Family Says School Misdiagnosed Boy As "Retarded"

A state judge rules the Atlanta School System was so incompetent in its treatment of a special education student, it may have to spend tens of thousands of dollars sending him to private school.

This comes in a bitter battle in which -- the judge says -- the student wrongly was diagnosed as retarded.

Jarron Draper and his family waived his right to privacy, which gives us a rare look inside the school system The judge calls the case tragic -- and says the school system has forfeited its right to educate Jarron. The system says it will appeal what it calls a one-sided ruling.

Now a junior at Mays High School in southwest Atlanta, Jarron Draper is studying geometry, biology II and american history -- which sounds normal. But he is 19 and reads at a third or fourth grade level. His aunt blames the school system.

Jarron's Aunt, Denice Morgan says, "So they tried to convince me -- an intelligent, educated woman -- that my nephew was retarded, and I knew that he was not."

It was only after Denice Morgan got involved that school officials admitted they had failed to re-evaulate Jarron for nearly five years -- a serious violation of federal law. But they still insist diagnosing him retarded was correct.

Dr. Icey Johnson of Atlanta Public Schools says, "We did not misdiagnose. At the time the evaluation was given, uh, twice it did confirm exactly what, um, the records were stating."

Dr. Edward Dragan, an education consultant says, "Oh, I don't agree with that at all."

Jarron's family hired Dr. Edward Dragan -- a New Jersey-based expert in special education -- to review the case.

Dragan says, "In fact, he wasn't mentally retarded, but he was learning disabled. And that's two very distinctly different classifications."

Dragan is also skeptical of the school's claim that it would have discovered that it failed to re-evaluate Jarron.

Dragan says, "They missed deadlines all over the place. They were supposed to evalaute Jarron, uh, and they didn't, and they, in my opinion, also misdiagnosed him. I don't believe that they would have picked it up."

But the school system itself came in for blistering criticism from a state administrative law judge who heard three days testimony last fall about Jarron's case -- trying to determine what, if any, compensatory education this system has to provide Jarron to make up for the sytem's mistakes.

Judge Stephen Caley describes it as, "The school system's incompetence in properly educating...(Jarron)...." He notes that an expert witness for the system - "Did not know (Jarron's) correct age."

He singles out Dr. Icey Johnson -- a top special ed official -- saying she - "spent much of the hearing leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed whenever a witness was testifying on (Jarron's) behalf."

The judge describes it as - "hostility from persons who claim to be professional educators."

Denice Morgan almost couldn't believe what she was reading. She says, "We are just so excited. And when we got the, uh, the order, tears came to my eye, and i'm a tough lady to, to even want to cry. We feel vindicated."

Jarron says he believes school officials were trying to tell him that he and his family didn't know what they were doing. No more.

Jarron says, "I proved them wrong. We, my family stands by me united together, and we stand strong, and we're going to continue to stand strong together to get my education."

But school officials have a sharply different view of the ruling. And -- contrary to the judge's order -- they still insist they did not misdiagnosis Jarron Draper.

Dr. Arletta Brinson of Atlanta Public Schools says, "I have not seen a document that, in my opinion, was so thoroughly one-sided and did not take into account all of the expert testimony."

Judge Caley calls the evidence against the school system overwhelming.

He has ordered compensatory education, including -- if the family chooses -- private school of up to $15,000 a year, paid for by the taxpayers. Of Jarron, he says, "A lesser spirit would have been crushed -- long ago."