Mom wants answers after son with special needs found wandering alone after suburban school walkout

WEST DUNDEE, Ill. (WLS) — A mother says she just wants answers after she found her son with special needs wandering miles away from his school when he was supposed to be in class. “I don’t feel safe. I’m just scared to go back. Something could happen . again,” sixth-grader Richard Harley said. ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch Harley, 11, says he doesn’t want to go back to class after he was found wandering, scared and alone, miles away from school grounds after a student-led walkout protesting U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “They were supposed to stay there, like on 72 by the school. But they did the exact opposite and went much farther, and no one even knew how far they were going,” Harley said. “I was like the last one; so like, I was all alone.” The incident happened Tuesday morning at Dundee Middle School in the far northwest suburb, where the sixth-grader is a student. His mother says she was not notified about the walkout and, because her son has special needs and an Individualized Education Program, takes issue with him being allowed to leave campus without supervision or parental authorization. “Why didn’t I get a notification that he was tardy or absent for that matter? Why didn’t they even bother calling in?” mother Alexa Blasdell said. Blasdell says her son didn’t understand what the walkout was about and merely went along with the other students when they went outside. She says the protest turned dangerous for Harley, when he couldn’t keep up with the other kids, who were marching along Main Street and Route 72-Higgins Road. Blasdell says her son called her in a panic. RELATED: Aurora, Lakeview students join Chicago-area school walkouts to protest immigration enforcement “He said, ‘you just need come pick me up. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m very scared,'” Blasdell said. Blasdell says she called police, but was able to locate her son through his cellphone about 10 minutes later, near the busy intersection of 72 and Randall Road. “It’s not right because my kid is supposed to be safe in school. And if they can’t keep my kid safe, then they need to take accountability for that,” Blasdell said. The 34-year-old mother of three is now faced with possibly having to home school her son or find another school for him. Blasdell says, in light of what happened, she’s considering legal action against the school district. District 300 Superintendent Martina Smith said in a statement “the safety and well-being of every student and staff member is our highest priority.” The district continued on to say, “District 300 takes all concerns raised by our families seriously and reviews every situation with great care. “In advance of last week’s student-organized protest, school administration took deliberate, proactive steps to ensure parents were informed and the school campus remained secure. On February 13, five days prior to the walkout, families were notified that students had expressed interest in a peaceful protest. This advance notice was provided so families could be informed and discuss expectations with their children well ahead of the event. “Safety was top of mind throughout the district’s planning. To ensure a secure environment, the school increased staff presence across the campus and maintained constant communication with local law enforcement before and during the event. “District 300 respects students’ First Amendment rights and balances those rights with our responsibility to maintain a safe learning environment. On the day of the event, school leadership explicitly urged students to remain on campus. This included providing an established supervised safety zone around the building to ensure that all students, including those with individualized education plans (IEPs), could participate in a secure and accessible environment. “Despite these supervised options, some students chose to leave campus without authorization. While student privacy laws prevent us from discussing individual circumstances, District 300 remains committed to ensuring our practices consistently reflect our high standards for student support and safety.”.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/mother-wants-answers-son-special-needs-found-wandering-alone-dundee-middle-school-ice-walkout-protest/18622333/