Hot mic picks up Massachusetts school board member insulting parent advocating for disabled student

A hot mic at a Massachusetts school board meeting accidentally picked up a board member calling a father advocating for his autistic son a “pain in the a–” following his impassioned speech.Gaurav Jashnani, a father of a son with autism and ADHD in the Northampton Public Schools District, spoke at a public school board meeting in February to promote the expansion of services for special needs students in the classroom.Despite his full-hearted plea, the concerned dad later learned that his speech seemingly annoyed school board members more than it inspired them when he came across a transcript of the meeting that included their alleged insults.On March 13, he returned to another school committee meeting with a vengeance as he read the transcript of the grievances board members allegedly lobbed at him.Many of the comments were said after Jashnani left the room, according to the transcript obtained by the Boston Globe.The transcript included insults the board allegedly threw at him, including comparing him to a family member who is a “pain in the a–.” He added that the board attempted to find his social media and branded him as “one of those ‘Save Our Schools’ people.”“Concerningly, indicating their prejudice toward my possible political affiliations during a meeting about services for my child.

One of them… casually admits general and systematic non-compliance with IEPs as a norm in our school district,” Jashnani said.He continued to grill the school board over their conduct and the content in the transcript, including claims that the school knowingly “underserve” families and didn’t give students everything they should for an IEP, or an independent education plan, which is allotted to many students who are developmentally behind their peers.‘”We have so many, so many families of kids who need so much more, so much more than we give them.And they don’t know that they can come in and make a fuss,”‘ the board members reportedly...