- May 16, 2024
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Lawyers have filed an administrative complaint against Flagler Schools on the behalf of Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School special education student who is facing 30 years for attacking a school paraprofessional.
Depa’s lawyers — Stephanie Langer of Langer Law in Miami and Maria Cammarata of Cammarata & Cammarata in Fort Lauderade, special education and disability lawyers — filed the complaint with the district and the Florida Board of Education. The complaint, sent to the Observer by Langer, alleges that the school system failed to adequately provide for Depa’s needs as a special education student, as provided for under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“It's frustrating to see kids like him who have these identified disabilities … being allowed to exist in the school district school buildings without getting the proper supports and services," Langer said.
Langer said the complaint will go through the Department of Administrative Hearings and be decided upon by a judge, if it is not settled between the parties ahead of the final hearing. Depending on the outcome of the judge's ruling and if a party appeals that decision, the case could possibly then go on to federal court.
“That ending was different, but the trajectory of what happened is what is pretty common."
— STEPHANIE LANGER, Langer Law
As of April 30, Langer said the complaint is seeking compensatory education for Depa. But Depa's sentencing, she said, could change that request.
Depa, 18, was 17 at the time of incident and charged as an adult with aggravated battery on an educational employee and will be sentenced on May 1 at the Flagler County courthouse. Surveillance video of the February 2023 incident showed Depa knocking paraprofessional Joan Naydich unconscious, stomping on her and punching her repeatedly.
He was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at a pretrial hearing in March 2023 by Circuit Judge Terrance Perkins, the judge presiding over the case. In a second pretrial hearing that May, Depa’s defense lawyer, Kurt Teifke, asked the court for the competency hearing.
Depa entered an open plea in October, leaving sentencing in the hands of Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, according to court records. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Langer said, in her experience, it is pretty common that school systems fail students with disabilities in some capacity, either by not providing the support services the student needs .
“That ending was different," Langer said, "but the trajectory of what happened is what is pretty common."
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal civil rights law that is meant to ensure all students with disabilities are provided education in a way that is designed to meet their unique needs, according to information from the U.S. Department of Education. Langer said districts are required to meet that on an academic level, but also on communication — or behavioral — social and emotional levels.
Schools that receive federal funding must comply with the IDEA, she said. The complaint said that the plan the school district had in place was not sufficient, nor were the support services in place, Depa's placement in the school nor that the staff training was sufficient.
"And this student [Depa] had deficits in communication, social, emotional, as well as independent functioning," she said.
The Flagler County school district did not address his needs on those levels, Langer said. When the Observer reached out to Flagler County Schools Communication Coordination Don Foley, he said the school district does not have any comment at this time.
The goal is to have kids who graduate school who are functioning independent as much as they can be ... and being productive members of our communities in our society."
— STEPHANIE LANGER, Langer Law
"The IDEA is broader than just academics," Langer said. "The goal is to have kids who graduate school who are functioning independent as much as they can be ... and being productive members of our communities in our society."
The filed complaint is completely separate from the criminal case, she said, now does it in any way negate or excuse what Depa did. But Langer said she believes if Depa's disabilities had been adequately provided for by the district, the incident might not have happened in the first place.
“I feel like it was preventable and avoidable,” she said.
