Read the list of rules at Haven Middle School for special education students here.

When Fabian returned for his eighth-grade year at Haven Middle School, he had no idea that a staff member would escort him everywhere on school grounds, including his two allotted daily trips to the bathroom.

He came home on his first day in tears.

When Fabian’s mother, Petra Guy, called the school, administrators told her they were implementing a new behavior program for special education students like her 13-year-old, who has bipolar disorder.

Fabian started getting in more trouble, and by the end of the week, he had been suspended. Meanwhile, Guy started talking to other parents about the program. They decided it was enough of a problem to take action.

A local citizens action group, Evanston Citizens for Appropriate Special Education, has filed a civil rights complaint on behalf of Fabian, who has since transferred out of Haven.

The program, “Rock to Learn, Learn to Rock,” uses a rock band analogy to enforce good behavior. A 21-page document (read it here) details the rules: If the students, also known as the “artists,” behave well, they record “hot singles” and earn points and get paid in virtual money. If the teachers, or “producers,” decide that the students are not behaving well, the artists are classified as “cold plays” and don’t earn points and will be fined.

There are 50 possible points each day. As points are earned, the artists move up from producing a “bronze record” to silver, gold and platinum. As they move up, they start to earn privileges, such as attending mainstream student lunch periods and physical education classes.

Getting to the platinum record category also lets the artist visit the bathroom by themselves, although not for longer than three minutes: “If you need more than three minutes, you better be sick,” the document reads.

But if the artists cannot earn more points, they could soon find themselves in breach of their contract, off the stage, off the tour or out of the band.

“It’s the most complicated behavior program I have ever seen,” said Cari Levin, who founded CASE in April.

“This is a violation of disabled students’ right to be educated in the least restrictive environment and is humiliating for these already vulnerable children,” Levin added in a statement. “These are teenagers who have emotional disabilities. Excluding them from their peers and treating them like prisoners is not compassionate, legal or therapeutic.”

Evanston/Skokie School District 65 superintendent Hardy Murphy said he stood by the program.

“I don’t believe that we violated any child’s civil rights,” Murphy said. “We believe that we observed all of the statutes, regulations and provisions to provide equal opportunity.”

The program was created over the summer by the district employees and a consultant, Murphy said. He declined to comment in more detail due to his lack of specific knowledge about the program.

Haven’s special services supervisor, Marcy Canel, declined to comment on the program or the complaint. Phone messages left with District Special Services Director Geneva Oatman and assistant Margie Lenoir-Davis were not returned.

Parents of students involved in the program were not told about the new system before it started, Guy said.

“When we returned to school after the summer holiday, Haven was implementing a program that I had no prior knowledge of,” Guy said. “I was not in agreement with this program. My son was pretty much set up for failure.”

Guy and CASE are seeking five remedies to the situation, according to the complaint.

The group wants the district to end the program and issue a written apology to all of the students who participated in it. It’s also asking that all school personnel be trained in the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the district to designate a staff member to handle all future special services complaints.

Finally, the group is calling for the “immediate termination” of all employees responsible for creating the program.

Administrators don’t think anything that drastic will happen.

“I can tell you that we’ve consulted our attorney,” Murphy said. “Our attorney says we’re not in violation of the student’s right under the Civil Rights Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

A decision from the Office of Civil Rights, which will decide what to do next, is not expected for some time.