Girl back in school after family, district clash

Nursing care for Leilani Gutierrez, a 7-year-old who was paralyzed in a car crash when she was 4, was at the center of the dispute.The legal battle over Leilani Gutierrez -- the quadriplegic student whose family withdrew her from Newport Heights Elementary School in May -- ended this week as she returned to class with her wishes granted.

The 7-year-old second-grader, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 2002, has been at home for much of the year while her family fought with the district about her nursing services. Early this month, family attorney Kathleen Loyer reached an agreement with the district -- and the agreement, by and large, came out in Leilani’s favor.

“Obviously, we think that’s a good result,” Loyer said. “It was painful getting there. It wasn’t an easy process, and I don’t think it should have happened. We shouldn’t have had to enter litigation for the child to go to school, but I’m glad we got through it without having to go to a full-blown trial.”

In spring, Leilani’s family filed a hearing request with the state department of education, saying that the Newport-Mesa Unified School District had violated Leilani’s needs by reassigning her to a new nurse. The district argued that Leilani had missed too many days of school due to her nurses, employed by Maxim Health Care, being unavailable.

When Newport-Mesa administrators insisted that Leilani accept the services of a district-hired nurse, her mother, June Gutierrez, withdrew her from school and filed for a hearing. Eventually, Loyer resolved the case with the district through mediation. Leilani attended school Monday for the first time in five months.

“I wasn’t surprised,” June Gutierrez said. “I knew that through having patience and doing the right thing and proving my point, that it would either be resolved or it wouldn’t.

“Everyone is just really happy. Everyone on campus has welcomed her back with open arms.”

Under the mediation agreement, which Loyer would not describe in detail, Leilani may retain her Maxim nurses at Newport Heights. Her family, when filing with the state in May, said the nurses were essential because they had worked with Leilani for years and understood her condition.

Last year, in Leilani’s annual district-authorized plan for special-education services, Newport-Mesa ruled that Leilani should stay with her longtime nurses, but added that it would reconsider the decision if the nurses caused Leilani to miss too many days of school. After Leilani stayed home five days due to lack of an available nurse, the district ordered a reassignment.

According to June Gutierrez, the district gave her the choice of accepting the new nurse or removing Leilani from school, and she opted for the latter. During the months that Leilani was gone, her mother picked up her homework assignments for her.

Newport Heights principal Kurt Suhr was not available for comment Thursday, but administrative assistant Jacque Galitski said of Leilani, “We’re glad that she’s here.”

The week was special for Leilani in another way: Thursday, she accompanied her class to the Irvine Barclay Theatre to see “Alexander, Who’s Not Going to Move.” According to her family, it was the first field trip she had ever been on; past trips hadn’t had wheelchair access.

“She is one happy kid,” her grandmother, Vicki Gutierrez, said.

Since a car accident left her paralyzed at age 4, Leilani has remained in the public eye -- and has been an inspirational figure to many.

Sunday, her family will host the fourth annual Walk for Leilani, in which participants walk to raise funds for Leilani’s treatment, at Fairview Park. At last year’s event, the Redman Power Chair company in Tucson presented her with a new, state-of-the-art wheelchair.

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or by e-mail at michael.miller@latimes.com.

20051014ifzlp7kfDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Leilani Gutierrez gets h help from nurse Jayne McCandless. The Gutierrezes recently settled their dispute with Leilani’s school.