EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — An attorney with the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation speaks up on pending lawsuit where a family claimed their child with special needs did not receive the proper services .
On Monday night, EVSC says they were made aware of the lawsuit and were looking into it. On Tuesday, Eyewitness News met with legal council to discuss more.
Speaking with Attorney Pat Shoulders for the EVSC, he says this is the first case in his 36 years with the corporation that will go to trial. Under federal law, Shoulders says he cannot speak to the specifics of his lawsuit, but did speak generally about the ongoing dispute.
“I’ll simply tell you that the dispute really is over request for the EVSC to pay for placement out of the home in another state at a boys ranch and we don’t believe the taxpayers of Vanderburgh County need to shoulder that burden when adequate and very good services were being rendered right here in our schools,” says Shoulders.
The family’s lawyer, Catherine Michaels says this is not the case. She says the Indiana Department of Education covers more than 99% of the costs associated with residential placements and speaking of an excess costs fund that the corporation can apply for.