Family files suit against Lee County Schools in bullying case

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- A parents’ desperate plea and a Lee County student confined to his home; doctors blame bullying and the family says the district won’t do anything to help. The parents and their attorney have now filed a 504 complaint under the Rehabilitation Act.

“The bullying was terrible and we all agree to that, but it was what happened with the school administration not doing anything for him, not helping him,” said Stephen Parsons, Matthew’s father.

Matthew used to attend Cypress Lake Middle School where he was under an Individual Education Plan because he has cerebral palsy and Asperger’s. His parents say he was a victim of continuous bullying. They went to their son’s teachers, principal and even the school board. After numerous meetings, they say nothing happened.

Since 2013, Matthew’s parents have been fighting to help get him back in public school.

“We’re not the type of people to go running to lawyers. We had to hire an attorney to get anything out of the school,” said Parsons.

Matthew now attends virtual school. His mother says they’ve spent thousands on a private tutor.

“Matthew wants to go to school. We want Matthew to go to school. His doctors don’t think he’s ready for school, but we want him in school and he wants to be there,” said Erin Parsons, Matthew’s mother.

The district has tried twice to get a judge to dismiss the case. Each time the judge denied that.

The Parsons’ lawyer, Matthew Trail, says under state statutes, there are guidelines schools must follow if bullying is identified.

“They’re supposed to document, write reports of what’s going on and none of that happened in this case. They didn’t document it, they didn’t offer any services, and Matthew suffered as a result of it,” said Trail.

Now the school district is trying to appeal to a federal judge to dismiss the case. WINK News reached out to the district but they said they could not comment.

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