Mom says school covered up answers with pages of blacked-out records

Parent alleges records were withheld, redacted and delayed as legal battle escalates

A Mid-Michigan parent is raising concerns about transparency and communication within a local intermediate school district, alleging that her efforts to obtain records related to her special needs child have been met with obstacles and delays.

Kourtney, who asked that her last name not be used, said she has been engaged in ongoing legal disputes with the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District over her son’s education and access to information.

Kourtney tells me she is taking this issue to federal court.

“At the end of the day, I just want communication,” she said in an interview. “When parents are forced to go outside of the school district to obtain answers, then we end up in court.”

Kourtney said she initially made multiple requests for records related to her child’s education under federal law, which allows parents to access educational documents. Instead of receiving the specific materials she requested, she said the district provided approximately 6,000 pages of documents that were largely unrelated.

“The requests that you have made are somewhere within these 6,000 documents,” she said she was told, describing the process as “searching for a needle in a haystack.”

She said reviewing the documents took about 15 hours and was particularly challenging because she has dyslexia.

Kourtney also alleges that some of the records she received were heavily redacted, with entire pages blacked out. The district cited attorney-client privilege as the reason, according to Kourtney.

However, she questioned that justification, saying some of the documents predated any legal action.

“That particular document right there is from 2022 where we were not even involved in any litigation,” she said.

Kourtney said she has requested a privilege log, which would explain why documents were withheld or redacted, but has not received one.

The dispute is tied to broader concerns about her child’s education. Kourtney said she re-enrolled her son in public school after previously homeschooling him in order to trigger a required special education evaluation. She claims the district has missed timelines required under federal law.

“The school is now 13 days past their 30-day timeline to have evaluated my son,” she said.

She has filed multiple due process complaints and is representing herself in the legal proceedings.

“I’m a pro se parent, and they doubled up lawyers on me,” she said.

Kourtney alleges her local school district failed to properly oversee her son’s education and said her advocacy has led to tension with school officials.

“When you are a fierce advocate for your child, you are labeled a problem parent,” she said.

She also said she was dismissed and mocked during a public school board meeting after raising concerns.

Despite the challenges, Kourtney said she plans to continue pursuing the case, potentially taking it to federal court if necessary. She said her goal is to ensure her child receives appropriate educational services.

“If I don’t fight for my son, no one will,” she said.

Officials with the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kourtney said she hopes her experience encourages other parents to remain persistent when advocating for their children.

“Don’t give up,” she said. “Parents get tired and they give up, and then the issues don’t get resolved.”