Disability & Education Rights Public Record Node

This node is the Disability & Education Rights anchor for the Civil Memory project. It exists because what happened to me in Surry County is not an isolated story — it is part of a pattern disabled students face across the United States.

Here, I map the core protections disabled students are supposed to have against what actually happened in my case, and then link you straight into the underlying documentation.

• For families & advocates: use this as a starting map when systems stonewall or erase you.
• For officials & professionals: treat this as a mirror of where policy and practice break apart.

Disabled students are supposed to be protected by overlapping federal laws. In practice, those protections often depend on whether gatekeepers honor the paperwork, the timelines, and the truth.

• Access to education: schools must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE), with services and accommodations tailored to the student’s disability — not to the district’s convenience.
• Equal treatment & non-retaliation: you cannot be punished, stigmatized, or pushed out of school for requesting accommodations, medical absences, or accurate records.
• Records & narratives: you have the right to access your education records, request corrections, and challenge entries that are inaccurate, misleading, or violate your rights.
• Communication & participation: families and students have the right to be heard — in meetings, in writing, and in public forums — without being blocked or silenced for raising concerns.

This page is not legal advice. It is a public record and rights map informed by lived experience, federal guidance, and ongoing complaints.

My Educational Harm Portfolio documents years of disability discrimination, records obstruction, and systemic neglect involving Surry County Schools — including failures around 504 protections, access to records, and retaliation for asserting my rights.

When schools or agencies ignore you, it’s easy to feel like the story ends there. It doesn’t. You can start building your own record — even when institutions won’t cooperate.

• 1
  Write everything down. Keep a dated log of meetings, calls, emails, refusals, and promises. Include who was present and what was said.
• 2
  Request your records in writing. Ask for complete education records, including emails, notes, and attachments — and keep proof of when you asked.
• 3
  Save the paper trail. Screenshots, letters, portals, and even social media decisions can all become part of your evidence map.
• 4
  Know where to escalate. Depending on your situation, that may include the U.S. Department of Education (OCR, SPPO), state education agencies, or disability rights organizations.