Tuition reimbursement dispute with private school.

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We withdrew our child ten days after the date stated by her private school for full tuition refund. We withdrew her based on a long history of poor communication from teachers and administrators and their failure to provide fundamental support and services to her and us they promise all students and parents. My daughter was also offered controlled substances on school grounds that could have caused her great harm. When we received her final report card ten days after the withdrawal date, something we find ethically and legally suspect , we realized the school had not upheld any of its promises to keep us informed of her progress or to give her the services supposedly offered to all students. The reason we withdrew her late was because we did not have ANY information or contact from teachers that we needed to make an informed and responsible decision about her re-enrollment. Now the school claims we owe them the entire tuition (30k) for the coming year's tuition. They have absolutely stonewalled us, zero communication, despite the very serious nature of our claims. They have falsely accused us of cancelling meetings (which their administrator actually did) and withholding critical information that they needed to investigate our claims (they wanted my child to tell them who offered her drugs and she was afraid to), They have given us no explanation for their failure to serve our child, their seeming ambivilence toward their own educational promises, or their repeated failure to control the drug/alcohol problem in the school. Without ever notifying us of their unilateral decision regarding our request for reimbursement of what we had already paid on a billing plan, to our claims, they sent the bill to collection as if nothing had happened. It's been absolutely unbelievable. Because of their complete failure to uphold anything they promised in their official materials or to us personally, our daughter has had to suffer immensely and leave her high school after only one year. She ended up being treated for anxiety and depression, and was finally diagnosed with ADHD - something I had asked them to monitor for an entire year - which they didn't. She is now thriving and doing incredibly well in another school, but they wasted 3 years of her life due to not fulfilling their basic responsibilities. We don't have endless funds to pursue this legally, and I think they know that. Is there anything we can do? Please, all advice is appreciated. PS: During the week between the withdrawal date and the day we actually sent the withdrawl letter, we had three critical family accidents that the school knew of. They knew that during the days between, we were sitting in emergency rooms and critical care. Didn't matter to them either.

Attorney Answer

1
Victor Medina ·
Unfortunately, there are limited remedies available when it comes to private schools. Unlike public schools, there are no statutory requirements for what they have to provide to students by way of education and failure to identify and make accommodations for special needs is not something that private (or independent, as they like to be called) schools are responsible for. Regarding the tuition charge, it's hard to say one way or the other unless I know more about the contract you sign. Most contracts are structured such that any money paid is refundable up until a certain date in June or sometimes February of the year before. Almost all of them give you the opportunity to participate in a tuition insurance (which almost no one does) as a way to guard against early withdrawal or cancellation. Your only avenue of recourse is likely whether the school itself paid for the tuition cancellation insurance. If they did, and they received payment from the insurance company for your "spot" - they're likely obligated to return, or forgive, the amount tuition you were supposed to pay. You have rights under the consumer Fair Debt Collection Practice Act that probably in play here, and you should explore those vis a vis this collection agency. Good luck -
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