A Seminole County father, who is running for a school board seat, is protesting after Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) filed a federal lawsuit to overturn a judge’s order granting his special needs son one-on-one medical care.
David A. White, who is in running for the District 2 school board seat, protested the school board’s decision to litigate alongside supporters and family, outside of the SCPS Educational Support Center on March 11. Among supporters was Longwood city commissioner and former mayor Matt Morgan.
At the protest, White said that his son Hayden, who attends Wicklow Elementary, was “ignored by Seminole County Public Schools officials” on multiple occasions.
On one occasion, White said that Hayden, who has autism and cerebral palsy and is self-injurious and nonverbal, was hurting himself for over 20 minutes while being ignored by his bus driver and monitor.
“The district never tried to report [the bus incident],” White said. “I had to bring it to the district’s attention.”
An earlier lawsuit filed by David A. White on behalf of Hayden was ruled in favor of the family this January, with judge Sara M. Marken ordering SCPS to “provide a one-on-one nurse to assist [Hayden] within 30 days.”
On February 28, White’s attorney was served with the school board’s federal complaint to overturn that order, which is still active. The federal complaint also demands White cover SCPS’s legal costs.
After the protest, Hayden’s supporters spoke during an agenda item for the county’s Progression Plan at the SCPS school board meeting on March 11.
Commissioner Matt Morgan attempted to speak on the federal lawsuit but was ordered to stop commenting on “personal complaints or litigation against the district.”
“We have the world’s most cowardly school board members,” Morgan said after the meeting.
“You can stop this nonsense right away and not sue this… undefensible 8-year-old boy.”
White says this protest is “not about [his] candidcacy.”
“If board members truly believe they can suppress this from the public, they should fire the Superintendent, remove the district’s attorney, and resign themselves,” White said.
“Families will not stand for this any longer.”
The SCPS school board declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
