LAKE CITY, Fla. — A local mother says the one thing that her child needs to learn in the classroom is being taken away.
The family is worried about how their deaf son will communicate at school without the help of what they say is a qualified sign language instructor.
The boy been using an interpreter to get along in class, but now the instructor is being sent to a high school instead of helping her son.
Four-year-old Roman Russell looks like any other child. He loves to run and play. He's also deaf.
Roman’s mother, Amanda Russell, said he's been deaf since birth and that he wears implants. She said the Columbia County School District has been pulling his sign language interpreter from Niblack Elementary School since November and sending the teacher to a different school in the afternoons.
Now Russell says the district wants to replace her with someone who isn't fluent in sign language.
"I just want him to live a normal life and have the best of everything I can possibly give him,” Russell said. "I don't want to see that taken away -- someone he has a great rapport with.”
Russell is questioning whether the district is meeting Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Naragansett Smith, assistant superintendent for Columbia County schools, said the district is complying with the ADA, which says public schools must provide effective communication to all individuals with disabilities.
“Parents have opinions, and sometimes some parents' expectations are different from others," Smith said.
Russell said she just wants Roman to have a chance to succeed.
"I just want him to have the best opportunity that I want for all my children," she said.
Russell also said she has hired an attorney and is considering her legal options.
Cox Media Group
