Be Careful What You Promise Parents
Thomas J. Cathey, EdD
Director for Legal/Legislative Issues, ACSI
Brandon Squires attended Cambridge School from pre-kindergarten through second grade. Brandon Squires’ parents placed him in a private school because they suspected that he might have trouble learning to read on the basis of his difficulties in articulating words and the difficulties his father had experienced in learning to read. While visiting the school, Mrs. Squires expressed this concern to the principal. She was advised that the school had the capabilities and the facilities to diagnose and remediate any reading difficulties that might develop. In addition, the principal told her that Cambridge could provide an education superior to that provided by public schools because of its smaller classes, individualized instruction, and highly qualified staff.
As the months passed, Brandon brought home positive progress reports, at least until the fourth-quarter report that he received when he was completing second grade. That report noted that his reading ability was significantly below grade level, and it recommended that he repeat the second grade. The school had not provided his parents with any previous indication that Brandon was having difficulties. Brandon was moved to a public school where he repeated the second grade. His parents sued the school for educational malpractice, misrepresentation, and breach of contract.
A state district court dismissed the case, but the Nevada Supreme Court reversed the dismissal and sent the case back for a trial on the merits of the case. First, the court considered the breach-of-contract claim. The court found that the quality education for which Brandon Squires’ parents contracted was to include certain specified services, such as appropriate individualized reading instruction and adequate diagnostic and remediation services should reading problems develop. The court said that there was enough evidence to support a claim for breach of contract. Second, the court considered the claim of misrepresentation. Since Brandon’s teachers sent progress reports that negligently or knowingly misrepresented that he was not having academic difficulties, the appellants’ claim of misrepresentation is also valid. Because the court determined, on the basis of the first two claims, that there was enough evidence for a trial, it decided that it didn’t need to address the educational malpractice claim.
—Squires v. Sierra Nevada Educational Foundation, Inc., d/b/a Cambridge School, 823 P.2d, 256 (Nev. 1991)
The Bottom Line
What can we learn from this case? The most obvious lesson is not to promise programs and services that can’t be delivered. It is always amazing to thumb through the ACSI directory and see how many of the smaller member schools indicate that they provide special education services. Before your school says that it has specialized reading services or special education services, make sure that you have staff who possess the specialized training to provide those services. In the case above, the principal also taught the first grade but was absent many hours each week to perform administrative duties. Interns and individuals who did not possess specialized training often filled in for the missing teacher or administrator.
No parent should ever be blindsided by a report card. If a child is having problems, bring the parents in for a conference early in the year and devise plans for how the school and the home can work together in helping the child. If there is a need for special education testing outside the school or for parental help with such subjects as math or reading, that information should be a part of the parental meetings.
School administrators may want to adopt a policy in which their approval is required for any messages sent home with report cards if those messages involve any negative news for parents, including indication that retention of the student may be necessary. Not only are timing and transparency of remarks important, but also how remarks are conveyed to parents by the teacher or school is crucial.
Legal Report 12.3