Court to Hear Case Against Kanawha School Board

Select City

Charleston Huntington Ashland Ironton Clay Logan Ripley Spencer Sutton Wayne Williamson Paintsville Pikeville Gallipolis Pomeroy Portsmouth

News Features
	John Marra John Marra is WSAZ's gardening expert.
	Recipes See what's cooking in the WSAZ kitchen.
	E-Reporter Submit your pictures or video to WSAZ.
	Charleston's Most Wanted Check out Kanawha Valley's fugitives.
	News Story Dubs Want a copy of a news story? Go here for info.
	Where Are They Now? See what former WSAZers are doing now.
	Dashcam Diaries Outrageous police chases caught on tape.

Most Popular News Stories
1.	UPDATE: Officials Confirm 1 Dead, 1 Burned in Plant Explosion
2.	HPD: 'We believe we have the right person of interest' in Hickman Case
3.	Woman Shot on Charleston's East End
4.	Child Killed in Crash
5.	Troopers Arrest Man on Child Rape Charges
6.	Cabell County Car Dealership Closing
7.	Michigan Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal Beating
8.	Semi-Truck Stuck on Exit Ramp Slows I-64 Traffic
9.	How's Business Around the Hurricane Wal-Mart?
10.	UPDATE: Child Dies After Being Found in Pool

Send us your News and Weather pictures & videos. Click on the pictures to submit

Court to Hear Case Against Kanawha School Board

Save

Posted: 9:15 AM Mar 3, 2008
Last Updated: 9:15 AM Mar 3, 2008
Reporter: WSAZ News Staff
Email Address: news@wsaz.com

14 comments

A | A | A

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a functionally illiterate man who says the Kanawha County school system failed to provide him a proper education.

An attorney for Thomas Sturm says that although Sturm was allowed to graduate from Sissonville High School in 2004, the 21-year-old man can read only on a third-grade level.

The attorney, Mike Clifford, says the school board failed to abide by state and federal laws meant to monitor and protect the rights of students with disabilities. Sturm allegedly suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Kanawha County Judge Tod Kaufman dismissed the 2006 lawsuit last year, saying Sturm didn't exhaust all his administrative remedies.

School board general counsel Jim Withrow says Sturm could have complained about his lack of education and requested a hearing with education officials.

Clifford expects the high court to take up the case this summer.

More Stories
Capito Applauds Female VP Pick for McCain

Marshall Gets $1.3 Million in Rural Health Funding

Woman Killed in Sandy Hook Crash

UPDATE: Store Robbery Suspect Caught on Tape; Couple Arrested

Child Killed in Crash

Ten Inmates Charged in Jail Assault

Kanawha Valley Smog Alert

UPDATE: Officials Confirm 1 Dead, 1 Burned in Plant Explosion

Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Anonymous on Jun 19, 2008 at 02:38 AM
Buck up. Stop blaming others for your mistakes of not applying yourself in school and your parents for not making you.

Posted by: Parent of ADHD kid, too on Mar 5, 2008 at 08:00 AM
I have a son who has ADHD. I took it upon myself to get him diagnosed and help ASAP. He is now in 2nd grade. I monitor his grades, school and home work. I am ACTIVELY INVOLVED. If he has ADHD, obviously the parents got help to get him diagnosed. It takes work, and a lot of it, when you are the parent of a kid w/ADHD. But, we are still the parents, and we are ultimately responsible for him. We read to him, and he reads to us. We find what interests him. If he finds it interesting, then he can stick to it easier. It is a shame that the parents are only teaching their kid to milk the system for all you can get and forget about personal responsibility. When I talk to teachers, they are thankful I am so involved in my son's education. They say that makes all the difference in the world. It is the one's whose parents are not involved that have more problems. Kids will only achieve as much as we believe they can. Teach them to reach for the sky and they will reach for the universe.

Posted by: Jay on Mar 4, 2008 at 04:47 PM
How come the State Department hasn't taken over this county?

Posted by: In the Know on Mar 4, 2008 at 09:34 AM
Hey I think it's great that he is suing! That attorney said he should have complained. Others think the guy waited too long. It's not encouraged but age 21 is the age limit people can still go to school.Well Mr. Attorney, you've never had to deal with the school system over a poorly performing child, have you? I can say this because I had one do well and the other struggled a lot. It was a nightmare getting help with the struggling child. It would have done this boy no good to complain. Our school system has this little system in place that they don't want the general public to know about. Basically lets students who struggle and don't do well, trickle down, right outta school. Quietly. No fuss, no muss - isn't that right school board? Officials pass the buck, and cite "we could be sued" for darn near anything they "claim to not be able to do". Take this chance to fix your issues Kanawha County School Board. Show people that it is never too late to learn something valuable

