NORTHAMPTON — An independent investigation has cleared Northampton Public Schools staff of wrongdoing for comments made in January that were unwittingly recorded onto a transcript following a meeting with a family over their child’s Individual Education Plan — a decision the student’s father calls “disgusting.”
The investigation concerned a meeting over a student at Bridge Street Elementary School, who recently moved into the district from the Boston suburb of Belmont. The student’s parent, Gaurav Jashnani, provided Northampton schools with a copy of the student’s IEP from the previous district. IEPs provided to students with disabilities detail additional classroom accommodations tailored to students’ needs.
The IEP for Jashnani’s child included having a paraeducator to assist the student five days a week with executive function and social skills. But Jashnani filed a complaint with the state after he found out from his child that a paraeducator was not always present in the classroom for the required amount of time.
After he filed the complaint with the state, Jashnani met with the school’s IEP team in January to try and find a solution. A transcript of the January meeting shows conversation among school staff continuing after Jashnani left the meeting, where staff members appear to acknowledge they do not always comply with a student’s IEP and make critical statements about Jashnani, with one staff member indirectly referring to him as a “pain in the a**.”
“They come from Belmont. It’s one of the richest districts in Massachusetts. It’s an overly resourced district. So he kind of doesn’t get it,” one speaker says. Another speaker adds, “This is one of those times that apparently, we’ll go to war.”
School Superintendent Portia Bonner subsequently announced the school was launching an investigation as a result of the remarks. That investigation by an independent outside agency determined that the staff members had not violated the district’s policies regarding discrimination, harassment, retaliation or bullying, based on a “preponderance of the evidence,” the district said in a statement announcing the results.
“Northampton Public Schools is committed to maintaining a respectful and safe environment for all members of our community,” the statement said. “While the allegations in this matter were not substantiated, we want families to know that we respect and encourage caregivers to advocate for their children’s needs.”
The statement was scarce on details, and the district did not include a copy of the final report of the investigation. Bonner denied a request for the report by the Gazette, saying that she was unable to release it because “it is considered a part of the student report.” The school district also said it would not be providing further comments on the matter.
In an interview with the Gazette, Jashnani said he was “disgusted” by the conclusion of the investigation.
“[They] swore about me, made negative comments about what they thought my political affiliations were and actively disparaged me for saying the district should follow state and federal law. Then they admitted Northampton routinely violates IEPs,” Jashnani said. “Yet, the district and the report claimed that no polices were violated. I think that’s absurd.”
Jashnani also blamed the city administration under Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra for the district’s inability to provide a proper IEP for his child. The district has seen a reduction in staff and services over the last two fiscal years, despite an increasing budget, though some job cuts have since been added back to the district.
“It’s a shame, because our district is full of wonderful educators,” Jashnani said. “But as long as the mayor keeps us from hiring enough staff to meet the needs of our children and our district, it will continue to fail our children.”
As a result of the original complaint filed by Jashnani, the state’s Department of Education and Secondary Education ordered the district to take several corrective actions, such as convening a meeting to develop a new IEP for the student. DESE also ordered the district to create a new procedure related to having an IEP for all students with disabilities at the beginning of the next school year.
The state agency was not involved in the internal investigation regarding the comments made by school staff about Jashnani.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
