Autistic girl, 14, refuses to attend public school for eight months because mom wants her to receive taxpayer-funded private education…and is hospitalized with anxiety attack after judge ordered her to class

An autistic Massachusetts teen who refused to attend public school for eight months suffered a panic attack after a judge ordered her to return to the classroom.

Samantha Frechon, 14, was taken to a local hospital from East Middle School in Braintree on Tuesday. It was only her second day at public school.

She signed up earlier this week at the urging of Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Catherine Ham. This transition was Samantha’s first time attending a non-specialized facility since she was eight years old.

After the teen, who has multiple disabilities, was hospitalized, Ham issued a modified order that no longer requires her to attend public high school.

The judge did not grant a request from Samantha and her mother, Alicja, who had asked for the teenager to return to her previous private school at the expense of Braintree Public Schools.

However, Ham did direct the district to send the student to a lower-cost private school that focused on working with disabled students.

Samantha had not attended a single day of school since the beginning of the school year before enrolling at East Middle.

She previously attended Fusion Academy, a private school in Hingham that bills itself as “the most specialized school in the world,” according to its website.

Braintree covered the cost of Samantha’s seventh-grade education under the federal Special Education Act, which requires public school districts to cover the costs of private education if they fail to meet a student’s needs on their own.

Even though she excelled academically and socially at Fusion Academy, the district decided not to re-enroll her for her eighth year. Instead, she was given only one option: daily tutoring at the city library.

The girl’s mother has been in an ongoing feud with the Braintree school district, demanding that they help her daughter meet her academic needs.

But in her command Ham wrote: ‘It is clear to the court that the mother only wants her child to succeed at Fusion, and only at Fusion.”

According to the judge, Braintree had argued that Fusion could not meet Samantha’s special education requirements.

“The court does not want the child and the school to have to deal with a similar episode again that occurred on Tuesday,” Ham wrote.

Braintree faces a budget deficit of $8 million, with budget cuts likely.

Appearing at a school committee hearing last month, Superintendent James Lee said the district budget had increased from $75.5 million to nearly $84 million.

To close that expensive gap, the embattled district is considering a number of options, ranging from laying off teachers to completely closing a number of elementary schools.

Samantha’s education would only further increase the financial strain on the district, as tuition at Fusion is approximately $90,000 per year.

Ham held a status conference with the district’s attorneys Thursday afternoon.

During the meeting, an attorney detailed Samantha’s problems to her mother, the family’s attorney and a Boston Globe reporter who followed the teen during her first day.

Frechon previously alleged that the district violated her daughter’s right to remain in school by refusing to re-enroll the teen in Fusion or her previous placement, the South Shore Educational Collaborative.

These protections allow a student to remain in their current accommodations while school administrators and parents resolve a dispute over a potential change.

Under Ham’s amended order, Samantha will receive “online tutoring and services” from Braintree Public Schools.

Starting next week, the teen and her mother can choose between virtual tutoring or placement at High Road School of Massachusetts in East Bridgewater.

On its website, the school describes itself as “an out-of-district placement for students with a wide range of disabilities who have not found success in the traditional school environment.”

The rate Braintree would have to pay for High Road School is about $50,000, almost half of the tuition at Fusion.

Han’s order is in effect until the end of the school year or until the Special Education Appeals Office makes a decision in Samantha’s case. A hearing is scheduled for May.

Amid the growing interest in her daughter’s case, Frechon took to Facebook and wrote, “The horror for my family continues.

‘Coming out exposed us to all this bullying and judgement, but it was also a relief that I didn’t have to pretend everything was fine anymore. What is happening here is a crime against my family, and it is our country that is failing us.”

In a later post, Frechon clarified that Samantha was the one who ultimately made the decision to go public with her own case.

“I support her decision and I hope we will open the door for all those children who suffer the same abuse,” she wrote.

“I know it’s not just us, and I’m really happy that I can be the voice for everyone who is afraid. I am also afraid because of the bullying that comes with it, but the cause is bigger than my fear.”