Ex-student wins suit over mistaken special-needs status
July 17, 2018
A German court ruled Tuesday that Nenad M. was entitled to receive compensation from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) after being wrongfully sent to a special-needs school.
The district court in Cologne heard how the 21-year-old spent almost 11 years in special needs schools. He is seeking more than €30,000 ($35,000) in damages for lost training and work opportunities. The court has yet to decide how much he should be awarded.
Read more: Former student sues over special-needs classification
False diagnosis
Nenad was first identified as needing special developmental support in Bavaria in 2005. He spoke little German because his parents, originally from Serbia, communicated mainly in Romani at home.
According to broadcaster WDR, teachers gave him an IQ test without an interpreter present and determined that he should go to a special-needs school. When Nenad's family moved to Cologne in NRW, educators there reached the same conclusion.
It wasn't until he was almost 18 that Nenad managed to switch to a vocational college and get his high school diploma. In 2016 he filed a lawsuit against NRW.
Read more: Inclusion of special needs children on the upswing in German schools
An expert witness told the court that many mistakes had been made during the young man's schooling, including the fact that teachers didn't conduct a fresh IQ test.
Not an isolated case
The Cologne parents' association, Mittendrin, which supported Nenad's lawsuit, said in a statement that it welcomed the verdict.
"Nenad's story is not an isolated case," chairwoman Eva-Maria Thoms said. "We know other special-needs students who have had a similar experience."
Nenad is currently working as a temp in a supermarket and wants to train to become a retail salesman, according to WDR.
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