A special education teacher in Burke County claims he was targeted, bullied and eventually fired for being a “squeaky wheel” and pointing out irregularities, and even illegality, occurring in the school system.
Jeff Crouch, who holds a doctorate degree and has more than 20 years experience, acknowledged that he filed the suit but asked that any statements on the record be made by his attorney, Jeff Peil.
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According to Peil, the first instance was when the parent of a special needs child demanded that an outside “consulting firm” be brought in to assist with her child’s needs. The firm in question also employed the parent of the child in question.
Since the consulting firm would be in charge of assigning grades to the student, they would need someone with credentials, such as Crouch, to sign off on the grades given.
In other words, according to Peil, Crouch was told that the child would be taught by the consultants, and he would have to sign his name to the report card.
Crouch refused, and later found that his pay had been cut.
Administrators assured Crouch that his name would not appear on any documents involving the child, but a follow-up inspection at the registrar’s office showed that the grades for the child had been logged into the system under Crouch’s name.
The lawsuit claims that Crouch took that matter, as well as other instances where he believed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was being violated, all the way up the chain of command to Superintendent Angela Williams, who, after consulting with the school board’s attorney, James Hyder, fired Crouch in violation of the Georgia Whistleblower Act, O.C.G.A. § 45-1-4.
According to the lawsuit, the Burke County School Board “retaliated against Dr. Crouch for objecting to or refusing to participate in activities, policies, or practices of BCPSD that Dr. Crouch had reasonable cause to believe were in violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation, namely the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.”
The lawsuit asks the court for a jury trial and for compensatory damages; however, Peil says his client’s motivation is to protect the special needs students from further violations of the law and to get his good reputation back.
“We are talking about a veteran educator without a blemish on his record being fired for simply bringing this matter to the attention of his superiors. They fired him and then sought to cover it all up,” Peil said.
When reached by telephone, Hyder said that he does not comment on pending litigation.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
