By:Jonann Brady
Rafalowitz, who is now 21 and two credits shy of a Regents diploma from Baldwin High School, says he was the victim of almost constant harassment and abuse from other students and even teachers on occasion.
Rafalowitz says other students called him names (their favorite being "Mankind," the nickname of a professional wrestler), threw gum in his hair, spat on him and drew nasty pictures of him that they hung up in classrooms. Some students even displayed his photo and derogatory comments on a student-created Web site, which featured violent images, links to porn sites and images and gossip about other people in school.
Rafalowitz says he was also routinely humiliated in class, sometimes even by teachers, and that the abuse occasionally grew into violence and sexual harassment, like when a group of boys flashed their genitals at him or came up to him in the hallway and pinched his nipples.
"It's just a matter of time before there are Columbine types of situations in almost every school," Rafalowitz said.
What's worse, he and his parents say, district administrators did little to address the bullying, and even punished Rafalowitz several times when he responded to student abuse.
A spokesperson at the school said the district could not comment on the Rafalowitzes' allegations.
After hearing about the lawsuit brought against the district by Dr. Mark Lerner, who treated Lee at the school, the Rafalowitzes said they were ready to speak out about their son's ordeal and their legal battles with the district.
Rafalowitz is smart and articulate, with a keen sense of humor, but at an early age he was diagnosed with behavioral problems and learning disabilities, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dysphasia (which means he has trouble writing) and a seizure disorder.
His has had problems with his peers, compounded by side effects from medications like Ritalin. But Rafalowitz and his parents say the real problems began in high school, when he was placed in special-education classes in ninth grade.
Rafalowitz, who has an IQ in the 120 range, found the classes boring, and his mother, Nesslene, insisted he be put in regular classes. Although Lee had an aide work with him and passed his classes, the abuse escalated.
His parents say they were rarely informed about Lee's problems in school, even when he was suspended. "I don't know half of what went on," said Nesslene. "We'd find out about things weeks or months later."
She says she requested an occupational therapist and other services for Lee, which he never received.
Around this time, Lee began visiting Lerner, the school psychologist, whom Lee and his parents feel was his only real ally in the school. Lerner confirmed that he worked with Rafalowitz, but said he was not allowed to talk about specific students because of his own impending lawsuit.
The Rafalowitzes say that Lerner made several recommendations that Lee be transferred out of Baldwin High altogether, but the recommendations were ignored.
"[The district] would like to hide everything," said Nesslene. "Dr. Lerner had to keep everything confidential, and was forced not to tell parents."
Over the years, the Rafalowitzes say, they asked for several meetings with the Committee on Special Education in order to get services for Lee. Nesslene contends that the family and the district came to a verbal agreement several times, but later the plan would change when it was put into writing.
On Sept. 13, 2002, the Rafalowitzes were granted an impartial hearing by the CSE to ask that Lee be transferred to another school and receive individual psychotherapy. The family keeps a box of bound transcripts from the state hearing, which detail Lee's problems in the school and include testimony from Superintendent Dr. Kathy Weiss and former Baldwin High School principal Jeff Hollman.
The hearing, say the Rafalowitzes, was dragged out for nearly a year and a half, until last Feb. 23, when the hearing officer, Richard Thaler, ruled against the family's requests. By that time Lee had turned 21 and had aged out of the system. He had been out of school for 21 months, and now, just two classes short of a Regents degree, he has no plans of going back to finish. "I couldn't go back there," he said of Baldwin High. "I can't even walk into that place to vote."
This June, the family filed an appeal with the state to overturn the CSE's decision. While the Rafalowitzes say they want to get Lee the services he needs, the real issue is that administrators did not deal with the abuse he faced day in and day out.
"The problem is they never really addressed the bullying. That would have made it better," said Nesslene. "It's just years and years of hell this kid has gone through."
Her son added, "You can't concentrate when that's going on."
Lee will turn 22 on Sept. 11, and he has no job, no high school diploma and no solid prospects. But with allegations surfacing against the school by Lerner and others, Rafalowitz said he is ready to tell his story. "I want to see everyone of those [school] officials not working at a school anywhere," he said. "I want legislators to make laws so this won't happen anymore."
