Parent says DMUSD retaliated against her

CAMPAIGN OF SILENCE

Mother of child with disability says Del Mar Union retaliated after she voiced concerns

By Laura Place

DEL MAR — A single mother in the Del Mar Union School District believes administrators are retaliating against her after she was slapped with two restraining orders preventing her from coming within 200 feet of any district campus — including her child’s former school — in response to what she described as advocacy for her child with disabilities.

Both orders — one on behalf of an Ashley Falls Elementary teacher and another on behalf of district administrators Special Education Director Nadine Schick and Student Services Director Jennifer Huh — originally mandated 100 yards of distance from Ashley Falls Elementary School and the district office.

However, by March, Superior Court Judge Richard Whitney had expanded the restrictions to 200 yards from all eight district schools and the district office.

As a result of the restraining orders, Natalie — who requested that her last name be omitted to protect her child’s privacy — was restricted from going to her son’s sixth-grade graduation and school play. While he is no longer in the district as of early June, she is forbidden to go near any district campuses until 2023.

For years, Natalie said she had pushed administrators to provide improved services for her child, who she claims was separated from the general education population at Ashley Falls in violation of a court order. Since third grade, her son has not had a proper Individualized Learning Plan, which districts are required to provide to qualifying students.

In the months before the district went to court, Natalie had made her concerns known by filing two complaints about the district with the U.S. Office of Civil Rights and speaking at two district board meetings accusing them of abusive behavior.

She was surprised when the district’s attorney Daniel Shinoff, of San Diego firm Artiano Shinoff, and eventually the judge in her restraining order cases, characterized these actions as harassment.

“[Judge Whitney] berated me for sending ‘too many emails’ to the school, alleged I harassed staff by asking for ‘too many [Individualized Education Plan] meetings,’ taking up too much of their time, filing complaints against DMUSD to the Board of Trustees, filing complaints with the Office of Civil Rights, all of which is constitutionally protected activity … which in no way can be construed as a threat of violence and in no way could justify the granting of a permanent restraining order,” Natalie

said in a March 29 court filing.

The restraining orders have been granted amid a wave of parents and special education personnel coming forward to expose district administrators’ alleged unethical and illegal practices. A report submitted by the district’s special education staff in March alleges that both Huh and Schick have pressured staff to falsify data and change disability classifications and called for an independent audit of the department.

Ryan Stanley, district assistant superintendent of human resources, said in early June he is investigating the claims shared by special education staff but declined to provide information about how the investigation would be conducted or whether the findings would be shared publicly.

“I take my obligation and responsibility to investigate those allegations seriously,” Stanley said. “What I can tell you is that this dis-

trict has a highly respected track record for educating all students. The special education program is highly regarded for its delivery of services to the neediest of our children.”

When it comes to litigation against Natalie, both Huh and Schick, as well as teacher Caitlin Fallon-McKnight, allege that Natalie harassed them and staff at Ashley Falls to the point of fearing for their safety.

The first restraining order was granted following an incident in November 2021, when administrators claimed Natalie banged aggressively on Fallon-McKnight’s classroom door when she arrived for a parent-teacher conference.

Natalie said she knocked on the door to get Fallon-McKnight’s attention but did not interact with her, and she was instead intercepted by administrators who informed her she did not have a parent-teacher conference at that time.

Superior Court Judge Anthony Campagna granted a temporary restraining order against Natalie on behalf of Fallon-McKnight in December 2021 but rejected a request from Schick for a similar order. Later that month, the case was reassigned to Judge Richard Whitney, who oversaw hearings regarding the possibility of a permanent restraining order.

At this point, Natalie said things only escalated further.

At the time of the temporary order, she said, Campagna communicated that she would not be violating the order by dropping her son off at school. Shinoff denied this ever happened, and in late January, he filed a request for a new restraining order against Natalie preventing her contact with both Schick and Huh, despite them being the principal points of contact for her son’s special education needs and IEP meetings.

During these hearings, Shinoff claimed that Natalie had violated the restraining order by continuing to enter the Ashley Falls parking lot to drop her son off at school and cc’ing Fallon-McKnight on an email to administrators threatening to inform the media about the restraining order.

“It was [Natalie’s] obligation to follow the terms of a temporary restraining order, and she is now required to follow the terms of the permanent injunction,” he said.

Huh testified that the district had sent three Withdrawal of Consent letters forbidding Natalie to enter campus for two weeks between January 2020 and November 2021 after the mother allegedly violated communication boundaries by sending multiple emails to staff in one day, approaching staff at inappropriate times, and entering campus without registering at the front desk.

“I have had several contentious encounters and issues with [Natalie’s] behavior. Her conduct is erratic, unpredictable, aggressive and dangerous, which has grown increasingly more volatile and threatening,” Huh stated in a Jan. 28 declaration supporting the restraining order.

During the March 29 hearing, Whitney cited Natalie’s habit of contacting officials and filing complaints regarding her concerns as examples of her alleged potential for violence, stating in a March 29 filing that she takes it to “the extreme.”

“If it was legitimate, that would be one thing. But to call CPS (Child Protective Services), to contact the district attorney’s office, to file complaints, to file lawsuits, to file actions every time you perceive the teacher or the administration or the counselors are doing something that you don’t think ultimately benefits [your child] — you have that right. There’s no doubt. But you take it to the absolute extreme,” the judge said in a March 29 hearing.

Notably, emails entered into evidence indicate it was the district who contacted the district attorney with concerns about Natalie, and Natalie testified that it was the district who called CPS, not her.

In court filings, Natalie repeatedly claimed that many of the district’s described incidents of harassment were fabricated entirely, such as claims from Fallon-McKnight, Huh and Schick that she hid in bushes on school grounds or followed them to their home.

To her and many other parents, the restraining orders exemplify the district’s willingness to spend thousands of dollars to silence parents who speak out.

“We teach our children

SINGLE MOTHER Natalie attends a hearing on June 14 in Superior Court. The Del Mar parent is the subject of two restraining orders based on claims by Del Mar Union School District administrators Nadine Schick, top right, and Jennifer Huh, bottom right, which she believes are retaliation for advocating on behalf of her child. Main photo by Laura Place/Courtesy photos

We teach our children to speak out for what is wrong, and here these educators are punishing people for defending a child.”

Natalie Parent, Del Mar Union School District

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