(Greg Groogan/KRIV 26 News)
A Texas special education hearing officer resigned after being caught on camera, sleeping during testimony critical to a disabled teenager’s future.
Word of the resignation came just hours after Larry Craddock e-mailed FOX 26 News to decline comment on video, still pictures and witness affidavits that would be included in a report scheduled for the 5 p.m. show.
“It was not short little naps. He was actually sleeping for extended periods of time,” said Myrna Silver, an education attorney representing the North Texas student involved in the case.
In Texas, when the parents of special needs children disagree with the way their public school is educating their kid and efforts at compromise fail, there is often only one recourse to settle the dispute. It’s called “Due Process”, an educational court proceeding in which a state-appointed hearing officer listens to the issues and serves as judge and jury.
Larry Craddock was presiding at just such a hearing when he was captured on cell phone camera snoozing through testimony. Attorney Silver estimates Craddock slept through a quarter of the proceedings. (See full story at KRIV 26 News)
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