al. Case Number D047199 09/26/2005 Notice of appeal lodged/received...by Poway Unified School District... 10/12/2005 Notice to reporter to prepare transcript. Connie Ullery - 4/19,20,21,25,26,27,28/05; 5/2,3,4,5,9,10,11,12, 16,17,23,24,25,26/05; 8/18/05; 9/1/05; Linda Burke - 1/14/05 10/18/2005 ...cross-appeal filed on October 13, 2005, by Donovan et al. ...10/18/2005 Default notice sent-appellant notified per rule 1(c). 11/02/2005 Order waiving filing fee filed in superior court on November 2, 2005, by Donovan as to cross-appeal... by Ramelli as to cross-appeal. 12/07/2005 Association of attorneys filed for: Atty Murphy for Appellants... 01/27/2006 Stipulation of extension of time filed to: Attorney: Morris, Jeffrey / to 3/27/06 for AOB (60 days) Party: Poway Unified School District... 03/23/2006 Granted - extension of time. Attorney: Morris, Jeffrey /to April 26, 2006 for AOB (30 days) Party: Poway Unified School District 04/14/2006 Granted - extension of time. Attorney: Morris, Jeffrey /to May 26, for AOB (30 days) Party: Poway Unified School District 06/15/2006 Application filed. To file oversize brief 06/19/2006 Order on motion filed. Appellant and cross-respondent's application to file their opening brief in excess of 14,000 words is granted. Appellant's opening brief is deemed filed this date. 06/19/2006 APPELLANT'S OPENING BRIEF. Attorney: Morris, Jeffrey / Due 45 days after filing of the record. Party: Poway Unified School District / 07/11/2006 Change of address filed for: Jeffrey A. Morris (Old address) Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz 401 West "A" Street, 15th Floor San Diego CA 92101 7906 07/11/2006 application to appear pro hac vice for respondent's and cross-appellant's 7/26/06 07/13/2006 Association of attorneys filed for: Atty Chase for Respondents/X-Appellants 07/19/2006 Stipulation of extension of time filed to: Attorney: Rosenstein, Paula S./ to October 2, 2006 for RB (60 days). Party: Donovan, Megan 07/31/2006 Pro hac vice granted. The application of Respondents Megan Donavan and Joseph Ramelli that attorney Hayley Gorenberg of Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc., to be allowed to appear pro hac vice is granted. 09/29/2006 Granted - extension of time. Attorney: Rosenstein, Paula S./to October 31, 2006 for RB (29 days) Party: Donovan, Megan 11/22/2006 Application filed. Application to file combined respondents' brief and cross-appellants' opening brief in excess to rule 14 word limits. 11/22/2006 Order filed. Respondents' and cross-appellants' "Application to File Combined Respondents' Brief and Cross-Appellants' Opening Brief in Excess to Rule 14 Word Limits" is GRANTED. The combined respondents' and cross-appellants' opening brief is deemed filed this date. 11/22/2006 RESPONDENT'S BRIEF. Attorney: Rosenstein, Paula S./RB/X-AOB due 45 days after filing of Party: Donovan, Megan / AOB 12/28/2006 Stipulation of extension of time filed to: Attorney: Morris, Jeffrey / to 3/9/07 for ARB/XRB (60 days) Party: Fisher, Scott 01/17/2007 Substitution of attorneys filed for: appellants and cross-repondents substitute atty. George Murphy of Murphy, Campbell, Guthrie & Alliston in place and instead of George Murphy of Farmer, Murphy, Smith & Alliston (firm changed name). 03/14/2007 Application to file amicus curiae brief filed by: ACLU in support of Respondents, X-Appellants Add to POS 03/21/2007 Respondent notified pursuant to rule 8.220(a)(2). 03/29/2007 Order filed. The application of American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, & American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of respondents, cross-appellants filed on March 14, 2007, will be considered with the appeal. If the application is granted, the court will specify a time in which any party may file an answer. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.220(c)(5).) 