‘Fighting parents rather than educating children’: Couple sue Colorado district for refusing to accommodate special-needs daughter

A Colorado couple are suing their school district for denying special education services to their disabled daughter.

Victoria Broyles is 10 years old and requires in-home education due to a variety of medical issues, including spina bifida, hydrocephalus, chronic respiratory failure and central hypoventilation syndrome. 

“Since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year Victoria has had ZERO educational instruction under her IEP [individualized education program] because Academy District 20 refuses to educate her in a way that is individualized to Victoria,” her father Ronnie Broyles wrote on GoFundMe.

Despite the major health risks, Academy District 20 has told the Broyles that Victoria must either be in school “all day or she gets no services and no education.”

“She deserves to be treated like any other child,” her father told local media. “It got to the point where we had no choice; we had to file a lawsuit to make the district comply. She is entitled to an education that is individualized to her based on her individual needs.”

The family’s attorney, Igor Raykin, says the district is notorious for violating special education requirements.

“District 20 only has about one-tenth the students of the three biggest school districts that I sue, yet I sue District 20 more often than those other three school districts combined,” the attorney said.

The district, the father argues, “prefers to spend its tax dollars on fighting parents who have children with special needs rather than educating them.” 

Previous complaints about District 20 inspired a state investigation, but the Colorado Department of Education concluded the problem was a lack of staffing, not district policy.  

The Broyles’ lawsuit is expected to go to trial.  

Sadly, the case isn’t unique, as public schools nationwide are failing their special needs students. In one West Virginia county, it was estimated two-thirds of disabled students weren’t receiving their IEP-mandated services – even though funding was plentiful.  

Nor is it unheard of for schools to retaliate against parents who are trying to advocate for their child.