Desert Messenger

May 7, 2014 www.DesertMessenger.com 5 Order Online or Call Pick up at Al's RV Park BREADS~MUFFINS & BUNDTS Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Cinnamon Swirl -- Pumpkin Spice Banana Nut --- Oatmeal Raisin Hawaiian Delight - Blueberry Cranberry Pumpkin & Pecan Cranberry Banana Nut Lemon Poppy -- RaisIn Bran Bran -- Apple Spice Buttermilk Nut -- Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut BREADS AND ROLLS German Sourdough Rye --Sourdough Whole Wheat, White and Cinnamon Raisin OLD FASHION FUDGE Creamy Chocolate Fudge Chocolate Pecan Fudge Nutty Peanut Butter Fudge Creamy Peanut Butter Fudge Maple Walnut Fudge Butter Pecan Fudge White Macadamia Fudge Peppermint Swirl Fudge ALL NATURAL HOME MADE DOGGY BISCUITS All Natural & Healthy for your pet Roasted Chicken & Cheese Braised Beef & Cheese Chicken, Beef & Cheese Vegetable & Cheese COMING SOON Fresh Baked Yeast Breads -ORDER ONLINE - Pickup or Free Delivery www.EastSideBreadery.com Just click on the tab MENU to order or Call 719-649-1250 East Side Breadery 928-927-6715 2014 - 2015 Calendar of Events submissions wanted Attention Quartzsite groups, clubs, and organizations. We are starting to compile the 2014-2015 Calendar of Events. Please email dates/times/loca- tion/contact information to Editor@DesertMessenger.com. or Call 928-916-4235. www.DesertMessenger.com and www.VisitQuartzsite.com Pattie's RV Park OPEN YEAR-ROUND! LARGE LOTS! 455 E. Main St., Quartzsite Walk to shopping! ~ Laundromat ~ RO Water ~ Thrift Shop ~ Delights Gifts & Antiques 928-927-4223 - PROPANE SALES - Open 7 days/week 7am-5pm Pets & Children Welcome! Across from McDonald's • Quartzsite NEED CASH? Jim Buys GOLD! Broken Jewelry, Old Teeth, Coins, Nuggets, etc. 1240 W. Main Street Just Rambling... Provided by Elmer London, Quartzsite and Desert Messenger Saturday, the day before Easter, I attended the children's Egg Hunt. There's nothing more satisfying than helping or viewing an egg hunt.. Especially Tiny Tots running, falling down, getting back on their feet, then going at it once again. It's a gathering no one should miss. Grownups and children mingling Parents claim retaliation by school By Shanana Rain Golden-Bear QUARTZSITE, AZ - At least two fami- lies in Quartzsite fi led Due Process Complaints against the Quartzsite El- ementary School for violating the laws relating to educating students with dis- abilities. Immediately following these fi lings, the school allegedly called Child Pro- tected Services (CPS) on these fami- lies. According to parents involved, on April 26th a local family used up about 8 hours of a CPS worker's time, being investigated for allegations that were fi led using confi dential information that could have only been known from sensitive medical information the fam- ily shared when requesting that one of their children be evaluated for special education services. CPS determined the allegations were unsubstantiated. "Retaliating against a parent who ex- ercised their right to fi le a complaint is a civil rights violation," said Carrollynn Henshaw, local parent and advocate for families with special needs children. "I was informed, by the school board, that since Superintendent Jacque Price has hired an attorney involved in han- dling complaints against the district, ALL complaints are going straight to the attorney, instead of going to the Board fi rst as stated in the policy hand- book," Henshaw stated. U.S. Department of Education's Offi ce of Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing several civil rights laws, in- cluding Section 504. OCR becomes in- volved in disability issues within a school district when it receives complaints from parents, students, or advocates. Section 594 is an anti-discrimina- tion statute in the educational system, prohibiting districts from discrimating against qualifi ed students with deis- abilities on the basis of their disability. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which is enforced by the OCR, states that: "504 prohibits recipients or other persons from intimidating, threaten- ing, coercing or discriminating against any individual for the purpose of in- terfering with any right or privilege secured by Section 504, or because the individual has made a complaint, tes- tifi ed, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under Section 504.34 C.F.R. 100.7(e)." One of the protected activi- ties under Section 504 is advocacy, and retaliation is prohibited if you advocate for your child. When OCR fi nds that a district failed to comply with Section 540, the district has the opportunity to enter into a vol- untary resolution agreement, including revisions of policies, additional train- ing, development of policies and pro- cedures and monitoring. If the district refuses to enter an agreement, OCR may institute proceedings to suspend, terminate or refuse to grant Federal as- sistance to that district. OCR may also refer the case to the Department of Jus- tice for further action. Retaliation against parents for advo- cating on behalf of their special needs children with their school district is an unpleasant topic. the internet is fi lled with stories of parents who claim their school districts have reported them to child protective services, fi led truancy charges against them, or had restrain- ing orders imposed on them, all as the result of their advocacy on behalf of their children. Anyone who believes that he or she has been intimidated or retaliated against should fi le a complaint with OCR. For more information contact Henshaw at Chenshaw5@gmail.com. Check out the Facebook Group:http://www.facebook. com/ConcernedParentsOfQuartzsiteS- choolDistrict4

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