04/03/2007 APPELLANT'S REPLY BRIEF. Attorney: Morris, Jeffrey/ ARB/X-RB due 45 days after the filing of Party: Fisher, Scott / RB/X-AOB 3/9 04/03/2007 Application to file amicus curiae brief filed by: Education Legal Alliance of the California School Boards Association on behalf of appellants/x-respondents. Add requesting party to POS 04/03/2007 Motion filed. Motion for Judicial Notice filed by Education Legal Alliance. Oppo due 4/18 04/05/2007 Filed: Supplemental POS of appellants' reply brief and x-respondents' brief 04/09/2007 Exhibit request rule 8.224 by: Appellant Poway Unified School District Exhibit #'s 2,7,9, 12-16,18,19,24-27,37,39,42, 49,52,53,55,57,59,62,70,75,92,102,133, 145,297,300,315,317,318,324,328,331-3 33 04/10/2007 Received copy of document filed in trial court. Defendants' Poway Unified School District notice of designation of exhibits for transmission to reviewing court 04/11/2007 Exhibit request rule 8.224 by: Respondent Donovan Exhibit #'s 1,7,12-14,19,27 04/12/2007 Received: Amended Plaintiffs notice designating exhibits for transmission to court of appeal (Donovan) 04/19/2007 Order filed. The application of Education Legal Alliance of the California School Boards Association to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of appellants/cross-respondents filed on April 3, 2007, will be considered with the appeal. If the application is granted, the court will specify a time in which any party may file an answer. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.200(c)(5).) The companion request for judicial notice will be considered if the application to file an amicus curiae brief is granted. 05/07/2007 Change of contact information filed for: Alex M Cleghorn old address 1: 510 16th St 4FL new address 1: 39 Drumm Street old city: Oakland new city: San Francisco old zip: 94612 new zip: 94111 old phone: 510-835-8045 new phone: 415-621-2493 old fax: 510-835-8045 new fax: 415-255-8437 05/25/2007 Oral argument waiver notice sent. 6/4 05/25/2007 CASE FULLY BRIEFED. 06/01/2007 Request for oral argument filed by: aplt/x-respondent--15 min. (Fisher) Atty Nicholson faxed 06/04/2007 Request for oral argument filed by: respondent/x-aplt-15 min. (Atty Chase) faxed 06/15/2007 Stipulation filed to: Trial Exhibits for use on appeal 06/15/2007 ***EXHIBITS LODGED BY: ****** Appellant Poway Unified by stipulation 1 vol. 12/06/2007 Change of contact information filed for: George Edson Murphy old address 1: 3640 American River Dr #150 new address 1: 8801 Folsom Blvd., Ste. 230 old zip: 95864 new zip: 95826 916-484-3501 fax: 916-484-3511 email: www.MurphyCampbell.com 02/01/2008 The court requests the parties lodge within two weeks the legislative histories of the following statutes at issue in Donovan v. Poway Unified School District et al. (D047199): 1) Ed. Code ' 200 (Stats. 1982, c. 1117, p. 4037, ' 1. Amended by Stats. 1998, c. 914 (A.B. 499), ' 7; Stats. 1999, c. 587 (A.B. 537), ' 3; Stats. 2004, c. 700 (S.B. 1234), ' 2; Stats. 2007, c. 569 (S.B. 777), ' 1.5); 2) Ed. Code ' 201 (Formerly ' 43, added by Stats. 1994, c. 1198 (A.B. 2543), '2; renumbered and amended by Stats. 1998, c. 914 (A.B. 499), ' 5); 3) Ed. Code ' 220 (Stats. 1982, c. 1117 (A.B. 3133), p. 4038, ' 1. Amended by Stats. 1998, c. 914 (A.B. 499), ' 17; Stats. 1999, c. 587 (A.B. 537), ' 4; Stats. 2004, c. 700 (S.B. 1234), ' 3; Stats. 2007, c. 569 (S.B. 777), ' 11); 4) Ed. Code ' 262.3 (Stats. 1988, c. 1514, ' 5. Amended by Stats. 1990, c. 1372 (S.B. 1854), ' 9; Stats. 1992, c. 417 (A.B. 2359), ' 1; Stats. 1998, c. 914 (A.B. 499), ' 37); and 5) Ed. Code ' 262.4 (Stats. 1998, c. 914 (A.B. 499), ' 38). |
| Poway Unified School District |
| Poway loses Donovan case; court says it should have protected students |
Poway's Special Ed Program
Dumping Ground For Kids?
Parents Say Program Deserves
Failing Grade
July 17, 2006
Westview High School is a relatively new
and shinning star in the Poway Unified
School District, which is known for its high
standards and excellent record of
educating kids.