Posted by: EYETEECH on Mar 4, 2008 at 08:42 AM
It is unfortunate that many people want to place the blame on the educational system. Being a former teacher, we were blamed by many if the child, school, county, or state did not meet the standards of the TEST. It is always easier to point fingers toward those in the educational field. If this child had an IEP, then there were meetings, observations, and updates about the progress or lack of progress for the child. Parents, teachers, specialists, and the parents are part of this procedure. It is sad a child graduates from high school reading on a third grade level, but all students do not have the same capabilities. Many teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to try and reach every child. Sadly, we can not reach that ultimate goal of all students being on the same level when graduating. Students have different capabilities, hence the level of learning is different. This is one of the reasons for students to have an IEP - this helps them to be successful at their level.

Posted by: Moe on Mar 4, 2008 at 08:39 AM
I believe you actually have to work at anything to accomplish it. This person evidently didn't try hard enough or parents did not watch closely enough. The school system cannot simply pour the information into someone, the individual has to put forth the effort to learn the material that is given them. So, in my opinion (and incidently I do not have a very high opinion of our school system)this case should not waste tax payers dollars in a court system that is already overloaded with frivalous lawsuits.

Posted by: Former Teacher on Mar 3, 2008 at 09:35 PM
It disgusts me that someone would be able to do this. If there's a problem, address while it can be corrected. Don't wait until years later to try to do something about it. Some people will do anything for money!!

Posted by: Charles on Mar 3, 2008 at 09:12 PM
I'm shocked to see this story today of all day's;see I'm having simaliar problem's with my son'e school system,he's only in 1st grade but has been thru 3 diffrent school system's now,and they keep shuffling him around,he has a form of Austism called Asperger's and he's ADHD as well so he's pretty hyper but he's on medicine to help control his behavior and is seeing a thearpist,I've done all that I know to do including calling all kind's of school meeting's which usually lead's to daed end's,and now I'm being threatened by the school that they will press charges against my son for asultt if he keep's this behavior up.I'm doing all I can to contorl his behavior but it get's out of control at school for some reason,does anyone out there know what else I should do to help my 7 year old lil boy?Any suggestion's would help,I take no offence to critisim but I want help not trouble,so please let me know what can help if you'd know any thing.I can be reached at charles45658@yahoo.com

Posted by: Fred on Mar 3, 2008 at 07:56 PM
Stop blaming the schools for your mistakes. I bet you were happy to graduate back in 2004. Why the change of heart all of a sudden? You just can't polish a turd.

Posted by: ME on Mar 3, 2008 at 06:16 PM
YOUR KIDDING ME RIGHT? YOU WAITED 4 YEARS TO DO THIS.. AND WHY WASNT THE PARENTS FIGHTING IF U COULD ONLY READ A 3RD GRADE LEVEL (BEFORE YOU GRADUATED) NOT 4 YEARS AFTER. YOU KNOW I AM REALY SORRY THAT YOU ARENT ABLE TO READ THAT WELL BUT COME ON, YOU AND YOUR PARENTS SHOULDIVE FOUGHT ALONG TIME AGO.

Posted by: Anon. on Mar 3, 2008 at 02:18 PM
My question would be did this student have a labeled disablity? If so then it is virtually impossible to have a child fail because the parents will claim it is not the childs fault and they need to be passed to the next level, so we don't hurt their confidence. Then when the child makes it to middle and high school the parent expects the teacher to read the test to the student. And the student sees his parents acting like this so he says"I don't need to do any work because it will be done for me". It is about time people take responsiblity for their own problems and stop trying blame and live off hard working tax-payers.

Posted by: James on Mar 3, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Where were the parents? Did they not have a role in the child's education. Sounds like it was easier to blame the school system rather than take responsibility for one's own child. Another "let's blame someone else and sue" situation. Just another case where it's a 'lets have children and have everyone else raise them'.

Posted by: english teacher on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Newspapers are written for a fifth grade level because that is where most Americans' reading skills are. If this man is at a third grade level and he has disabilities, I don't think he is too far off the mark from where most people are. The No Child Left Behind Act mandates that after a student fails a grade twice, they MUST be passed on the next grade level regardless of their aptitude. How can teachers be held accountable for passing a failing student who hasn't mastered the skills when they are required by law to do so?

Posted by: skool on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:48 AM
It's sad, but most teachers pass these ADHD kids to the next grade so they won't have to deal with them the next year. They did the same when I went to school, but ADHD had not been identified yet. They were just considered unruly or hard to deal with.

There are currently no active polls at this time.
Click here to view other polls on our site and past poll results.