"We've got fantastic kids here,
wonderfully dedicated teachers. It's a
system that I think works," associate
superintendent Dr. Kevin Skelly said.
This year, the California Department of
Education rated Westview High School
and 31 other schools in the district as
excellent.
It also gave the district's special
education program high grades.But some
parents told 10News that Poway's special
education program is a wasteland where
kids are dumped. They said it deserves a
failing grade, according to 10News.
Parents and students said the district
doesn't know what to do about kids who
are not mentally disabled, but who cannot
learn in a regular classroom setting.
Jason Stewart is one of those kids who
said they've been left in the dark to fend
for themselves.
"They didn't teach me anything. They
didn't help me out," he said.
A senior at Westview, Stewart should be
graduating this week with his friends, but
he won't be.
"I see my friends going to college, and I
can't even graduate from high school. It's
horrible," he said.
"Poway is finding in his 12th year (of
education) that my son has severe vision
processing deficits that they were
responsible for finding way back in the
first grade," Jason's mother, Lindsey
Stewart, said.
Jason wants to learn, but his mind has
trouble grasping what he sees. Instead,
his brain scrambles to process every
sound he hears, making it difficult to
focus in the classroom...
But over the past 11 years Stewart has
been shuffled around from regular
classes to special education classes. He
said it's made him even more confused
and depressed...
At Black Mountain Middle School Stewart
became suicidal.
"I would just give up sometimes and feel
like this is pointless," he said.
And while the state gave PUSD rave
reviews for special education, the
district has been suing students
whose parents don't want their
children in the special education
program.
Lindsey Stewart took the fight all the
way to the ninth circuit court of appeals.
"There's actually three major law firms
that are fighting me," she said.
PUSD is fighting her with a vengeance by
racking up more than $400,000 in legal
bills in the Stewart case.But the legal
battles don't end with Stewart.
Evalyn Smith's children and dozens of
other students have been sued or
threatened with lawsuits by the district,
according to 10News.
"It blows my mind how they could sue a
student to force them into a special
education class," Smith said.
Smith said the district has to stop lumping
all students together in a
"one-size-fits-all" special education
program.
A total of 25 kids with "learning
differences" are involved in lawsuits with
the district, 10News reported.
According to Skelly, that's not a lot. "To
have 25 unhappy parents out of 3,000 --
that we have not been able to resolve
with -- I think is very good," Skelly said.
Parents and students said more people
are afraid to come forward because the
district has a record of retaliation.
"In my opinion we are retaliated against,"
Smith said.
Retaliation like lawsuits, orders to gavel
down parents at school board meetings
to quiet them, and security personnel
following parents on campus.
District officials won't talk about any of the
cases, but said the problem stems from a
lack of funding, not a lack of caring.
"The federal government and the state
government do not give us enough
money to meet the needs of specialized
students," Skelly said.
Some parents said they are turning to
alternative private schools and getting
better results.
Dumping Ground For Kids?
Parents Say Program Deserves
Failing Grade
July 17, 2006
Westview High School is a relatively new
and shinning star in the Poway Unified
School District, which is known for its high
standards and excellent record of
educating kids.
"We've got fantastic kids here,
wonderfully dedicated teachers. It's a
system that I think works," associate
superintendent Dr. Kevin Skelly said.
This year, the California Department of
Education rated Westview High School
and 31 other schools in the district as
excellent.
It also gave the district's special
education program high grades.But some
parents told 10News that Poway's special
education program is a wasteland where
kids are dumped. They said it deserves a
failing grade, according to 10News.
Parents and students said the district
doesn't know what to do about kids who
are not mentally disabled, but who cannot
learn in a regular classroom setting.
Jason Stewart is one of those kids who
said they've been left in the dark to fend
for themselves.
"They didn't teach me anything. They
didn't help me out," he said.
A senior at Westview, Stewart should be
graduating this week with his friends, but
he won't be.
"I see my friends going to college, and I
can't even graduate from high school. It's
horrible," he said.
"Poway is finding in his 12th year (of
education) that my son has severe vision
processing deficits that they were
responsible for finding way back in the
first grade," Jason's mother, Lindsey
Stewart, said.
Jason wants to learn, but his mind has
trouble grasping what he sees. Instead,
his brain scrambles to process every
sound he hears, making it difficult to
focus in the classroom...
But over the past 11 years Stewart has
been shuffled around from regular
classes to special education classes. He
said it's made him even more confused
and depressed...
At Black Mountain Middle School Stewart
became suicidal.
"I would just give up sometimes and feel
like this is pointless," he said.
And while the state gave PUSD rave
reviews for special education, the
district has been suing students
whose parents don't want their
children in the special education
program.
Lindsey Stewart took the fight all the
way to the ninth circuit court of appeals.
"There's actually three major law firms
that are fighting me," she said.
PUSD is fighting her with a vengeance by
racking up more than $400,000 in legal
bills in the Stewart case.But the legal
battles don't end with Stewart.
Evalyn Smith's children and dozens of
other students have been sued or
threatened with lawsuits by the district,
according to 10News.
"It blows my mind how they could sue a
student to force them into a special
education class," Smith said.
Smith said the district has to stop lumping
all students together in a
"one-size-fits-all" special education
program.
A total of 25 kids with "learning
differences" are involved in lawsuits with
the district, 10News reported.
According to Skelly, that's not a lot. "To
have 25 unhappy parents out of 3,000 --
that we have not been able to resolve
with -- I think is very good," Skelly said.
Parents and students said more people
are afraid to come forward because the
district has a record of retaliation.
"In my opinion we are retaliated against,"
Smith said.
Retaliation like lawsuits, orders to gavel
down parents at school board meetings
to quiet them, and security personnel
following parents on campus.
District officials won't talk about any of the
cases, but said the problem stems from a
lack of funding, not a lack of caring.
"The federal government and the state
government do not give us enough
money to meet the needs of specialized
students," Skelly said.
Some parents said they are turning to
alternative private schools and getting
better results.
Case Title: N W VS POWAY UNIFIED
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Case Number: GIC865228
Case Location: San Diego
Case Type: Civil
Date Filed: 05/02/2006
Category: CU-PO PI/PD/WD - Other
Plaintiff/Petitioner
N W
WITTE MELANIE
Defendant/Respondent
MORNING CREEK ELEMENTARY
EXTENDED SCHOOL SERVICES
POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Case Number: GIC865228
Case Location: San Diego
Case Type: Civil
Date Filed: 05/02/2006
Category: CU-PO PI/PD/WD - Other
Plaintiff/Petitioner
N W
WITTE MELANIE
Defendant/Respondent
MORNING CREEK ELEMENTARY
EXTENDED SCHOOL SERVICES
POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
EVALYN DROBNICKI VS. POWAY
UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Case Number:
37-2008-00076816-CU-CR-CTL
Case Location: San Diego
Case Type: Civil Date Filed:
01/28/2008
Category: CU-CR Civil Rights
UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Case Number:
37-2008-00076816-CU-CR-CTL
Case Location: San Diego
Case Type: Civil Date Filed:
01/28/2008
Category: CU-CR Civil Rights
| Hazing in PUSD California. In March 1997, a 15-year-old freshman baseball player was the victim of a locker-room broomstick rape at Bernardo High School by three teammates. The three were sentenced to a minimum of thirty days in Juvenile Hall, weekend work projects and a one year suspension of driving privileges. The victim sued the Poway Unified School District, arguing officials knew about the hazing "tradition", where varsity team members would intimidate freshman by threatening to rape them and simulating rape. After months of mediation, the claim settled for $675,000. Doe et al. v.PUSD. Confidential Report for Attorneys. No. 9833 (no formal complaint filed, settlement September 1997). See "Poway settlement in locker-room rape totals $675,000," San Diego Union-Tribune, August 4, 1998 by Anna Cearley 1997 Rancho Bernardo High School (California, Poway School District) Physical hazing and sexual assault Junior varsity baseball player After a rookie baseball player was sodomized with an object in the locker room, he settled for $675,000 with the district, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune which went to uncommon lengths to get the school district to reveal any details at all. Court records showed that the attack was part of a six-year pattern of assault in several sports and was deeply entrenched in school athletics, according to the newspaper. --from History of High School Hazing: http://www.hanknuwer.com/hs2 |
| Violent teacher defended at PUSD LeBlanc v. PUSD My web page re LeBlanc v. PUSD is hacked |
| Defamation Suit |
| Severe abuse by teachers |
| Fred Kamper case |
| Vista Unified |
Education Reform Report
